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W
GENERAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
!
THE
Hagerman Collection
OF BOOKS RELATING TO
HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
BOUGHT WITH MONEY PLACED BY
JAMES J. HAGERMAN OF CLASS OF '61
IN THE HANDS OF
Professor Charles Kendall Adams
IN THE YEAR
1883.
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25
J44
V.5
THE Editors of Calendars published under the direction
of the Master of the Rolls are requested to confine
any Prefatory Remarks they may consider necessary to
prefix to their Volumes to an explanation of the Papers
therein contained.
13th June 1867.
PRINTED CALENDARS.
28291.
(Signed) ROMILLY.
CALENDAR
OF
STATE PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPTS
EXISTING IN THE ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS OF
VENICE.
1534-1554,
a 2
M
Ell
**is*
Z
CALENDAR
OF
EXISTING IN THE ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS OF
VENICE,
STATE PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPTS,
RELATING TO ENGLISH AFFAIRS,
AND IN OTHER LIBRARIES OF
NORTHERN ITALY.
VOL. V.
1534-1554.
EDITED BY
RAWDON BROWN.
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HER MAJESTY'S TREASURY,
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS.
LONDON:
LONGMAN & CO., AND TRÜBNER & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW;
ALSO BY
1873.
PARKER & CO., OXFORD; AND MACMILLAN & CO., CAMBRIDGE ;
A. & C. BLACK, EDINBURGH; AND A. THOM, DUBLIN.
Printed by
EYRE and SPOTTISWOODE, Her Majesty's Printers.
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
PREFACE
CALENDAR
CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.
APPENDIX
GENERAL INDEX
B
•
1
PAGE
vii
1
600
635
*
PREFACE.
፡፡
""
THIS volume (being the fifth of the Venetian series,)
contains a calendar of the papers from January 1534 to
1554. It embraces the little that remains of the corre-
spondence between the Ambassador Capello and the
Signory, or, more correctly speaking, their letters to him
and to his Secretary Zuccato down to June 1535, when
he returned from England. His recall took place on the
14th January 1535, and on the 2nd of February 1534,
the Chiefs of the Ten, in alluding to Capello's letters
of the 6th of January preceding, refer with something
like dissatisfaction to a publication against the person
and authority of the Pope, which was doubtless the
lityll boke that the Kynge's consell hath sett owt.'
This book, in all probability, was sent to Venice by
Capello; but no account of his proceedings can be
obtained from his own despatches after the close of
Marin Sanuto's Diaries, in September 1533, where
they are regularly calendared, except his Report on
England, made on the 3rd of June, in 1535, to the Senate,
wherein he gives a brief and rapid view of his service
in England. On the departure of Carlo Capello from
England, the Republic of Venice was represented, at
the Court of Henry VIII., by the resident secretary
Hieronimo Zuccato, who had the sole charge of the
Venetian legation in London from 1535 to 1544. Zuc-
cato's despatches, however, are not now extant in the
Venetian Archives, but the letters addressed to him by the
·
viii
PREFACE.
Venetian authorities are regularly recorded there. He
appears to have been recalled, because of the "lewd
fashion" in which he spoke to the King and his Council.
In the same year in which the death of Katharine of
Aragon occurred, the valuable correspondence of Reginald
Pole commences. It is contained in a contemporary
manuscript, which was presented, at the suggestion of the
then librarian Don Jacopo Morelli to St. Mark's Library,
by the Council of Ten, in the year 1795. It is not, how-
ever, known by what happy combination of circumstances
the Council of Ten obtained possession of this priceless
volume. It contains 349 letters, all more or less deeply
interesting to the historian of the period, and to English
scholars in particular. What adds to their value is the
fact that those written in Italian were unknown to
Querini, when he published his work entitled " Episto-
larum Reginaldi Poli, et aliorum ad ipsum." 2
Many of the letters in the Marcian volume are unfortu-
nately without any date, and their superscriptions, bearing
in most instances the title of the sees for whom they were
intended, often leave the reader to surmise the surname of
the prelate to whom they were addressed. This labour of
identification was, in itself, very heavy; but it was greatly
increased by the incorrect dates given by the scribe of the
16th century. It was by no means easy to supply this
defect, or to ascertain who the bishop really was to whom
the letter was addressed, especially as many of the names
are so transformed and dislocated as almost to defy recog-
nition. The solution of these riddles did not always repay
the toil and time bestowed upon the inquiry. In some
cases, however, I was fully recompensed for my patience.
1 This fact does not appear in the Registers of the Republic, but is
derived from the State Papers, vol. ix. p. 665.
2 Brixiæ, 1744-1757, vol. v. 4to.
1
PREFACE.
ix
Two instances of this it will be sufficient to exhibit to the
reader. The second Latin letter of the series concerning
Cromwell and Tunstall, and the supremacy of Henry
VIII., is dated from the Benedictine "Grange" (Granza)
of Sta. Giustina, in the Euganean hills, which Pole
describes as a "paradise"; and such it yet appeared to
me when, on the first of October of this present year,
I stood on the "Belveder" or "Loggia," from which the
letter was evidently written. The monastic "Grange'
of Rovolon is now a secular farmhouse; the chapel or
oratory a coach-house; and the belfry a dovecot. In
what may have been the refectory, I found a broad
table extending the whole length of the apartment (the
rafters being decorated in the Venetian style), and
which was strewed with black and white grapes, chest-
nuts in the husk, and Indian corn in the cone; this
produce of the fertile homestead being spread to dry
for the Paduan market. In other parts of the building,
I could trace the position of the cells: on the wall
outside, a Benedictine escutcheon (the two palms, the
mitre and the crosier) was visible from a window on
the third floor; and from a door on the second floor I
passed to the external "Loggia," the view thence, "Mon-
tesque jucundissimos," (to use Pole's own words) having
undergone no change, notwithstanding the lapse of 336
years; the variegated autumnal foliage of the grapeless
vines contrasting with the dark green leaves of the
stately Spanish chestnut trees, which formed the back-
ground of Montegalda with its cypress wreath, in the
distance, beyond "fair Padua, nursery of Arts;" and the
wooded Euganeans (in the midst of which Rovolon 'is
situated) rendering the whole territory as enchanting a
panorama as Reginald Pole represented it in August
1536, when discussing with the learned Benedictines of
Sta. Giustina's monastery in Padua, the letters he had
-
X
PREFACE.
received from Tunstall and Cromwell, and the orders
given him in the name of their master, Henry VIII.
The volume in which the correspondence alluded to
above is preserved also contains a letter (No. 218 of the
Italian MS.) addressed Al Vescovo Vido, at least, so it
appeared at first. A closer inspection, however, made
me think that the name was Vida; but the substitution
of one vowel for another, was of little use, as I could
not find any bishopric in any quarter of the globe in
accordance with either nomenclature. On consideration
of the circumstantial evidence, I was, at length, con-
vinced that Cardinal Pole wrote the letter to thank
"1
"Immortal Vida on whose honoured brow,
The poet's bays and critic's ivy grow,'
for two copies of his work, "De Dignitate Reipublicæ,"
one for Queen Mary and the other for Pole himself, to
whom the book is dedicated in the form of a dialogue. He
and two other cardinals, with his bosom friend Priuli,
appear in it, as interlocutors. The scene is laid in a
suburban villa at Trent during the session of the Council
in 1545, and whilst Vida upholds Republican institu-
tions, Pole's confidant, Marc' Antonio Flaminio, defends
monarchical government.
Amongst the Cardinal's letters of an earlier date,
there is a very remarkable one, translated from the
1 Pope, in his "Essay on Criticism," was evidently thinking of the
"Christiados" of Marco Girolamo Vida, a Cremonese bishop of Alba, but
he does not allude to the "De Dignitate Reipublicæ," which, to many
persons will have seemed an ill-suited gift for a crowned head, nor does
Pole give his opinion about its merits; but bearing in mind the two
editions of Vida's poems, published at Oxford in 1722 and 1723, and the
tribute rendered by the English poet of that period to their author, it is
pleasant to find from this letter that than more three centuries ago, the
Cardinal Prime-minister of England was the intimate friend and cor-
respondent of the Bishop of Alba, although he perhaps preferred the
“Christiados” to the "De Dignitate Reipublicæ.”
PREFACE.
xi
English into Italian, and addressed to the Protector
Somerset. It bears no date, either of time or place, but
from its contents, as also from other corroboratory cir-
cumstances, I think I have not erred in supposing it to
have been written at Rome on the 7th September 1549.
It purports to be a reply to a missive, with Somerset's
signature, addressed to Pole, but which, from its coarse
and ill-bred phraseology, he is loth to consider the
production of a gentleman, and therefore assigns it to
William Cecil, who, from May 1548 until the Protector's
fall, was Somerset's secretary.¹ The letter was accom-
panied by a copy of the first edition of the Book of
Common Prayer, of which the Protector asked Pole's
opinion, and it is much to be regretted that the abrupt
close of the reply, owing to the rising in the West and
in Norfolk, in August 1549, prevented Pole from saying
what he thought of it. The letter fills 26 pages, and
may in fact be termed an abridgment of the reign of
Henry VIII., by his kinsman, a Plantagenet.
As compiler of a calendar, I have merely to register
documents, without commending or vituperating the
individuals to whom they relate, but from the day Regi-
nald Pole entered himself as a student at Padua, in
1521, until his final departure from the Lake of Garda
towards England in 1553, my belief is, that he did more
to maintain the repute of his country for high breeding,
scholarship, integrity, and consistency, than any other
Englishman I ever heard of. During that period he
also sought steadily to suppress the abuses of the Church
of Rome, and for this reason, by many Italian church-
men, his contemporaries, he was honoured with almost
1 For the fact of Cecil having been Somerset's secretary in May 1548,
see Froude's History of England, vol. v. p. 102 (footnote), edition, London,
1860.
xii
PREFACE.
as much abuse as has been heaped upon his memory
by the writers of his own country, three centuries and
upwards since his decease. This virulence may be
said far to exceed that of his successful rival for the
popedom, Gian Pietro Caraffa, for whom, however, some
apology may be offered, on the plea of volcanic tempera-
ment and personal interests; but on the other hand, it
is some consolation to know that whatever may be written
to the disparagement of Pole, at the present day, the
Foreign Calendar (1554, May 5, p. 82), shows that an
able diplomatist, his countryman and contemporary, who
knew him well, said "there was not a better English heart
than Pole's."
-
I confess, therefore, to having had great pleasure in
finding notices of him confirming this best of characters,
given him by Sir John Masone, especially in the letter-
book of Matteo Dandolo, Venetian Ambassador at Rome,
during the Conclave of 1549-1550, when the virtue of
the Cardinal of England, and the bitter enmity of Gian
Pietro Caraffa, were amongst some of the chief obstacles
to the election of Reginald Pole as successor to Paul III.
-
Bernardo Navagero represents Caraffa as sitting for
three hours at table, the dishes required for his repast
being twenty-five in number. His favourite dainties were
malmsey and clotted Neapolitan "mangia guerra," of
such consistency, that it might almost have been cut
with a knife. To give zest and stomach for his pro-
longed indulgence in gluttony and liquor, Caraffa vomited
forth abuse of the Emperor, of King Philip, and of the
Spaniards.¹ In modern times these ebullitions have been
styled eloquence. It is also added that Cardinal Pole
was surpassed in the language of the fish market by this
1 See Alberi's Venetian Reports, series 2, vol. iii. pp. 380, 381. Report
of Rome by Bernardo Navagero, A.D. 1558.
PREFACE.
xiii
man, his malignant rival, of whom the foregoing sketch
was made when he had become Pope Paul IV.; but from
the character of Pole, given by Matteo Dandolo, (who,
however, says nothing of his diet and drink, though other
contemporaries represent him as very abstemious), the
fitness of the comparison may be doubted.
Two months after Cardinal Pole had written his letter
to the Protector, he lost his friend Paul III., and at the
last "congregation" in his papacy,' when an abbacy was
conferred on Pole, Cardinal Cupis, also a candidate for
it, on hearing of his own disappointment, not merely
acquiesced in the collation of the benefice, but commended
it, saying that in addition to the abbacy of Canal Nuovo,
the Cardinal of England deserved the benefices held by
himself and others. As the contemporaries of Cupis
pronounced him the "best of men," and "the mirror and
ornament of the Sacred College," his opinion of Pole's
merit is worth recording, by so much the more as it is
confirmed by Dandolo, who in this same despatch adds
that neither for the abbacy in question, nor for anything
else had Pole ever made suit, although his fixed income
received from Paul III. consisted solely in a monthly pen-
sion of 200 crowns; and that his many virtues had
gained for him the title of "the Angelical Cardinal,"
in lieu of the Anglican Cardinal (porta più presto
nome di Angelico che Anglico). Even before the Pope's
death, in the betting-books at the banker's shops
(where in Rome during a papal interregnum, wagers
were registered as to the next occupant of St. Peter's
chair, with as much formality as any that are ever
booked on English turf with reference to the result
of a horse race), the "odds" stood as follows: 20 to 100
1 Panvinio, p. 625, writes the name Cuppis, but Cardella, vol. iv. p. 17,
Cupis.
xiv
PREFACE.
in favour of Cardinal di Monte, 18 for Cardinal Salviati,
16 for Cardinal Ridolfi, and 15 for Cardinal Pole. A few
hours after the appearance of this first list, Paul III.
expired, and after performance of the obsequies, and
a mass of the Holy Ghost, it was remarked that the
Cardinals who followed the cross processionally in pairs,
all made their obeisance on passing before the Cardinal
of England, thus confirming the general report of his
supposed destination for the popedom."
On the 30th November 1549, within three months from
the time of the transmission of Pole's letter to the
Protector Somerset, a Conclave assembled in the Vatican,
and at the banker's shops the "odds" were greater than
before in favour of the Right Reverend of England,
despite his refusal to solicit votes. To the Cardinals
who wished him to bestir himself in obtaining suf-
frages, it was his invariable answer, that he would
never utter one single word to that effect, nor deviate
from his ancient precept of following the Lord God,
and desiring nothing but his will. Early in the morn-
ing of the 4th December, Pole "went up" to 40;
later in the day he had backers at 46-50; and at night
he was at 80, and 30 ducats were paid down for payment
of 100, in the event of his being proclaimed Pope on
the morning of the 5th. After midnight, the Cardinals,
his supporters, were on the point of "adoring" or doing
him homage as their Chief, and at the bankers' shops,
which during conclave were never closed at any hour,
the Cardinal of England was at 95. Dandolo records
the fact as a proof that the merchants were well informed
about the state of the poll, and that the Cardinals'
attendants in conclave went partners with them in the
1 See Alberi, as before, series 2, vol. iii, p. 345, Report of Rome by
Matteo Dandolo.
PREFACE.
XV
wagers, which thus caused many tens of thousands of
crowns to change hands. The intended homage was
prevented by Cardinal de Cupis, who, although he had
expressed a belief that Pole deserved endless benefices,
did not include the Papal tiara amongst them. He had,
in short, joined the opponents of the Cardinal of England,
whose election, Dandolo informs the Senate, was beyond
measure unpopular, because the cardinals were convinced
it would compel the Court of Rome to lead a new life, and
withdraw to its spouse the Church, but that the virtuous
minority desired it greatly. So on the 5th December, at
the bankers' shops, Cardinal Pole still remained at 40,
nor was mention made of any other candidate whatever.
On the 11th December, Dandolo wrote that Marcello
Cervini, a cardinal in great esteem for religion and virtue,
and who afterwards became Pope Marcello II., had
declared himself in favour of Pole, making a speech set-
ting forth his many merits; but Pole, in reply, after thank-
ing his supporters, for conscience sake, urged them no
longer to delay the election on his account, but to
transfer their votes to some more popular candidate, and
thus avoid all detriment to the city of Rome, and the
Papal territory. He then withdrew, in order that his
proposal might be more freely debated, but when he
returned to hear their reply, they persisted in the choice
already made, appealing to his virtue and piety, which
should beware of mis-interpreting the will of the Holy
Spirit, and consider that in like manner as he was not at
liberty to assume the popedom, so was he forbidden to
divest himself of it, assuring him that the delay he so
much regretted was customary, and that on most occa-
sions a conclave lasted upwards of a month.
A few hours after this demonstration-which shows
clearly that Pole was neither a mere "man of straw"
5.
b
xvi
PREFACE.
(see Hook, p. 210), nor indebted solely to the favour of
others for the high character he bore in conclave-the
French party, whose intrigues had hitherto prevented the
election, was much strengthened by the arrival of the five
cardinals, Guise, Vendôme, Chatillon, Bellai, and Tournon,
who had all been ordered by their King to vote for the
Florentine, Ridolfi, which caused him to rise at the
bankers' shops to 20, the same "odds" being offered in
favour of England. On the 21st December Cardinal Pole
lost one of his supporters, Cervini, who from a pulmonary
complaint was compelled to go out of conclave, and on
that same day, before Cervini's departure, Pole had 23
votes, and his enemy Caraffa 20. On the 24th Caraffa was
but one below him, and said he "released" his voters, not
choosing to keep the Church in suspense; Pole, on the
contrary, declining to renounce the votes given him (as
he had not canvassed them), expressed at the same time
his readiness to resign the triple crown, though he would
not allow it to be said that he had given way either to
hope or fear. At this moment no other candidates made
progress, and the contest being solely between Pole and
Caraffa, the lasting and bitter hatred of this violent man
for his placid and amiable antagonist, may fairly be attri-
buted to entries in the betting-books of Rome, at Christ-
mas 1549.
Notwithstanding Caraffa's protestations, the French
faction continued giving him their 18 or 20 votes on the
26th December, when Pole had 23, though it was now
generally supposed that England would not succeed;
and on the 28th, when two more French cardinals (Am-
boise and Boulogne), arrived, although the Emperor was
still staunch to Pole, the opponents of England became
yet more elate. Amongst the reasons assigned by them
for rejecting a Plantagenet, were the following: that he
PREFACE.
xvii
had spared the lives of heretics during his long Legation
at Viterbo, and that he had a natural daughter in a con-
vent at Rome. Cardinal Cibo, adding that, with all his
admiration for Pole's virtues, he wished the triple crown
to rest on the head of an Italian, although an Imperialist,
withdrew his support from the Imperial candidate. On
the 11th January, Pole and Caraffa had each 21 votes,
Crispo as well as Cibo having deserted Pole, at the insti-
gation, in great measure, of the French, who, on the 15th,
were joined by another powerful partisan, the Cardinal de
Bourbon. Finally, on the night of the 7th February,
the struggle ended with the election of the Cardinal de
Monte, a man whose vices were on a par with the violence
and irascibility of Gian Pietro Caraffa; and although in
due or undue course they both attained the object of their
ambition, and although they are in greater repute with
modern historians than Reginald Pole, the Cardinal of
England's countrymen will, nevertheless, be convinced by
the foregoing remarks, drawn from the contemporaneous
correspondence of an impartial annalist, that the honour
and fair fame of their native land was nobly upheld by
Pole in Italy, throughout the longest conclave on record.
It is therefore the more strange that he should not meet
with even-handed justice at home.
One of Cardinal Pole's first acts, after the election of
the new Pope, was to remonstrate with him against the
bestowal of the red hat on his minion the so-called
"Prevostino;" nor did he fail to render this disapproval
manifest in the congratulatory letter addressed by him
to Innocenzio del Monte (the name assumed by the
"Prevostino "), a compliment which it was customary for
the Cardinals to pay to any new member of the Sacred
College. Julius III., to his credit, did not resent this just
reproof, for in June 1550, when conferring the Legation of
b 2
xviii
PREFACE.
Bologna on Cardinal Cornaro, he saddled it with a monthly
pension of 100 crowns for Pole, to whom he was expected
moreover to assign 50 ducats per month on the "Datario,”
until able to give him further supply from the Legation of
Bologna, or some other papal office. Pole's own account
of what he felt and did during the conclave may be read in
a letter he wrote to the Bishop of Badajos. In September
1550, the Pope employed him to draw up the bull for re-
assembling the Council at Trent, and from that time forth
he seems to have resided occasionally at Rome, or at
Civitella, or Bagnarea. In July 1553, we find him on
the Lake of Garda congratulating Doge Trevisan on his
election, and alluding to his admiration for the new
Doge's father, adding that, when a young Paduan student,
he used to go expressly to the church of San Giorgio
Maggiore, in Venice, to see so noble a sight as the Doge's
father Domenico, a man adorned with every virtue, which
had obtained for him the title of Pater Patria, as heard
frequently by Pole-when listening to speeches in the
Venetian Senate-from the lips of Doge Andrea Gritti.
One month after this record of his youth, Cardinal
Pole, now in his fifty-third year, heard of the death of
Edward VI., and of the accession of Queen Mary, on
which he wrote immediately to congratulate Pope Julius.
He also sent the glad tidings to the Imperial Ambassador
at Venice, and on the 13th August, wrote his first letter to
his sovereign. It was in English, into which tongue it is
now retranslated from the Italian version in its writer's
miscellaneous correspondence, now preserved in St. Mark's
Library. The chief object of the letter, which was con-
veyed by Henry Penning, was to ascertain the Queen's
views with regard to acknowledging the supremacy of the
Church of Rome, and to know what her wishes were, as to
the mode of performing the embassy to the crown of
PREFACE.
xix
England, with which his Holiness had charged the
Cardinal. On the 27th August, he wrote again to the
Queen-apparently in English, and not in Latin, though
of this there is no note in the manuscript reminding her
that the Pope's claims to be supreme head of the Apostolic
see, were no less just than those whereby she herself
succeeded to her father's throne; and the same day he
addressed himself also to her Prime Minister, Stephen
Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. The style of the letter is
that of a superior to a repentant sinner, reminding him of
his past errors, congratulating him on his present pros-
perity, and trusting that he may show himself worthy of
it. On the 2nd of October, Pole, having already proceeded
from the Lake of Garda to Trent, on his way towards
England, wrote to the Queen, for the third time, implying
surprise at having received no reply to his previous letters,
and acquainting her with what had passed between himself
and the Emperor about English affairs, and requesting her
to communicate with his Imperial Majesty in the same
strain. From Trent, on the same day, Cardinal Pole also
wrote to Edward Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter, and from
the whole tenor of the letter, there can be no doubt
whatever of his wish, were the Queen determined to marry
-he being then ignorant of the many weaknesses and
defects in Courtenay's character, disqualifying him utterly
for such a post-that he should become King Consort of
England.
On arriving at Dillingen, Pole's further progress was
stopped by Don Juan de Mendoza, sent expressly for
this purpose by the Emperor, who was doubtless well
acquainted with the Legate's dislike to the Spanish
marriage. There were also other political reasons-as-
signed by his envoy openly-for desiring him, neither to
proceed as Legate to England, nor to attempt negotiating
XX
PREFACE.
with his Imperial Majesty at Brussels about the peace
with France, until he received further orders from Rome.
Mendoza was very reserved, but he unbosomed himself so
far as to say that the fitting time for papal interference in
England had not yet arrived; an argument, which Pole
confuted by saying that Parliament having been opened
on the 5th October, and it being absolutely requisite to
discuss the affair of the religion during its first session,
he, as an Englishman, knowing the custom of the realm
and the national character, declared that the matter was
so mature, that unless debated immediately, it would rot
like over ripe fruit. His arguments were not considered
valid, nor was he allowed to go to Louvain until the 10th
of January 1554, from which place he announced his
arrival to the Bishop of Arras, and entered Brussels as
Legate, on the 20th, being accompanied by the English
Ambassadors Thomas Thirlby, Bishop of Norwich, and Sir
John Masone. In November 1553, when Cardinal Pole
sent his friend Pedro Soto, a Spanish Dominican friar, to
the Emperor-whose confessor he had been, and was
destined to fill the same post at a later period-he
authorised him to inform his Majesty that Pole's opinion
had been that the Queen, being of the age she was, should
remain single, leaving the succession of the realm to take
its own course. This he would have said immediately on
her accession, had he been asked; and subsequently, after
the stipulation of her marriage with the Prince, knowing
it to be unpopular in England, where his Legatine com-
mission relating to spiritual matters alone was already ill-
looked on, he could not show himself favourable to it, lest
he should additionally impede the original commission
assigned him by the Pope. And now, on the 8th February
1554, after the news of Wyatt's rebellion had reached
Brussels, the Emperor expressed to Soto the best possible
PREFACE.
xxi
A
opinion of Pole; and with regard to the marriage, implied
that, putting aside his respectf or the Queen, whom he
greatly loved, the rebellion did not at all distress him on
the score of his own individual interests, as he was induced
to negotiate the marriage principally for the sake of
religion both in England and the Low Countries, and for
the general good of those realms; and that, as nothing was
settled, he had sent back to the Prince in Spain, the proxy
received for the conclusion of the marriage, though the
general tone of the Emperor's conversation did not make it
appear that he had renounced the thought of it. At any
rate, the Confessor greatly praised the Queen's intention
of remaining without a husband, should she see that the
spouse of her choice was not to the satisfaction of the
Londoners; and he told the Emperor he had reason to
congratulate himself on the disturbances having taken
place before the Prince's arrival in England, which his
Majesty apparently admitted, adding that he did not
intend to do anything by force.
Previously, on the 4th February, when Cardinal Pole
had his first conference with the Emperor as Legate
from Julius III., he offered the Pope's congratulations,
and his own, on the marriage. The Cardinal was ad-
mitted to an audience on that occasion by the Duke of
Savoy and the Bishop of Arras, and found Charles V.
risen from his bed, seated, and with his feet on another
chair, looking very well, and better than Pole expected
to find him. His Majesty had a third chair placed near
him, nor would he allow Pole to utter a word until he
seated himself, in which position the Legate made his
obeisance and imparted the blessing which the Pope had
charged him to give the Emperor in his name several
months previously, of which delay nothing was said either
by the blesser or the blessed. The Emperor expressed his
xxii
PREFACE.
belief that the fitting moment had not yet arrived for the
formal establishment of Catholicism in England; and with
regard to peace between himself and France, showed that
he had more at heart the common weal than his own
private wrongs, but rejected the proposals hitherto made.
Hereupon Pole asked to be acquainted with his own
terms. Nothing whatever was said about the marriage, and
then, after presenting Richard Pate, Bishop Designate of
Worcester, the audience having lasted nearly an hour, the
Legate took leave of the Emperor, and in the course of the
following night the Bishop of Norwich received the first
news of Wyatt's rebellion. Father Soto, who was with
the Emperor on the 8th February, informed him, in Pole's
name, that Thirlby was of opinion that the Legate would
do well to commence the negotiation for peace by proceed-
ing to treat for it, in France, as Pole was ready to do, if
the Emperor approved of it. His Majesty replied that he
thought it would be better to wait the arrival of the new
Nuncio, who was expected daily at Brussels, and would
bring the Pope's latest instructions. The Emperor's
opinion in favour of delay, which was subsequently con-
firmed, rather sourly, by his prime minister, the Bishop of
Arras, who, like Pole himself, whose junior he was by
seventeen years, had also completed his education in the
University of Padua, did not deter the Legate from exe-
cuting the commission of his sovereign. On the 19th
February he had his second audience of the Emperor, and
after congratulating him on the suppression of Wyatt's
rebellion, said that, with his Majesty's good grace, he was on
the eve of departure for France, to which announcement,
as no reply was made, he took the leave for granted.
On the 2nd March, Cardinal Pole was at St. Denis, and
on Easter Monday (26th March) departed thence for
Fontainebleau, where he arrived on the 29th, accompanied
PREFACE.
xxiii
by Cardinal de Chatillon, who took him immediately to
King Henry II., by whom he was received most graciously,
and from the King's apartments he passed to those of
Queen Catherine de' Medici, exhorting her in like manner
to perform such good offices in favour of peace between the
two crowns, as became her known piety. On that same
evening, Pole commenced business with the French prime
minister, the Constable Anne de Montmorency, who went
to visit him at his lodging, and the Constable's language
certainly sounded more pacific than that of Antoine Perre-
not de Granvelle, Bishop of Arras, for he at least urged
Pole to propose terms of adjustment.
On the 2nd April, the Legate dined with the King, and
afterwards discussed leisurely, and at full length, the
subject of Pole's mission. Pole told him in detail what he
had negotiated with the Emperor and the Bishop of Arras
about the peace, adding, that in conformity with the good
disposition evinced by King Henry, he now expected him
to make such reply to the Emperor's demands as would
corroborate his goodwill by deeds. In reply, the King
declared, amongst other things, that he entered on the
present war under provocation, nor had his success given
him reason at present to wish for peace, which he would
nevertheless be ready to make, provided he met with
reciprocity on the other side, and that fair terms were
proposed him. All this the King said very civilly and
mildly, adding that between himself and the Emperor
there were no such heart-burnings as those which caused
his Imperial Majesty and King Francis to challenge each
other, and that he, on his part, was ready to form the best
possible friendship with the Emperor; for a reply to whose
proposal he referred the Legate to the Cardinal of Lorraine
and the Constable. The result was that on the evening of
the 3rd April one of the royal secretaries—in the King's
xxiv
PREFACE.
name-delivered a response of rather an irritating tenor;
nor on the morrow, when Pole took leave of the King,
could he obtain any modification of it. The negotiation
failed at Fontainebleau, as at Brussels; and on the second
day after his arrival at the French Court, the Legate's
nephew, Thomas Stafford, who had ostentatiously opposed
the Spanish match, presenting himself there, the chances
of Pole's increasing in favour with the Emperor on his
return diminished, notwithstanding the angry manner in
which he dismissed his obtrusive kinsman. In fact, on the
21st of April, when he gave Charles V. an account of the
reply received from King Henry, adding that his prolonged
stay in France might have been injurious, as there were
many malcontents there, including his own nephew, the
Emperor made answer that he would have done better to
remain there, or to go straight to Rome; and with regard
to the reasons assigned by the King of France for not con-
tinuing their enmity, he said that, in the course of many
years, King Francis had done him fewer and less grievous
injuries than those he had received from his son within
a much shorter period.
During Cardinal Pole's absence in France, the new Nuncio
Girolamo Muzzarelli arrived at Brussels, and although
their friendly intercourse is manifested by Pole's letter,
written to him from the Lake of Garda on the 6th August
1553, it may be doubted whether Muzzarelli, either whilst
Pole was at Fontainebleau, or subsequently, did his best
to improve the Legate's position, either with the Emperor
or the Bishop of Arras. I gather this from Pole's letter
to Cardinal Morone, written from Brussels on the 25th
May 1554, from which I learn that, considering him-
self personally disagreeable to the Emperor, he urged
the Pope to recall him. In the same letter, replying
to something written by Morone, suggesting that by
PREFACE.
XXV
public and private demonstrations, he should remove
the Emperor's suspicions of his disapproval of the
Queen's marriage to Prince Philip caused by Pole's
silence, and lack of such demonstration of joy as the
circumstance required, he admits that whilst at Dillingen
from October 1553 until the commencement of 1554,
he abstained from speaking on the subject, although it
was publicly discussed by everybody, nor did he allude
to it in his letters to the Queen, after the marriage was
supposed to have been stipulated, both because he did not
think his interference in the business would facilitate the
revival of the Roman Catholic religion, which was the
chief matter he had in hand, as also from unwillingness
officiously to volunteer an opinion which had not been
demanded of him. But when Thirlby and Masone, at
Brussels, acquainted him with the Queen's motives, saying
she had accepted the Prince's hand, before his departure
for Fontainebleau, Pole, when speaking with the personages
of the Imperial Court, never allowed any opportunity to
escape him for expressing his goodwill, doing the like by
the Queen through messengers and letters; all which
demonstrations, made for the purpose of dispelling the
Emperor's suspicions, were confirmed by the fact of the
expulsion from his presence of Thomas Stafford. Whilst at
Dillingen, some months previously, when Stafford in public
blamed the Queen for marrying an alien, Pole reproved
him, and would not allow of his going to England, a pro-
hibition which, although disregarded, was substantiated
by the Legate's refusal to give his nephew any letters of
introduction.
All these particulars show that, in the first instance,
Pole, as an Englishman, was averse to the marriage,
though he at length resigned himself to it, as a
necessity. His conduct in this matter throughout was
xxvi
PREFACE.
frank and honourable, and although in Graziani's Life of
Commendone he is said to have understood that there was
a party in England desirous of Pole's marriage with the
Queen, and that she herself was not averse to the alliance,
as she had asked Commendone whether the Pope could
absolve Pole from his deacon's vows,¹ it is possible that the
demand was a political feint suggested to the Queen by
her Spanish advisers, or it may perhaps be attributed to
female vanity. Although it might have rendered the
Emperor suspicious, the inquiry does not prove that
Cardinal Pole either sought the marriage or entertained
any such personal expectations, or that he cared in the
least to have those of other people justified.²
In his letter of the 25th May to Cardinal Morone, the
Legate writes distinctly that the treatment received by
him from the Emperor and the Bishop of Arras was such
that, short of using the cudgel, it could not be worse, and
the authoritative tone adopted by the Imperial Prime
Minister is fully confirmed by a ciphered passage in a
despatch addressed by the Venetian Ambassador to the
Doge and Senate. In August 1554, the Emperor was in
the field against France, accompanied by the Bishop of
Пла
1 Et Polum ipsum esse in Anglia, qui Reginæ maritum destinarent, in-
tellexerat, ac ne ipsa quidem Regina initio eum aspernata dicebatur, quæ à
Commendono quæsierat, an eum lege sacrorum, quâ Polus adstrictus erat,
Pontifex soluturus fuisset; erat enim Diaconus, cui ordini sæpe tributa
legis venia est a Pontifice Maximo; sed postea Gallorum vim metuens,
quos adversariis suis studuisse compererat, nec Anglis ipsis satis jam fidens,
ad Philippum inclinavit. (Antonii Mariæ Gratiani, De Vitâ Joannis
Francisci Commendoni libri quatuor, Parisiis, 1669, p. 44.)
2" Her allusion, however, to the possibility of a marriage with Reginald
"Pole is of some importance, for it justifies on the one hand the sus-
"picions so frequently entertained by the Emperor, and on the other, the
"expectations of the Cardinal." (Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury,
by Walter Farquhar Hook, D.D., F.R.S., vol. iii., new series, p. 221.
Edition, London, 1869.)
PREFACE.
xxvii
Arras, who had doffed his episcopal habit for military
attire; and when Pole sent his auditor, Ormanetto, into the
camp with a message to him, the form of reply savoured
more of the battle-field than of the Church or the cloister.
The Legate was told that by no means was he to think of
going to England without permission from the Emperor,
and that even were he to ask it during ten thousand years,
he must by no means expect it, unless he sent his Majesty
the powers lately received from Rome authorizing him to
dispose of the Church property which had either been
confiscated or bestowed on English laymen. He was
required, moreover, to state his intentions respecting the
distribution of this property, as thereon depended the quiet
or disquiet of the whole country.
The Legate was not on a bed of roses, but he obeyed the
Pope's orders, until at length, in November 1554, he had
the Imperial permission to revisit his native land after an
absence of well nigh a quarter of a century; and of the
events which immediately preceded this return I give this
copious narrative, as the details of the conclave of
1549-50, with regard to his candidateship, have never
hitherto been either fully or fairly represented. It is also
somewhat difficult to follow his biographers in their
account of the negotiations which commenced on the Lake
of Garda on the 7th August 1553, and may be said to have
ended at Dover on the 20th November 1554.
The foregoing extracts have been made from Cardinal
Pole's Italian correspondence; the first of his Latin letters,
in the miscellany above mentioned, was written in the
Paduan territory, and apparently in July 1536. It is
addressed to Paul III., who created him Cardinal at the
close of that year, and in July called Pole to Rome, to sit
in the congregation there, appointed by him to reform the
Roman Court. This so-called "inter-council" consisted
xxviii
PREFACE.
of eight Cardinals, fifteen Prelates, and fifty other men
of learning. This may be considered Reginald Pole's
first acceptance of any public office, as in his reply it is
seen that previous calls from the same quarter had been
rejected, and he now inquires, "But what will the King
"of England think of this journey? Will it not offend
"him ?," This thought harassed Pole, as it was his in-
tention always to render to the King the offices due from
a subject to his sovereign, and from a son to his father.
The letter bears no date, but I suppose it immediately
preceded his composition of the treatise "De Unitate,"
which made the King repudiate Pole either as son or
subject; and I merely mention the circumstance to explain
the substance of the first Latin letter contained in the
transcript of Pole's correspondence, now preserved in St.
Mark's Library. Here I must add that, much to my
regret, the most diligent search amongst the State Papers
at the "Frari” has failed to bring to light the slightest
notice of the existence at Venice from the year 1534 to
1536 of any individual styled "Martin de Zornoza,
Spanish Consul at Venice," said to have been in close
communication with Reginald Pole at that period when
Pole's conduct has been styled "base in the extreme."1
Shortly after the despatch of this letter to Rome, the
Venetian Ambassador there, wrote to the Doge and Senate
that Charles V. and Francis I. were both cajoling King
Henry, to whom the Emperor had offered any part of
France he pleased, mentioning also the death of the Duke
of Richmond; and in November 1536 Badoer also informed
the Senate that Paul III. had sent off to England the bull
of excommunication, proposed in consistory in December
1 See Hook's Life of Cardinal Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury, pp.
74-75, and Mr. Bergenroth's "Communication," etc., in Sir Thomas
Hardy's Report upon the Venetian Archives, pp. 69-71.
PREFACE.
xxix
1535, and which was then suspended in consequence of
certain amendments proposed by the Cardinals of the
French party, greatly to the Pope's indignation. The
despatch of the bull in 1536 was caused by the insurrection
in the northern counties, under the guidance of Makerel,
Abbot of Barlings, which is generally known by the title
of the "Pilgrimage of Grace;" the Pope having under-
stood first that they were commanded by a Duke (probably
a mistake for the Archbishop of York, who, together with
the Lords Nevil, Darcy, Lumley, and Latimer, joined the
insurrection), and three days later that the rebels had been
joined by the King's Lieutenant, the Duke of Norfolk,
because the King had broken faith with them. This last
piece of news was circulated at Rome on the authority of
a letter written from Brussels by Maria of Austria, Queen
Dowager of Hungary, governess of the Low Countries.
From France the Pope heard that King Henry was nego-
tiating the marriage of the Princess Mary with the Duke
of Orleans, who was disinclined towards it, although she
was to be declared legitimate by Act of Parliament. Her
cousin Pole was now at Rome, and on the 8th December was
sent for, together with the other members of the Council
committee by the Pope, who informed them that he would,
at any rate, hold it, despite the opposition of the Lutherans.
This resolve was perhaps confirmed by the receipt of
letters from England, dated the 20th November, stating
that the rebels, 40,000 in number, were more powerful
than ever, and recommending the Pope to send Pole as
Legate to England, with money for distribution amongst
the poor people, as the affairs of the Church would pro-
ceed most prosperously. So on the morning of the 23rd
December, in consistory, Paul III. proclaimed Reginald
Pole Cardinal; but as within a week it appeared that the
good result of the " Pilgrimage of Grace" had been
M
XXX
PREFACE.
exaggerated, the Pope sent the hat and sword which he
had blessed as usual on Christmas Eve, to the King of Scot-
land, who had offered to march against the King of England
with all his forces in favour of the Church, and make a
vigorous attack, being always ready to serve the Pope in
every way. Pole felt a pang at receiving no congratula-
tions from his own country on this exaltation to the
Cardinalate; but when Bragadino, the Venetian Ambas-
sador at Rome, imparted to him those of the Doge and
Senate, he consoled himself with the thought that "they
were well nigh the voice desired by him from England, as
during his long residence at Venice he received so many
"favours, finding facilities for study such as he certainly
"could not have found at home," and enjoying also the
friendship of such eminent men, that he could not, in
reason, hold these blessings in less account than those for
which he was debtor to his birth-place, and thus did he
write to Andrea Griti; nor can this fail to remind the
reader of Masone's wish expressed long afterwards, "that
"the whole realm knew him as the Bishop of Norwich
"and Masone do, and had that opinion of him, as in effect
"all states of Christendom have."
CC
66
The commercial relations of the Republic with England
were not materially affected by the change of religion, nor
did the excommunication of 1536 cause the seizure at sea
by orthodox pirates of malmsey-sack or other Venetian
commodities destined for an heretical market. But in
May 1545, when the Council was sitting, the Pope's fear
lest Cardinal Pole should be carried off from Trent by
Lodovico da l'Armi, who was the accredited agent of
Henry VIII. in Italy, again reminded the Signory of the
disturbance caused to neutral powers by the religious
differences between Rome and England. Of the bravo Da
l'Armi there are many notices in the State Papers; in the
PREFACE.
xxxi
11th volume of which work (Index, p. 500) it is stated that
he was the nephew of Cardinal Campeggio. No authority
is given for the assertion, which however is, I think,
verified by Dolfi's "Cronologia di Famiglie nobili di
Bologna," where, at p. 66, mention is made of the mar-
riage of the Cardinal's sister Aurelia to Gasparo Da l'Armi.
Of the crimes of her son, the murderer Lodovico, and
of his execution, there are many details in the present
volume, and I think I do not err in saying that a con-
temporary portrait of him exists in the Academy at Venice
in a very fine picture, attributed to Bonifazio, but which I
believe is by some other great master. Da l'Armi trusted
to escape the doom he so richly deserved through the
protection of the sovereign he had so long and unscrupu-
lously served, but at the time of his arrest Henry VIII.
was expiring. The King died in his bed, on the 28th
January 1547, and his Ambassador was beheaded in public
at Venice between the two granite columns on the "molo "
fronting the sea on the 12th of May following.
The death of Henry VIII. was formally announced by
the English Secretary-resident, Edmund Harvel, who, on
the 2nd March 1547, entered the College hall, professing
to shed tears, styling the King's memory blessed, and
extolling his rare virtues and his love for the Signory.
The Secretary was confirmed in his post by the Protector;
the last despatch from him in the late Mr. Turnbull's
Calendar is dated 20th March 1548, and I have now
published details of his funeral at Venice on the 7th
January 1550, which will account for the non-existence
of his letter of recall in the public depositories.
Secretary Harvel was succeeded by Peter Vannes, a
Lucchese, of whom the first mention in the Venetian
Calendar dates from the month of August 1521, when he
was at Bruges with Cardinal Wolsey, being one of his
5.
с
xxxii
PREFACE.
secretaries; and on the same authority, it is seen that he
was in Rome on a mission from Henry VIII., in January
1529. At the commencement of the Reformation he held
the lucrative pcst of collector of Peter's pence, which
was then abolished, and he then seems to have become a
zealous reformer; but when the collectorship was restored
he canvassed for it very warmly, and in the autumn of
1555 complained of not being supported by Cardinal Pole,
who replied, that although he had not interfered in the
re-appointment of the collectorship, it certainly did not
seem to him the reward best suited to Vannes' apostasy.
The first mention in the Foreign Calendar of his being
in Venice, is dated 9th November 1550. A letter from
the Signory to the Venetian Ambassador, printed in this
present volume, shows that Vannes had his first audience
of the College on the 8th August 1550; so it may be
inferred that part of his despatches from Venice no
longer exist, and amongst them there will probably have
been some account of rude treatment received by him
from Sir Robert Stafford, about which the Chiefs of the
Ten wrote to Daniel Barbaro, desiring him to inform the
Lords of the Council that for this insult to the Lucchese
apostate, Cardinal Pole's nephew had been duly repri-
manded.
The ambassador who represented the Republic of Venice
in England at this period, enjoyed a great reputation for
learning and statesmanship, and I have therefore extracted
largely from the report of his mission, made by him to
the Senate, in the month of May 1551, and have given
a wood-cut of the armorial bearings of the Barbaro
family, showing that to this day his descendants quarter
the rose of England, in virtue of a patent given him
by Edward VI.
In ny preface to the 3rd volume of the Venetian
PREFACE.
xxxiii
Calendar (p. xxxix), I recorded the fact that in March
1869, Signor Luigi Pasini deposited at the Record Office
a complete key to the cipher contained in the despatches
of Giovanni Michiel, from March 1555 to January 1557,
a self-imposed task, which was much facilitated by the
photographs of the cipher, executed for Her Majesty's
Government at the suggestion of Sir Thomas Hardy in
1865. Subsequently, Signor Pasini deciphered the de-
spatches of Michiel's successor in England-Michiel
Surian-from March 1557 to July in the same year, and
quite recently he also made a key to the ciphered portions
of despatches addressed to the Signory in the year 1554,
by Marc' Antonio Damula, Venetian Ambassador at
Brussels, and by his colleague, Giovanni Capello, in
France. These valuable labours have enabled me in this
present volume to publish such parts of their corre-
spondence as relate, directly or indirectly, to England, and
of which I will here give a few paragraphs, commencing
with the French views of things, as transmitted by Capello,
who wrote in May that the marriage of Prince Philip
and Queen Mary was to be consummated at Bruges,
whither the Emperor was going to receive them; which
Capello doubted, because as the Queen scarcely ventured
to go out of London, it could not be supposed she would
quit the country, as fresh insurrections were anticipated;
the Emperor's move towards Bruges being rather for the
purpose of supporting his interests in England, and render-
ing the Queen as secure as he could. It was also said that
Gardiner was in favour of daily executions, and that the
Princess Elizabeth had incurred some risk of being in-
cluded amongst the victims, but that she was then more
at liberty, as the Emperor, to secure the crown of Eng-
land for the House of Austria, had determined to marry
her to the Archduke Ferdinand, whilst Courtenay was to
c 2
xxxiv
PREFACE.
}
be disposed of on the scaffold; the like doom being
reserved for Cardinal Pole, in case he dared show himself
in England.
From Paolo Tiepolo, Capello's colleague at the Court
of the King of the Romans, we learn that, although
Archduke Maximilian was titular King of Bohemia,
his younger brother, Ferdinand, inhabited the royal
castle at Prague, and had governed the country in
his father's name ever since the year 1547, when only
18 years old. This reversion of the right of primo-
geniture, proceeded possibly from Maximilian's Lutheran
bias, which might have inconveniently reminded the
turbulent Bohemians of John Huss, and Jerome of
Prague. Archduke Ferdinand, on the
on the contrary, was
extremely orthodox, and it is probable that at a later
period, by reason of his adherence to the old religion,
and for other causes, Charles V. proposed marrying him
to Elizabeth Tudor in order to retain England as a
dependency of the house of Austria and the Church of
Rome; but the intelligence given by the Constable,
Montmorency, to Capello in May 1554, seems prema-
ture, as it is not confirmed from Brussels until June
of the following year. In 1554, the first Austrian
suitor of the presumptive heiress of England was un-
married; but, already, in the year 1548, when only 19,
immediately after assuming the regency of Bohemia,
Archduke Ferdinand formed an illicit connexion with
the beautiful Filippina Welser, who bore him a large
family, and became his Morganatic wife.
The Emperor does not seem either in 1554 or 1555
to have given himself much trouble to reconcile Elizabeth
Tudor to expatriation; but she would have found a
sumptuous court at Prague, the King of the Romans
supplying his favourite son largely with money, which
PREFACE.
66
XXXV
he spent joyously, delighting in every sort of pastime.
His Venetian biographer says, "he was high-spirited
"and lusty" (gagliardo), "and that he lived in great
"state, being served by gentleman in waiting, pages,
"C
trumpeters, and a bodyguard; and keeping a grand
" stable with the necessary officials; his magnificence and
generosity being no less notorious than his Catholicism."
Such was the Archduke Ferdinand, of whom but little
is known, save through the Venetian ambassadors, whose
despatches also in 1559 and 1567 contain many curious
notices about negotiations for the marriage of his younger
brother Archduke Charles to Elizabeth after she had
become Queen of England. But to return to her perilous
condition in 1554. Damula wrote from Brussels in June
of that year, that the fear of rebellion was so great in
London that the Queen had garrisoned it with a military
force of 4,000 men, having sent Elizabeth under custody
to Windsor, where she in fact passed the night of the 21st
May 1554, on her way from the Tower to confinement at
Woodstock. As this information proves to be true, we may
also give credit to what Damula writes under the same
date (1st June 1554), about a misunderstanding between
Gardiner and the Secretary of State, Sir William Petre.
In reply to Cardinal Pole's message to Queen Mary,
offering to send one of his attendants with compliments
on her marriage, she said he was at liberty to do so, but
that the envoy must not be a churchman. And in this
second letter (7th June 1554, cipher), the determination
of the Bishop of Arras to reject peace with France is men-
tioned thus: Cardinal Pole communicated the Emperor's
reply about an adjustment between the two crowns, to the
Nuncio in France, and the King, in reply, having expressed
approval of Queen Mary's mediation, she desired Masone
to ascertain the Emperor's opinion on the subject; so he
xxxvi
PREFACE.
applied to the Bishop of Arras, whose answer purported
that peace was impossible, as the French never kept their
promises. And when Masone asked whether the Emperor
had any wish to make peace, Arras said, "Yes, provided
it be a sound one." The ambassador then inquired, "How
CC
can a peace be made if not treated, and how can it be
"treated, unless consent be given, and arrangements
"made ?" The Bishop rejoined, That first of all, some
knowledge must be obtained of the will of the French.
Whereupon Masone continued, That the knowledge mani-
fested itself very clearly through the words about the
peace uttered spontaneously by King Henry to Dr.
Wotton, and that he (Masone) considered the peace desir-
able, both for the Emperor and for England, assigning
as a reason, that the Prince was a new plant, planted in
the realm of England by his father, who, if he wished
the plant to bear fruit, must let the soil rest quiet awhile,
as otherwise, if it were harassed at this commencement,
there would be a doubt of his receiving benefit from the
fruit. Granvelle was still unconvinced, and declared that
the greater the demonstration made by the French in
favour of peace, the less did they really wish for it; and
that not only must they themselves propose terms, but
also the restitution of many things. Masone maintained
that these terms might be treated at a conference be-
tween commissioners from the parties, and that should no
agreement ensue, nothing but words would be lost, and
the Emperor would thus show that he was not averse
The Bishop replied,
to peace.
Well, we are deter-
"mined, and no longer believe the French, who com-
"menced the war whilst we were at peace:" and when
Masone urged him to speak about this to the Emperor,
he said he would do so, and that possibly when the two
Sovereigns were in the field with their armies, they
፡፡
PREFACE.
xxxvii
might then-more to their honour-talk of peace,
propose terms, and perhaps conclude them, as had been
the case theretofore.
In the meanwhile, the Queen of England, although she
wished for the peace, would not say a word about it to
the most Christian King until the receipt of the order
from Brussels, though immediately on the arrival of her
consort, she would discuss the matter with him, in virtue
of an article of the marriage contract, whereby the Prince
promised that England would neither directly nor in-
directly take part in the war against the most Christian
King, but endeavour strictly to observe the peace then
existing between France and England, as also the con-
ventions formerly stipulated between the two countries,
and never give cause for infringing or altering them.
I have given the whole of this ciphered despatch be-
cause its contents are not to be found in the Foreign
Calendar, 1553-1558, although it contains some 17 of
Masone's despatches between the 3rd May and 2nd
August 1554.
This fact alone would serve to show the
value of Signor Pasini's decipher.
A week later, after mentioning incidentally the con-
temptuous treatment received by Pole from the Bishop of
Arras, who had never once been to visit him after the
Cardinal's return from France, Damula details the pre-
parations which the Emperor was making for the cam-
paign, and says that he was sending Queen Mary a present
of some very beautiful tapestry, representing his conquest
of Tunis in 1535, and a quantity of jewels; and that Bonna
Sforza, Queen Dowager of Poland, had bought for her
an organ at Antwerp, at a cost of 3,000 crowns, besides
goldsmith's work, worth double that amount; of which
presents this is the first we hear, but the Emperor's
tapestries are mentioned in Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, as
xxxviii
PREFACE.
having been sent from Brussels on the 19th June.
Queen Bonna's present was purchased in August, and
had for its object, to obtain for herself the Regency of
Naples.
Cardinal Pole continued to reside at an abbey near
Brussels, the name of which, in Italian manuscripts of the
time, is written "Dillingan; "but on hearing that the
Emperor was about to take the field, he went into Brus-
sels, and through the Nuncio, Muzzarelli, informed the
Bishop of Arras that he should remain there until he
received further orders from Rome, and that he wished
to know whether the Emperor had any commands to give
him. The Bishop said he would make the inquiry, nor
did he raise any objection to Cardinal Pole's residence at
Brussels, about which the Legate had some doubts, re-
membering what had been said to him on the subject
when he returned from France. A few days later, Gran-
velle told Muzzarelli that the Emperor consented to what-
ever pleased the Pope, giving permission to the Cardinal
to remain where he was, and saying that he, Granvelle,
would visit Pole before the Emperor's departure, having
omitted to do so hitherto, as it was necessary to act with
reserve in this matter on account of the French. The
visit was paid, the Bishop saying that the Emperor would
willingly have been accompanied by Pole, but that he
was compelled to join the camp suddenly; and then he
added that the Emperor, with all his realms, including
Peru, was occasionally pinched for money, but that King
Henry, who had only one kingdom, being already obliged
to sell the Church plate, there was not much to fear
from his military movements.
On the night of the 21st July, a messenger from Queen
Mary arrived at Brussels with the news of King Philip's
arrival in England, which probably reached the Em-
¡
PREFACE.
xxxix
I
peror at Charleroi; and on the 28th Damula writes, with
regard to Prince Philip's title of King of Naples, that the
Emperor "gave it him at Augsburg (sic), when the Prince
"went thither from Italy." This intelligence is given on
the authority of a lady of the Court, and probably alludes
to Philip's meeting with his father at Brussels in 1548,
in which year the Emperor held a Diet at Augsburg, but
Prince Philip was not present at it; and by a subsequent
letter dated 4th August, it seems more probable that the
investiture was not of earlier date than the 4th June
1554, when the Emperor consigned it for conveyance to
England, to the Regent Figueroa, who also took charge
of the tapestry for Queen Mary, as may be seen in the
Foreign Calendar, dated Brussels, June 20th, 1554, p. 99.
At the beginning of August, Cardinal Pole's Auditor,
Ormanetto, returned from Rome, bringing him full powers
from the Pope either to remain at Brussels or proceed to
England; but as Pole knew that Queen Mary and her
ministers would be entirely guided in this matter by the
Emperor, he sent Ormanetto to the camp, with orders to
represent how much it was for his Majesty's interest in
England, as it would render the people much more
obedient to the Crown than they were whilst professing
a creed at variance with that of their Sovereign. But
the Emperor still forbad the Legate's departure. Later
in the month we hear of presents of jewels sent by
Queen Mary to the Emperor and his sisters, the Queens
Dowagers of Hungary and France, and of a very beautiful
emerald for the Duchess of Lorraine.
The subsequent events, which at length obtained per-
mission from the Emperor for the Legate to perform his
official duties in England, may be read in his own corre-
spondence; and the Venetian news of England in the
R
xl
PREFACE.
year 1554 closes with a letter from the Doge and
Senate to the Ambassador Michiel, dated 28th December,
desiring him to congratulate the King and Queen, the
Legate, and the Chancellor, on the prosperous course of
religious affairs in England, to the honour and exaltation
of the Christian Church, of which they profess them-
selves the most obedient children.
In former volumes of my Calendar of the Venetian
Papers, I have made frequent allusions to the unavoidable
necessity of giving in Appendices abstracts of such docu-
ments as should be discovered after my volume was
printed, either in corroboration or emendation of former
entries, and of this the Appendix to the present volume
contains a striking instance.
The readers of these calendars must have remarked the
great mass of information relative to England which has
been derived from the Diaries of Marin Sanuto, whose
veracity may be tested and confirmed by comparison
between his extracts from the original despatches of
Sebastian Giustinian and Gasparo Contarini, as well as
the private letter books of those statesmen, now preserved
in St. Mark's Library. Since the publication of my last
volume, I have been enabled to analyze, in like manner,
Sanuto's calendars of the despatches transmitted from
France (relating to Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn at the
time of their trip to Calais in October 1532), by Giovanni
Antonio Venier, whose original letter-book has been
recently discovered in the Venetian Archives, but in no
one instance does the present comparison produce the same
result.
For instance, in the fourth volume of the Venetian
Calendar, p. 361 (No. 832) I expressed my doubt whether
the prohibition which prevented Venier from attending
PREFACE.
xli
the conference between King Henry and King Francis,
proceeded from the Papal Nuncio and the Imperial
Ambassador, by printing Sanuto's text in a foot-note; and
now that Venier's letter-book has come to light, it appears
that so far from countenancing the affront in any way,
those two diplomatists resented it intensely. In this same
letter (p. 363, line 23, English translation), at the close of
the paragraph assigning the reason for the non-celebration
at Calais of Anne Boleyn's marriage, Sanuto, in his original
Diaries (vol. 57, p. 105, verso), has entirely omitted the
following words contained in the letter-book :-
"Et sono essi Inglesi rimasti molto contenti ch' el non sia sequito."
which additional proof of the unpopularity of the marriage
is worth recording.
I have also re-translated the last words of the letter,
that they may be compared with the first translation and
with the original paragraph already printed at p. 364,
vol. IV., Venetian Calendar; and by this analysis it will be
seen that, although Sanuto may have misunderstood one
clause and omitted another, the most important part of
his transcript, concerning the intention of King Francis to
join Henry VIII., in renouncing the Church of Rome,
corresponds nearly word for word with the holograph
minute of the despatch; and were it possible to compare
each transcript in the 58 folio volumes with the originals,
my belief is that they would all corroborate the diarist's
good faith and exactness.
I have also translated some other letters of Venier and
his colleagues in France, because they complete the details
of the Court of Francis I. given by Sir Francis Bryan,
from whom, in the year 1531, only four letters have been
printed in the eighth volume of "State Papers;" nor do
xlii
PREFACE.
they make any allusion to his recall, attributed by Venier
to the haughty manner in which he negotiated with the
French Government. One of Bryan's most amusing letters
alludes to the entry into Paris of Queen Eleanor of Austria
on the 16th March, but his details of the pageant limit
themselves to gallant gossip about Mademoiselle d'Heilly,
alias Anne de Pisseleu (afterwards Duchess d'Etampes), the
King's mistress, concerning whom, and the manner in which
Francis I. treated his Austrian bride on the day of the
first entertainment given her by the City of Paris, Bryan
wrote to Henry VIII. in cipher, "He [King Francis]
havyng knowlege where Hely, and dyverse other ladys
"and gentylwomen stode, toke wyth Hym the Admyrall
"and the Cardynall of Lorayne, and they, fyndyng thes
"gentylwomen in the said howse, the French Kyng toke
66
(C
Hely and sett hyr before Hym in a opyn wyndow, and
"ther stode devysing with hyr 2 long howrys in the syght
"and face of all the peple, whych was not a lytyll marvelyd
"at of the beholders. Now I have shewyd you his
manner and fassyon, juge your Hyghness what shall
plese you."
As Sir Francis Bryan had a seat at the banquet, given
in the Parliament House in honour of Queen Eleanor's
entry, I have given the Venetian Ambassador's account of
it, as also of her coronation at St. Denis, together with
particulars of the coming from Constantinople to Paris of
Doge Gritti's grandson to claim a sum of money due to
him from Francis I., the payment of which was unduly
delayed because Bryan supposed it to be a subsidy for
Sultan Solyman.
The first entries in the present Appendix serve to
illustrate the commission given by Doge Andrea Contarini
to Leonardo Dandolo, and which was printed in the last
66
(C
PREFACE.
xliii
Appendix, showing that the Republic wished to engage
Sir John Hawkwood and the English company.
That document was discovered in a volume labelled
"Sindicati,” and in July 1872 Signor Luigi Pasini in-
formed me that amongst the various State papers restored
to the Venetian Archives by the Austrian Government,
was a series of Acts passed by the Senate in the year
1376. On inspection I found full details of all the cir-
cumstances connected with the "Sindicato," and showing
that a fortnight before its date, another Venetian noble-
man, Nicolò Morosini, had in like manner been sent to
treat with the renowned English Condottiere, that he
and his company of St. George might defend the terri-
tories of Ceneda and Treviso against the hostilities of
Leopold Duke of Austria.
The instructions addressed to Nicolò Morosini are
dated from the 24th to the 27th May 1376; and as in
the following month of June Sir John Hawkwood con-
tracted to serve the Republic of Florence for two months
with 800 spears and 500 mounted bowmen,' his nego-
tiations with the Venetians from the 8th June to the
10th November 1376 imply that his dealings were double;
and this may form some apology for the sudden manner
in which Nicolò Morosini terminated them.
By comparing the memorandum in the "Comme-
moriali" with these present acts of the Senate, it may
be inferred that towards the latter end of May 1376
Sir John Hawkwood renounced the service of Pope
Gregory XI., making a truce with the community of
Bologna, and to guarantee its observance agreed to send
his own son Thomas (of whom this is the first notice I
1 See Ricotti, Compagnie di Ventura in Italia, vol. 2, p. 338. (Ed.
Torino, 1844).
2 1376, May 16 (Venetian Calendar, vol. i. p. 19).
xliv
PREFACE.
find, his name not being recorded in Richard Gough's
biography of Hawkwood), as also the sons of Giovanni
Tornabuoni and John Briz (sic), which last surname was
probably either Bridge or Price. It had at first been
proposed that the hostages were to be given in charge to
Doge Andrea Contarini, but as the consignment would
have been illegal the clause was altered thus, "Dominus
Dux Venetiarum et suum consilium;" and as the laws of
Venice forbad the constrained detention there of any but
criminals, it was then suggested that the youths (isti
pueri) Thomas Hawkwood, Philip Tornabuoni, and Law-
rence Briz, should be given in charge to honest men
(bonæ persona), of whom there were many there, both
natives and aliens, or else be sent to Treviso. Whilst
these proposals were being made, Sir John Hawkwood
and the company of St. George had also three delegates
in Venice, but they made such extravagant demands that
the Senate refused, compliance, and they were accom-
panied back to Hawkwood's head-quarters at Faenza by
Leonardo Dandolo, who there found his colleague Moro-
sini, with whom he was desired to act, "quia est de factis
istis plene informatus."
The sum offered by the Venetians to Hawkwood for
four months military service, to be performed by from
800 to 1,000 spears, and from 200 to 700 archers, was
from 100,000 ducats to 220,000 ducats, in addition to
which 10,000 ducats were to be disbursed for himself and
his staff (Capitaneo et suis magnis);¹ and the College
also inserted an article in Dandolo's commission compli-
mentary to the soldiers of England thus, " Et in omni
casu quo ambaxr. noster obtineat intentionem procuret
66
-
-
1 The ducat or sequin was worth 4s. 6d. English money. (See Statutes
of the Realm, 7th of Henry VII. A.D. 1491.)
PREFACE.
xlv
"quod habemus quam plures Anglicos poterit, et quam
pautiores Teutonicos et Ytalianos poterit, pro meliori
"agendorum nostrorum."
Leonardo Dandolo's first letter from Faenza, dated 17th
June, showed that he and his colleague Morosini had not
much hope of making the desired agreement, and in reply
the Senate ordered them, if they found it impossible, to
recruit elsewhere. Thus was it done, endeavours being
made to induce Hawkwood to take the command of
troops not enrolled in his own company. On the 8th
July Dandolo was recalled, his colleague remaining at
Hawkwood's head-quarters, and his negotiations being
apparently so successful, that on the 21st October 1576
Doge Andrea Contarini wrote to the Republic's ally,
Francesco da Carrara, the Lord of Padua, telling him
that during the last few days Hawkwood twice or thrice
"nos fecit requiri et rogari de essendo ad servitium
"nostrum," and that it would be well for the Paduan
contingent (with which Carrara was bound to supply the
League) to be furnished by the English Company," Quia
plus valerent lance mille de istis, quam mille Vc. de
" aliis;" but on the 27th October the Doge and Senate
agreed to a truce with the Dukes of Austria, and on
the 10th of November desired Morosini to make this
announcement to Sir John Hawkwood, and to take leave.
As minute particulars of the dealings of Italian Poten-
tates with Sir John Hawkwood are of rare occurence, I
have printed the above-mentioned acts of the Senate in
full, and can only add, that if in June and July, when
already bound to the Florentines, the English Company
was not free to treat with the Venetians, yet may it be
inferred from the abrupt close of the negotiations that
both parties understood each other, and made or unmade
contracts according to their need.
CC
CC
xlvi
PREFACE.
For assistance in my search for the materials of this
volume, I am as usual indebted to many friends here
on the spot, as also to Mr. R. E. G. Kirk for revision
of the proof sheets in England, and for his methodical
arrangement of the Index.
Casa della Vida, Venice,
9th October 1872.
RAWDON BROWN.
1534.
Jan. 9.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 13.
Jan. 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
VENETIAN AND OTHER PAPERS.
A.D. 1534.
1. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador in
England.
Enclose summary of last letters from Constantinople, which are to
be communicated to the King, requesting him not to say that he had
the advices from the Signory.
On the 31st of October last the Republic's Proveditor of the Fleet,
when convoying the galleys bound to Alexandria, fell in by night
off the Island of Candia with thirteen galleys commanded by the
Moor, and they fought, not knowing each other.
This encounter having occurred by mistake, the Signory has sent
apologies to the Turk by their secretary, Daniel Ludovici.*
To acquaint the King with this circumstance.†
[Italian.]
2. MOTION made in the CoUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA, con-
cerning PROTHONOTARY CASAL.
That the Reverend English Ambassador be answered.
Have pondered well what your Lordship caused to be read from
England in the King's name, with regard to binding ourselves to
His Majesty by a secret understanding.
Being desirous that the peace which has been made between the
Christian Powers and in Italy may be maintained, it behoves us
with regard to our foreign policy to act with great caution and
regard, so as not to give umbrage to any of our confederates, by
causing them to suspect us of negotiating innovations which they
might easily resent.
Therefore pray your Lordship to acquaint the King with what is
aforesaid, praying him to accept our apology, and to judge the same
with his goodness and consummate prudence.
* Ludovici was accompanied on this mission by his cousin Benetto Ramberti, who took
the opportunity to ccmpile an account of the Court of Sultan Solymau, etc. etc., which was
printed by Aldus, in the year 1545, and is one of his rarest publications.
† An account of the sea fight between the Turkish commander, "the Moor of Alex-
andria," and the Venetian Proveditor Girolamo da Canale, may be read in Andrea
Morosini's Venetian History (Italian translation), vol. i. pp. 371–376.
5.
A
2
1534.
1534.
Jan. 29.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
Jan. 29.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
Jan. 29.
Mantuan
Archives.
Resolved that a copy of the aforesaid reply, together with the
summary consigned to us by the aforesaid ambassador, be sent to
our ambassador in England, solely for his instruction.
Ayes, 13. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
3. The CHIEFS of the TEN to CARLO CAPELLO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
The Reverend Prothonotary Casal, English Ambassador, has read
to us a letter written to him by his brother the magnifico Sir
Gregory, dated London, 13th of December. Answered him by
enclosed copy.
(In virtue of a motion carried yesterday in the Council of Ten.)
[In cipher throughout as noted on the margin of the draft.]
[Italian.]
4. SUMMARY of the letter alluded to in the foregoing missive
from the CHIEFS of the TEN to CARLO CAPELLO.
That the King of England, considering that the Pope and the
most Christian King will have formed some private agreement,
possibly with some design both on the State of Urbino, and on the
Duchy of Milan, to which they may also purpose obtaining the
Emperor's consent; and as there has always been friendship between
the Signory and King Henry VIII., the King then would have a
private understanding with the Signory for the common benefit ;
and is of opinion that by reason of his close friendship with the
most Christian King, he can restrain him from altering anything,
but more effectually if assisted by the counsel and authority of the
most Illustrious Signory.
His Majesty is always sure of the Princes of Germany, who wish
for the Council; and thinks it impolitic not to agree with them in
this matter, as it seems necessary for the common weal, and would
interrupt all the intrigues of the opposite party.
His Majesty knows that besides the Germans, many other
Christian Princes will take part with him; and should this not
suffice, he offers to share the expense, and do whatever is requisite
for the common benefit, both for offence and defence; so he wishes
to have the counsel and opinion of the Signory in this matter, and
should anything be decided, their Ambassador in England is to
negotiate.
[Italian.]
5. MATTHEO CAVALLARO to the DUKE OF MANTUA.
His son Giovan Mattheo will pay the writer's respects to the
Duke, and present him with a mare. Expected to obtain permission
from the King to return home and live and die with the Duke.
God knows how much he did to get leave, but it was impossible,
and perhaps his too great importunity was injurious, as at the
beginning his Majesty seemed pliant, and well nigh promised it
him, but when it came to the point, did not choose him to depart;
so he remains and sends his son alone, God knows with how much
1534.
3
1534.
Feb. 2.
Lettere Secrete,
C'api
Consiglio X.
Feb. 7.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 13.
regret. His son will tell the Duke what the King has done about
his, Mattheo's affairs. Requests the Duke to favour his son, and
with regard to the present of the mare, not to scorn such a trifle,
but to accept this act of duty.
From London, 29th of
January 1534.
[Original. Italian.]
Most humble servant,
(Signed) Mattheo Cavallaro.
6. The CHIEFS of the TEN to CARLO CAPELLO, Venetian Am-
bassador in England.
By your foregoing and last letters of the 6th ult. you have sent
us some conclusions, printed and published on that island, against
the person and authority of the Pope, which being of the quality
they are, we will, that should any writing be hereafter published
against the Pope you do address it to said Chiefs of the Ten, as
becoming.
(Signed)
Andreas Marcello, C.C.X.
Leonardus Justinianus, C.C.X.
Gaspar. Contarenus, C.C.X.*
[Italian.]
7. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador
in England.
Send him news-letters lately received from Constantinople, dated
14th November to 13th December, which he will communicate to
the King as usual.
[Italian.]
""
8. The SAME to the SAME.
March 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Have received his letters of the 18th January and 6th February,
File no. 14. acquainting them in detail with English events. In reply to what
he writes about being without news, he will have received subse-
quently their missive of the 6th February, with the summary of
letters from Constantinople; and now send other summaries dated
28th December and 4th January, which he is to communicate to
the King.
[Italian.]
9. The SAME to the SAME.
March 18.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
As a sequel to the summaries from Constantinople of the 28th
File no. 14. December and 4th January, now send him those dated 6th and 26th
January for the King's inspection.
[Italian.]
* In vol. vii. "State Papers," p. 534, by a letter dated Brussels, 27th January 1534, it is
seen that these "conclusions were printed in "the lityll boke that the Kynge's conssell
hath sett owt," etc., and a footnote shows that the document "was published by Strype
in the 1st volume of his Eccl. Mem., book 1, ch. xx., and that it was circulated in Flanders
and other Courts, in pursuance of the 11th article of the minutes of Council,' printed in
the 1st volume of State Papers,' p. 414."
A 2
4
1534.
1534.
March 24.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
April 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
11. The SAME to the SAME.
March 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Transmit news-letters dated Constantinople 3rd and 7th of
File no. 14. February for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
May 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 10, &c.
10. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador
in England.
Availing themselves of the messenger despatched to England by
the merchants, send duplicate of the summary from Constantinople
dated 6-23rd January, which he will communicate to the King,
should the original have miscarried, telling his Majesty besides that
as on the 2nd of next July the contract with their Captain-General,
the Duke of Urbino, expires, they have re-engaged him for five
years more, namely, three years certain, with two years' grace at the
option of the Signory.*
[Italian.]
12. The SAME to the SAME.
Send him news-letters lately received from Constantinople.
[Italian.]
13. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO” at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Pope lately (li giorni superiori) pronounced sentence in
consistory against the King of England, binding him, under pain
of excommunication, to pay the debt of matrimony to the Queen
Katharine, whom he has repudiated; and by letters from France it
is understood that on receiving advice of this sentence he held it in
no account, and said he would not obey.
We also hear from France that the French King has commanded
his men at arms and light cavalry to hold themselves in readiness,
as in this present month of May he purposes inspecting them, and it
continues to be reported that he will have an interview with the
King of England, as they informed him, the "Bailo," in former
letters, but there is no notice of the time and place.
By letters from Rome of the 28th April the Signory is informed
that his most Christian Majesty has obtained three places in
Germany on the borders of France consigned to him by the son of
the Duke of Wurtemberg in exchange for 100,000 crowns which the
King had lent him, and through several channels we hear that there
is a certain stir of arms in Germany on account of the Duchy of
Wurtemberg and because of the Lutheran creed, which is adopted by
some of the German towns.
[Italian.]
* Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, fell sick at Venice on the 20th
of September 1538, had himself taken by sea to Pesaro, and died there on the 21st of
October following. (See Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, by James Dennistoun, vol. iii.
pp. 66, 67.)
† The name of the "Bailo " is not given in the Register, but according to the historian
Andrea Morosini (vol. i. pp. 376, 413) the post was then filled by Nicolò Giustinian.
1534.
5
1534.
May 7.
Parti Sécrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
May 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
June 13.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
14. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA con-
cerning the despatches of CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador in
England.
That the letters of our Ambassador in England, dated from the
8th to the 14th of last month, be read to the Senate, omitting the
account of the conversation held by the King with the ambassador
concerning the offers and terms proposed by him to the Signory,
and also the paragraph purporting that the Signory would be
neutral, to avoid the enmity of Germany on account of affairs by
land, and that of the Turk with regard to those at sea.
To be silent also where it is stated that the Duke of Lorraine
intercepted letters from the Dukes of Bavaria, which he sent to the
most Christian King, by whom they were forwarded to England, as
has now been read to this Council.
That there be also communicated to the Imperial Ambassador the
summaries of the corrected letters which are to be read to the
Senate.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
•
15. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador
in England.
Yesterday received letters from Constantinople dated 15th March
to 12th April. Enclose a summary, to be communicated as usual to
the King.
[Italian.]
16. The SAME to the SAME.
Send news-letters from Constantinople received last night, dated
from the 29th April to the 12th May. To communicate them, and
inform his Majesty that the Signory has determined to elect
tomorrow a Captain-General on sea, whom they will send out
immediately, and that they are intent on reinforcing their fleet,
which seems necessary.
[Italian.]
→
17. The SAME to the SAME.
June 19.
Senato Mar,
By his letters have heard of the delays of the King with regard to
v. xxiii. p. 21, the privilege for the free and safe passage of the Flanders galleys.
tergo.
Should it not have been already obtained, to urge the King and the
ministry, in their name, to come to a decision, demonstrating that
the voyage would be much benefited by the speedy announcement
of his Majesty's will, because trade is increased by the liberality of
Sovereigns, and the facilities which they concede encourage the
merchants, whereas, on the other hand, by commencing with restric-
tions and binding them to bring certain commodities, they take
alarm and renounce the voyages, and it is not subsequently in the
power of Princes to apply a remedy.
Ayes, 184. Noes, 0. Neutrals, O.
[Italian.]
6
1534.
1534.
June 27.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
July 4.
19. The DOGE and SENATE to the " BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Deliberazioni
The interview between the Kings of France and England has
Senato (Secreta),,
v. lvi. p. 25. been postponed until the middle of August.
1
[Italian.]
20. The SAME to the SAME.
Senato (Secreta),
Our ambassador in France writes concerning the interview of
v. lvi. p. 34. that King with the King of England, that it has been postponed
until the 24th of August next, and on that account the review of
the French King's household troops, which had been appointed for
about the 20th of August, has been put off until the 20th of
September next.
[Italian.]
August 8.
21. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
Our last advices from France purport that the interview with
v. lvi. p. 41. the King of England will be protracted for some months, it being
said that it will be delayed until the spring of next year.
[Italian.]
July 16.
Deliberazioni
18. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador
in England.
Having received letters from Constantinople dated 24th May,
send their summary as usual to be communicated to the King.
[Italian.]
Sept. 23.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. x. p. 65.
22. MOTION made in the COUNCIL of TEN and JUNTA.
Heretofore this Council gave possession of the Abbacy of the
Trinity of Verona to the Rev. Prothonotary Casal, ambassador
resident with us from the King of England, concerning which
Abbacy his Lordship having been in dispute with the Rev. de
Gambara, Bishop of Tortona, the "Rota" issued three concordant
sentences in favour of said Gambara, who has since a long while
urged us to put him in possession of said Abbacy in execution of
said sentences, assigning him damages for the usufructs to be paid
by said Rev. Casal.
Finally at the request of the Signory he is content to remit to
the aforesaid Rev. Casal all the usufructs and costs incurred by him
(Gambara) in this lawsuit, as proved by an instrument drawn up by
the Secretary Antonio Corona, on the 14th instant, at the request
of D. Paulo Vandin, LL.D., assignee and agent of said Rev. de
Gambara, sent hither to this effect, and it is fitting to put an end
to this matter.
Put to the ballot, that the possession of the aforesaid Abbacy
given heretofore by the Council to the above-mentioned Rev. Casal,
be revoked, and our governors of Verona to put in possession of the
aforesaid Abbacy the afore-named Rev. de Gambara or his legitimate
assignee, observing the clauses contained in the aforesaid instrument
about remission to the Rev. Casal by the Rev. de Gambara of the
usufructs, and of the costs incurred by him in said lawsuit.
Ayes, 24. No, 1. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
1534.
7
1534.
Sep. 24.
Chiefs of the
Ten, Letters,
File no. 27.
23. The CHIEFS of the TEN to the GOVERNORS of VERONA
and their successors.
Yesterday with our Council of Ten and Junta, revoked the
possession of the Abbacy of the Trinity in the city of Verona, given
heretofore by said Council to the Rev. Casal, ambassador resident
with us from the most serene King of England, and have given the
possession of said Abbacy to the Rev. de Gambara, Bishop of
Tortona; wherefore place said Rev. de Gambara or his assignee in
possession of said Abbacy.
(In virtue of a motion carried in the Council of Ten and Junta on
the 23rd of September 1534.)
[Italian.]
Oct. 31.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 53,
tergo.
24. The DOGE and SENATE to the Venetian Ambassador
with the Emperor.
By letters of the 8th from Amboise are informed that the Count
of Nassau entered that city on the 3rd, being met by Mons. de
St. Pol, the Duke of Albany, Prince of Nevers, and Monseigneur
Louis de Nevers, with 50 of the 200 gentlemen in the most
Christian King's service, and he was lodged in the palace with
very great honour. He paid his respects to the King and Queen,
and negotiated with the latter during three consecutive hours.
was a long while with the Lord Steward, and conferred subsequently
with the Legate, and the Lord Steward and the Admiral, who
negotiated on behalf of the King, the Emperor's Commissioners being
the said Nassau, the Imperial Ambassador, and an LL.D. who
accompanied Nassau.
He
The Signory's ambassador had been unable to ascertain what
was negotiated, but writes that the Imperialists have despatched
an express to Spain, and it was said that on that night the most
Christian King was to send thither his gentleman of the chamber,
Mons. Della Guisa,* whom he sent a short while ago to England; and
as told him, the Venetian Ambassador, by the English Ambassador,
to whom it was communicated by the most Christian King, they
are sending the Admiral [Philippe Chabot, Seigneur de Brion to
acquaint the King of England with the proposals of Monsr. de
Nassau, who will depart in ten or twelve days.
[Italian.]
Oct. 31.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 54,
tergo.
25. The DOGE and SENATE to CARLO CAPELLO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.†
Have received his letters of the 13th and 14th instant, announcing
the expected arrival of his most Christian Majesty's Adiniral on a
mission to the King, as heard by them also from their ambassador
in France.
*In "State Papers," vol. vii., Part V. continued, pp. 559-563, the name is written
"le Guys," " de Guyes," de la Guyshe, De la Guiche, De la Gusshe, but I cannot discover
the precise date of his embassy to England.
This is the last letter in the "Deliberazioni Senato" addressed to Carlo Capello, who
seems to have quitted England in the spring of 1535.
со
1534.
1534.
Monsr. de Nassau arrived at the French Court on the 3rd instant,
and negotiated on behalf of the Emperor. The Signory wishes for all
possible information concerning what is being treated. To transmit
full notice of all he can learn on the subject.
Enclose summaries of letters from the " Bailo" at Constantinople
dated 14th and 26th ultimo, which are to be communicated to the
King.
Commend what he has done about the affairs of the [Venetian]
merchants.
Ayes, 160. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian]
Nov.
Letter Book of
Francesco Con-
tarini in St.
Mark's Library.
THE ANABAPTISTS AT MUNSTER.
26. The ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE, JOHN FREDERICK the
ELECTOR OF SAXONY, and the DUKE OF CLEVES and JULIERS
to the KING of the ROMANS.*
Eight days after the failure of the assault on Munster, the Pro-
phet of Munster, by name John of Leyden, a tailor, convoked all
the people, telling them he was commissioned by God to be King
of Israel and of justice, and to govern throughout (in tutto) like
King David. Another prophet immediately appeared, a goldsmith,
by name John of Warendorf, saying that God had charged him to be
the prophet in the stead of the aforesaid King, who has commission
from God, to be king of justice, which has to prevail over the
whole world, and that he is to march (à partir) with a large
army to destroy kings, princes, and all superiors, spiritual and tem-
poral, without any mercy, and in this manner the humble and
compassionate (misericordiosi) are to govern the whole world.
The King (John of Leyden) immediately commenced ruling, and
appointed his Court, with all such officers as becoming a great
prince, such as maggiordomo, marshal, counsellor, servants for his
table, &c., and from amongst seven women he has elected a queen,
a gentlewoman of Holland, very handsome, the widow of another
prophet who was killed under Munster. † The Queen has a sepa-
rate Court. The King has thirty-one horses with gold trappings,
and some golden saddles, and costly habits of brocade and of other
sorts, made with the ornaments of the churches, which have also
served to array his gentlemen, and finally the Queen and her maids
of honour.
When the King cavalcades through the town he wears a gown
of cloth of silver, slashed and lined with crimson, fastened with
gold thread (colligata con filo d'oro), and on his right hand is a
well-clad page carrying the Bible, there being another on the other
side with a naked sword. One of these pages, who was captured in
the town by force, is the son of the Bishop of Munster.
The King wears a triple crown of refined gold, very richly set,
and a gold chain with a costly jewelled ornament in the form of an
orb, with two swords, one of gold and the other of silver, which
* The despatch containing this account of the Anabaptists is dated Vienna, 22nd
December 1534.
† John Matthew, a baker of Harlem.
1534.
9
1534.
traverse the orb, on whose summit is a gold cross surmounted by
the words "King of justice for the whole world” (Re della justitia
per tutto il mondo).
The Queen also wears a similar ornament. The King [when he
gives audience?] ascends a lofty, well-decorated platform on the
market-place, together with his lieutenant, by name Kiupperdol-
linckh, (sic) whom we have known for many years; the lieutenant
always places himself two steps below the King, at whose feet
stand his councillors. Whosoever has any demand to make for
justice or favour is obliged to kneel three times; at the fourth
obeisance he prostrates himself, and then begins to plead.
The people of Munster assembled in the square fronting the
cathedral, and celebrated the Lord's Supper (et hanno fatto una cena
Dominiciale). There were 4,200 persons at the table, and they were
served with three sorts of meat. The King and Queen, together
with their servants, waited at table, and afterwards, having taken
in their hands certain hard baked white loaves made of flour, they
broke and distributed them to the guests (commensali), saying,
"Take and eat, and announce the death of the Lord." The guests
then divided the white loaves amongst each other, saying, "Brother
(or sister), take and eat; as Christ has given himself for us, so do
I also give myself for you, and as the flour of the loaf is baked
together (pisto insieme) of sundry grains, the wine also being
mixed together from sundry grape-berries, in like manner are
we all assembled together." After this they say a prayer, and
commence singing Gloria in excelsis Deo. Thereupon the King and
Queen, and last of all their servants, seated themselves at table,
and did the like. On rising from table the King commenced
asking the people whether all were determined to do the will of
the Father? All replied affirmatively. Thereupon the Prophet
(
?) commenced saying "The King has a mandate to
send some of you forth from this town to proclaim to others the
miraculous things done by God to this King." Then the other
prophet, John of Warendorf, continued, "The commission (commis-
sione) from God purports that the individuals named by the King
are to go to the four cities of the Empires." He then forthwith
read from a draft (cedula) the names of the persons appointed, com-
manding them to go and preach, and they immediately departed
thence, six for Hassembrock (Ochsemburg), six for Coesfeldt (Khof-
feldt), five for Warendorf, and eight for Soest; and amongst these
preachers was the said Prophet [John of Warendorf]. To each of
them the King gave a golden florin of his own coinage, which is
equal to nine florins.
On the eve of St. Gallo [15th October], they arrived in that (sic)
city [Warendorf?], and commenced shouting through the streets in
the most terrific tone, "Repent, do penance; Repent, do penance.
The time during which the Father will be merciful is brief, as the
axe is laid to the tree."
The inhabitants of the said city not believing in them, they departed
immediately. The municipal governors of the city [Warendorf?]
having summoned these preachers to appear before them they threw
their mantles (mantelli, query tabards) on the ground, and over the
10
1534.
į
1534.
mantles cast one of their florins, saying they had come, sent by the
Father, to announce to the people the peace of God, which peace, if
they choose to have it, they must give all their goods to the commu-
nity (che debbian dar tutto lor bene nel commune); if, on the contrary,
they will not accept the peace, they must then protest by the said
piece of gold (pace d' oro) before God that they have refused the
peace of God, and treated them [the preachers] with contempt.
They moreover say that now is the time about which all the
prophets have written, when God demands nothing in this world
but justice, and for this God has sent their King, not only for
Germany (per quel paese di la), but also to do justice for the whole
world, whereupon Christ will restore his kingdom to the Father.
The preachers having been seized and sent to prison, gave account
-some by fair means and others by being racked-of their doctrine
and life, and of the fortifications of Munster, ut infra, &c. They
say that on examining the scriptures and all the prophets, it will
be found that those are just who hunger and thirst after justice as
they do, they being ready to die without [accepting?] mercy. They
say that since the death of the apostles the Gospel of God has not
been preached to the people, nor has justice been done. That there
are four prophets-two just, David and John of Leyden, their
King in Munster; two unjust (injusti), the Pope and Luther, and that
Luther is worse than the Pope. If they are asked by what docu-
ments (scritture) they would show their justice, having expelled so
many honest men from Munster, contrary to the promise given,
and seizing their property, their wives, and children, they reply,
"Ye understand indeed to judge the face of heaven, &c., but now
the time is come when the meek shall possess the earth, in like
manner as the goods of the Egyptians were given by God to the
people of Israel.”
It is said that in Munster there is still gold and silver to the
amount of 300,000 florins stowed away in barrels, besides other
valuable effects. The men in Munster have each 6 or 8 wives or
women at their will and option; but the man is compelled to
cohabit with one until she becomes with child, and thus from first
to last, maidens are compelled to marry on the completion of their
twelfth year. The husbands are strongly bound (molto forzati) to
treat their wives well, so unless they live pleasantly with them they
are beheaded immediately. The old women select a man who is
compelled to take care of them and provide for their wants.
They destroy all the churches and monasteries, and say they are
the market-places of King Baalam.
The people of Munster are expecting great assistance from Gro-
ningen, Frizeland, Holland, &c., and immediately on its arrival, the
King will depart from Munster to take possession of his kingdom.
They declare that without a prophet it is impossible to understand
Holy Writ. They would fain put all lords and superiors to death,
because none of them administer justice. They will not appeal
either to the Emperor or anybody else, but solely to God. When
unable to reply to the purpose, or defend their opinion by any
argument, they reply that they had been informed by their prophet
from the word of God, and by his commission.
1534.
11
1534.
Dec. 21.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
College.
The Prophet John, now King, occasionally beheads culprits himself
when he has a mind to do so.
It is said that they have still provisions and liquor in Munster to
last them for two years, and they have merely a scarcity of salt and
butter; but they have pigs.
The garrison of Munster consist of some 2,200 able-bodied men,
and for each man there are always six women.
Five hundred men mount guard every night; the King with his
attendants also mounts guard.
There are still 70 tons of powder in Munster.*
<<
The form of this King's safe-conduct is as follows:
"By the King and his secretary.
We, John, by the Grace of God, and by virtue of King Anubo
(sic) of the new temple of God, conservator of justice, make manifest
and declare by this our letter that we have given and give by
these presents, N. faculty and safe-conduct to come and go to our
city of Munster, and return at his pleasure, until he arrive in a
place of security, and we promise in our name and for all those who
are under our rule, principally for all our brothers and inhabitants
at Munster, to abide by this our safe-conduct in virtue of the
Christian faith, in testimony of the truth. Signed under our royal
privy seal. Dated, etc."

TEMPLO
EMPLO
PERI
ORTA.
LRE
ΟΛΟΝ
QUESTO
•
DEL
[Italian.]
27. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Yesterday the King's Lord Marshal, D. Leonardo Felz, told me
that the day before (the 19th) his Majesty had been out hunting,
and would have given me audience on the morrow (the 20th) but
that the Queen had prayed him to take her out in a sledge with
* The letter is dated Assen-" in oppido Assendia," in which place, in the month of
November 1534, the Archbishop of Cologne, the Elector of Saxony, and the Duke of
Cleves and Juliers held a conference for the purpose of devising a remedy against the
Anabaptists and wrote as above to Ferdinand King of the Romans. The letter was
published in England translated from the German of Frederick von Raumer in 1835, but
without any date, or mention of the Princes who wrote it or of the Sovereign to whom
it was addressed, and several paragraphs are omitted in the printed version.
12
1534.
1534.
Dec. 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
the whole Court, and that they would pass before my lodging. I
said that his Majesty did well to gratify the Queen, and that it
would give me great pleasure to see their Majesties. He then
added that the next day (the 21st) he would come to me at noon to
take me to the King, and thereupon he departed.
Shortly afterwards the sledges commenced passing, and I went
into the street to wait for his Majesty, whom I saluted, and
although he had never seen me before, and the horses were going
at a good pace as usual, he returned my salute as graciously
as possible. His Majesty was with the Queen, and according to
custom drove the horse himself, and each of the other noblemen
was accompanied by one of the inaids of honour in the service of
the Queen, the sledges being some twenty in number, so that it was
a beautiful sight, and his Majesty, not satisfied with passing once,
repassed three times before my lodging, which was a great favour
on the first day of my seeing him. On the morrow I had my first
audience, at the close of which I thanked the King for the great
favour conferred on me yesterday by his passing thrice before my
lodging; and then laughing he took me by the hand, and graciously
conversing the whole way as if I had been long with him, led me to
the chapel and showed me my place; after which he went to the
Queen, with whom he always hears Mass, and on holidays he also
attends the sermon, at the commencement of which, as it was
preached in German, his Majesty sent me word to remain or depart
at my pleasure. I replied that without understanding it I should
nevertheless be glad to hear the word of God, and wished to remain
in order subsequently to accompany his Majesty ; and I also let the
Queen know that I was commissioned by your Serenity to pay my
respects to her. Her Majesty replied that she would gladly give
me audience after the sermon, when she sent for me into the rooni
where their Majesties dine, she and the King being alone. After
the usual compliments I offered congratulations on the recent birth
of her sixth daughter (they having only two sons), telling her that
the late Emperor Maximilian used to say that kings should never
have more than two sons, and that all the other children should be
daughters, as with daughters Princes could always at their option
make peace with Princes, and by means of daughters select their
own sons. The King then interpreted, as the Queen understands
only German and Hungarian, and having translated word for word
the Queen was much pleased with Maximilian's adage, and it made
her laugh.
Vienna, 21st December 1534.
[Italian.]
28. The DOGE and COLLEGE to CARLO CAPELLO, Ambassador
in England.
Send him enclosed summary of letters from Constantinople for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
1535.
13
1535.
Jan, 1.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini
in St. Mark's
Library.
Jan. 12.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini
in St. Mark's
Library.
A.D. 1535.
29. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
The affairs of Germany are now very quiet, though the under-
standing between some of these Princes and King Ferdinand might
be better than it is, yet it is believed that they will all be pacified,
but the affairs of "the Faith" are in great confusion, and in every
place and city the majority are Lutherans, and would that there
was nothing worse. In this city, which is the first in Austria,
although the King does his utmost to make the inhabitants live
Catholically, and although it is under a Catholic bishop, a man of
worth, who has written more against this sect than anybody else,
namely, John Faber, who is also his Majesty's confessor, and a very
Catholic person, yet his Lordship assured me that the greater part
of the people, and even of those who are not of the people, are
Lutherans, and to use his own words, "But for his Majesty and
myself all would be Lutherans, and worse" (Se non fusse la Mtà.
del Re et Io, tuti sariano Lutherani et pezo). Concerning the
free towns and such as are under the dominion of other lords it is
impossible to exaggerate their condition, and unless the Council be
held, or the Almighty make some provision, the whole of Germany
will become Lutheran, if not something worse.
Before his departure the Papal Nuncio,* when I asked him what
good he had effected in these matters hereabouts, told me amongst
other things that he granted dispensations to friars daily, to re-
nounce holy orders, their petitions purporting that they cannot
show themselves without being hooted by the multitude, with
shouts of "Wolf-wolf !" Nor can it be realised how the monastic
orders are detested in all the places through which I passed; and
were they not protected by the King, the like might be said of the
priests, who are not held in too much esteem; so your Sublimity
may comprehend the pass to which this nation--heretofore the most
Catholic of any—has come.
Vienna, 1st January 1535.
[Italian.]
30. The SAME to the SAME.
All the Bishops and Lords here are greatly surprised that the
Pope and the Court of Rome should hold the affairs of the Faith in
such small account and make no provision whatever, and they say
openly that as his Holiness and the Cardinals do nothing, they
themselves shall be compelled to apply a remedy, and that should
the whole of Germany unite about this matter of the Faith, it is
quite certain that Italy, her neighbour, will do the like; and they
wish your Serenity to give the Pope notice of this through your
* Pietro Paulo Vergerio, who at a later period turned Lutheran. In a former letter,
Contarini mentioned his intended departure from Vienna after Xmas.
14
1535.
T
1535.
ambassadors. These personages indeed had no idea that one single
friar would suffice thus to excite this entire nation, but it may
now be considered certain that the rest of the world will follow its
example.
Vienna, 12th of January 1535.
[Italian.]
Jan. 14.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 70.
31. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the VENETIAN
EMBASSY in ENGLAND.
Not to delay the despatch of the nobleman, Giacomo da Canal,
appointed ambassador to the most serene King of England, his
departure being strongly urged by the nobleman, Ser Carlo Capello,
who has conducted that legation during four years, to the great
detriment of his private affairs here.
Put to the ballot that 560 golden ducats be given to the
aforesaid Ser Giacomo as subsidy for four months at the rate of
140 golden ducats per month.
Also for horses as a gift as usual, 150 ducats at the rate of six
livres and four "soldi" per ducat, and for coverings and trunks
30 ducats. And to the secretary, 50 ducats as a gift, according to
the motion of the Council of Ten, and for two couriers, at the rate
of 20 ducats each, 40 ducats.
Also, that the aforesaid ambassador elect may take with him
silver to the amount of 400 ducats at the Signory's risk, to be
valued as usual by the officials for the "raggion vecchie."
*
But that, as the family and private affairs of our said nobleman
[Capello] do not admit of so much delay, after taking gracious
leave of said most serene King, apologizing, however, for his
departure on the plea of very urgent private business, he do return.
home, leaving in England his secretary in charge there until
the arrival of the aforesaid Ser Jacomo da Canal, receiving during
that interval for his expenses-from the day of Capello's departure
until that of his arrival here--50 golden ducats per month, without
obligation to give any account of them to the Signory; he to keep
two servants and four horses; the salary being the same as given to
the secretary, Spinelli, when there at the time of the death of our
late nobleman, Lorenzo Orio, LL.D. and knight, who was ambassador
to that King.
Ayes, 22.
First amendment.
That the ambassador, Capello, after taking gracious leave of that
most serene King-but apologizing in the first place for his de-
parture on the plea of his very urgent private affairs-do return
home, leaving however in England his secretary, to whom be there
given 50 golden ducats per month, without obligation to give
account to our Signory; he to keep four servants and four horses, as
did the most faithful Spinelli when he remained at that Court on
the departure of the nobleman, Ser Antonio Surian, LL.D.
Ayes, 74. + 95.
* By entries of a later date in the Senate's Registers, it appears that the Secretary here
alluded to was Hironimo Zuccato.
1535.
15
1535.
Jan. 18.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta).
v. lvi. p. 70,
tergo.
Jan. 28.
Deliberazioni
Second amendment.
That very important matters being treated, especially the future
interview between the King of England and the most Christian
King, the ambassador be despatched hence as aforesaid, he being
bound to depart within the next two months.
Ayes - 74
78
Noes
6
Neutrals 3
[Italian.]
M
10
32. The DOGE and SENATE to ANTONIO SURIAN, Venetian
Ambassador at Rome.
Whilst anxiously expecting to hear from him that the Pope,* for
the cogent reasons which ought to move him for the maintenance of
the peace and quiet of Italy, had consented to the petition of the
Duke of Urbino, their Captain-General, that his cause about
Camerino may be decided by the ordinary civil tribunal, have this
morning received his letters of the 12th, 13th, and 14th, with the
Pope's reply, that in honour he cannot allow the matter to be
treated otherwise than as an affair of State.
To acquaint the Pope with the firm intention of the Emperor
and the Signory to prevent whatever may disturb the peace and
quiet of Italy. Therefore beseech his Holiness to open well his
eyes so that at this commencement of his Pontificate, war may not
be kindled to the detriment of all Italy, and to his own regret, as
becoming the Papal dignity. Should he persist in such perilous
beginnings,† nothing else can be expected; considering the present
disturbances not only in Germany and England but also in France,
where, but for the firmness of the most Christian King and the
strong measures adopted by him against the Lutheran sect, that
entire kingdom would by this time have been infected by that
detestable contagion, which, were war in Italy to commence, would
have such force and stability, that to apply a remedy would then
be either impossible or very difficult.
Ayes, 89.
[Italian.]
33. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters received this day from their ambassador in France,
Senato (Secreta), dated the 5th instant, are informed that the Admiral has returned
v. p.
tergo.
to the most Christian King from England, and brought back word
that the interview between their Majesties will take place in April
or May next, at the furthest.
Of this he is to give notice at Constantinople.
Ayes, 182. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
* Paul III. (Alessandro Farnese), elected 13th October 1534.
† In consequence of the dispute with the Duke of Urbino about Camerino, the Pope
sent troops to blockade that city, which he had intended to confer on his natural son,
but the Duke of Urbino having marched at the head of ten thousand men to defend the
place, the papal forces retired. (See Dennistoun, vol. iii. p. 64.)
16
1535.
1
1535.
34. The DOGE and SENATE to IBRAHIM PÅSHA.*
Feb. 5.
Deliberazioni Return thanks for his letter from Tauris; congratulate him on
Senato (Secret) his conquest of that city and of the province of Herat. Give him
v. lvi. p. 77,
tergo.
news of the Emperor's preparations in Spain, Genoa, and Naples.
Their letters from France announce the return of the Admiral from
England with news that the conference between the two Kings
will be held next May at the latest.
Ayes, 150. Noes, 11. Neutrals, 10.
[Italian.]
Feb. 22.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
35. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
I have been told by several persons that the Lutherans are in
high spirits from hearing that the Pope purposes waging war in
Italyf, as they hope that with this opportunity many Italians of their
sect who have hitherto been downcast and lacked courage to declare
themselves, will now come forward, having the support and pro-
tection of the Powers thus attacked by his Holiness; and (to use
their own words) they say that the Lutherans in Italy alone will
suffice for an army to deliver them from the hands of the priests ;
and that not only in the cities of Italy are they in very great
number, but also that so many of the sect amongst the monastic
orders will declare themselves and take part, that they will
intimidate their brethren. Here they have received from Rome
the characters drawn by Pasquin on Twelfth night, and never weary
of reading them to their very great delight, and are sending them
all over Germany. I assure your Serenity that, from what my
attendants tell me, during the Carnival there was a greater crowd
in the fish market than now in Lent, the reason being that every-
body chose to eat both fish and flesh; and at present few eat fish,
and although the butchers' shops are closed by order of the King,
in his palace, nevertheless, most of the household eat meat, and I
am told that many persons who during the Carnival ate fish on the
Fridays and Saturdays now eat fish every day. The Bishop of
Vienna [John Faber]t, preaches every morning in the Cathedral
Church of St. Stephen, and is a very learned man and a most
worthy prelate, but few persons attend his sermons. I inquired
the cause, and am told it is because he does not expound the Gospel
in their fashion, and that if the King would allow the Lutherans to
preach, the whole town would go there; and in all the other churches
there is either no sermon at all, or it is attended by still fewer
persons. On his Majesty's departure hence for Moravia [in the
second week of February] he summoned all the chief personages
* Ibrahim, the prime minister of Sultan Solyman, was a Venetian subject born at Parga.
See "Report" of Piero Zen. (Relazioni Venete, serie 3, vol. iii. p. 95.)
† Against the Duke of Urbino on account of Camerino. (See footnote, date 18
January 1535.)
Mention has been made in vol. iv. pp. 39, 40, Venetian Calendar, of an Embassy
to England performed by John Faber (afterwards Bishop of Vienna) in March 1527.
The speech made on that occasion by Faber to Henry VIII. was answered by Sir
Thomas More, whose eminent qualities were reflected in the person of John Faber, who
was considered one of the most virtuous and learned men in Germany.
1535.
17
1
1535.
Feb. 27.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
of his Court, and announced that he did not choose any of them
or of his servants, to eat meat, or to live otherwise than catholically,
and that he would not hesitate to dismiss such as disobeyed this
order, however intimate they might be with him.
It is reported that the Duke of Wurtemberg and the Landgrave
[of Hesse] have offered his Majesty, if he will expel the priests
(I mention priests solely, as at present little is said about friars)
throughout Germany, to recover for him at their own cost the
whole of Hungary, and that he may also do what he pleases with
the Church revenues in his own territories; but the King will not
give ear to this in the least, and indeed evinces very great dis-
pleasure to those who speak to him on the subject. The Duke of
Wurtemberg begs his pardon for all past offences, and requests him
to obtain forgiveness from the Emperor. The King has pardoned
him, and promised to obtain his pardon from the Emperor, and he
[King Ferdinand] will give him the investiture of his Duchy, on
condition of its reverting to the House of Austria should he leave
no heirs, on which terms the Emperor gave the investiture of the
Duchy to King Ferdinand. The son of the Duke of Wurtemberg
is in France, his father being so brutish (tanto è bestial) that he
cannot live with him. The Duke caused all the priests in his
dominions to be bastinadoed, and then expelled them with all such
persons as choose to live according to the Catholic religion; and your
Serenity will remember that the chief cause of the late war was,
because his wife* not choosing to live after his fashion, he bestrode
her with spurs on his heels, and beat her as if she had been a
horse, she being the sister of the Dukes of Bavaria, at whose request
the Emperor deprived him of the Duchy, and gave it to the present
King of the Romans; which the Dukes of Bavaria took much
amiss, as although they wished their brother-in-law all possible
harm, they did not intend the Duchy to be held by anybody but
his son their nephew; and this was one of the causes of the
enmity between them and King Ferdinand; but it now seems that
they also are reconciled to him, and they are expected at Vienna
shortly, to arrange everything.
Vienna, 22nd February 1835.
[Italian.]
36. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Don Martin de Guzman, King Ferdinand's most confidential
chamberlain (camerier), told me that never did two brothers
love each other better than the King and the Emperor; that when
the Emperor had him elected King of the Romans [January 5,
1531] the Germans could not believe that his Imperial Majesty
would give his brother that which in a few years might have been
bestowed on his own son; and that on the birth of King
Ferdinand's first son the Emperor swore several times that had
the event occurred before his own marriage he would have remained
* Sabina, daughter of Albert IV., Duke of Bavaria; she was married on the 2nd March
1511, and died the 30th of August 1564, aged 73. (See Chiusole's Genealogies, p. 384.)
5.
B
18
1535.
1535.
single, and that he delayed it for several years in order to be dis-
pensed from taking the step through the birth of an heir male to
his brother. One day when the two were together at Ratisbon,
whilst Solyman was marching on Vienna [September 1532], they
went out hunting, and the two alone, with one sole attendant, drove
a bear to bay in so narrow a pass that one of them alone single-
handed must either kill the bear or be killed by him, whereupon
King Ferdinand knelt to the Emperor beseeching him for leave to
attack the bear, because any danger he might incur would be a
lesser evil and less detrimental to Christendom than what might
befal the Emperor; reminding him that Solyman was on the march
to Vienna, and that were his Imperial Majesty to receive any hurt
it would be the cause of some great calamity to Christendom. The
Emperor answered him that for his own honour and for the love he
bore his brother he could not consent, and he then went in first and
killed the bear, who otherwise would indubitably have killed him.
Don Martin then spoke to me of the great affection which the King
and Queen bore each other, and said he thought a similar marriage
had never been made, that since it took place not only had the
King never known, but not even thought, of any other woman, as
notorious to everybody, the Queen on her part being unable to
exist without him, and now until he returns each day seems a year
to her. He added that his Majesty's liberality is such that to
enrich his servants he has impoverished himself, and a calculation
has been made that of ten persons who possessed nothing when
they entered his service, eight have each at present an annual
revenue of 100,000 florins, two alone having but 50,000 florins each.
Vienna, 27th February 1535.
[Italian.]
March 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
March 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. lvi. p. 86,
tergo.
37. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Enclose news-letters from Constantinople dated 27th and 31st
December, 18th, 22nd, 29th, and 31st January, and 1st February.
Is to communicate them to his Majesty face to face, requesting him
to keep them to himself, and not to mention that they come from
the Signory, as should notice of such a report reach Constantinople
the authorities there would complain of the Signory.
[Italian.]
38. MOTION Concerning a present for the English Ambas-
sador.
The Rev. Prothonotary Casal, who has been during several years
ambassador with the Signory from the King of England, having
been ordered by his Majesty to return-
Put to the ballot, that by authority of this Council a present
be made to said Rev. Prothonotary of silver, or gold, or money, as
shall seem best to our College, to the amount of five hundred ducats,
at the rate of six livres and four "soldi
""
per ducat.
Ayes, 157. Noes, 35. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
1535.
19
1535.
March 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. lvi. p. 86,'
tergo.
March 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. lvi. p. 88,
tergo.
March 23.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini,
in St. Mark's
Library.
39. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
It is said that the conference between the Kings of France and
England will take place in April next. There was talk of marriage
between the infant daughter (who is one year old) of the King of
England by the new Queen to Mons. d'Angoulême, the third son of
the King of France.*
[Italian.]
-
40. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning a present to the
Secretary of the English Embassy.†
Put to the ballot that there be given as a present to the Secretary
of the aforesaid Rev. Ambassador cloths of silk, or money, at the
option of our College, to the amount of fifty ducats, at the rate of
six livres and four soldi per ducat, to be derived from the supplies
made and to be made hereafter.
Ayes, 147. Noes, 13. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
41. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Yesterday the Landgrave of Hesse, the Duke of Brunswick, and
the son of the Elector, Marquis Joachim of Brandenburg, arrived in
this town. The King went to meet them outside the town and
appeared very glad to see them. The Landgrave had never been in
his presence since the affair of the Duke of Wurtemberg, but matters
are now so well pacified that if necessary he will be employed in
these parts in the Emperor's service, or in that of the King.
Since his arrival in King Ferdinand's territories, to show his
respect for him, neither he or his followers eat anything but fish,
although if not the chief personage of the Lutheran sect he is their
second leader. All his attendants wear on their surcoats (sagli) the
motto, "Verbum Domini manet."
Vienna, 23rd March 1535.
[Italian.]
April 2.
42. The SAME to the SAME.
Original
Letter Book of
Contarini,
in St. Mark's
Library.
On Easter Day the King went to Mass in the church of St.
Francesco Augustin, near the castle, accompanied by the Landgrave, who
when the priest began to say Mass, went into the garden and
remained walking about until it ended, saying he would not lose
time in what was unnecessary. As soon as this Landgrave gets out
* Sultan Solyman was carrying on the war in Persia, so that the "Bailo" could not
have communicated the Venetian advices to him immediately.
† In Ellis' letters illustrative of English History (series 2, vol. ii. pp. 70-75) there
are two, dated Venice, A.D., 1535, from Edmond Harvel, and I think it probable that he
was the Secretary here alluded to, by so much the more as documents in the Venetian
Archives show that he was accredited to the Republic at a later period by Henry VIII.;
but on the other hand, it will be seen by an entry dated 13th November 1535, that
Prothonotary Casal had an Italian Secretary by name Marco Antonio Bentivoglio, whom
he sent to Hungary about the time when this present was made.
B 2
20
1535.
1535.
of bed, whilst dressing, a layman reads the Gospel to him, expound-
ing it in their fashion; and after having had a good dinner he does
the like, thinking thus to comply with the precepts of the Christian
religion (satisfar alla religion Christiana). There are neither
friars or priests in his territories, and their property yields him an
annual revenue of about 80,000 florins.
The Duke of Wurtemberg has done the like, and worse.
The Duke of Saxony was the first, and God grant that the others
may not likewise follow this fashion.
The greater part of the free towns have done the like, and were
it not for the Emperor and this King of the Romans, who do their
utmost to preserve what little religion there is in their territories,
actum esset.'
""
The Dukes of Bavaria are also Catholics.
It is true King Ferdinand sold well-nigh the fourth part of all
the revenues of the monasteries and bishoprics in his territories, but
it was with the Pope's consent and when the Turks were marching
hitherwards. When taxes are imposed or demanded by his
Majesty the clergy contribute as much as, or rather more than
the laity.
The King told me that the Landgrave departed very well satisfied
with him, his Majesty having promised that the Emperor will
pardon him, and in case of need make use of him in these parts,
he being in fact a very brave soldier. Should the Emperor not
employ him, and no adjustment be made with the King of Hungary
[Zapolsky], King Ferdinand will send him into those parts.
I visited the Duke of Brunswick, and the son of the Marquis of
Brandenburg, in your Serenity's name; they were very glad to see
me, and returned many thanks, offering the State any service in
their power.
I also visited the Landgrave, who gave me most exuberant
greeting, saying that your Serenity and the entire Republic were
replete with extreme wisdom, and that he wished to come some day to
Venice, to visit your Excellency and the State, for whose service he
offered both his substance and his life; and having told him that his
fame in Italy equalled that of any person whomsoever in Germany,
he asked me if the fame was good or bad. I said he had the fame
of a valorous commander of great courage and fortunate, and that
for the rest I referred him to the Papal Nuncio now in this town.
He laughed, and was very much pleased with my visit.
I have heard that he also offered to bring 20,000 Germans into
Italy against the Pope should any Prince require his services. He
departed yesterday on his way home together with the Duke of
Brunswick and the Marquis of Brandenburg's son.
The Pope's Nuncio [Vergerio] arrived on Easter eve, and has
brought, I believe, two bags full of briefs, of the tenour of enclosed
copy.*
He is now directing and distributing them to such persons
as he thinks fit, and will likewise go through his Majesty's territories
and to places where Catholics are dominant, but not elsewhere.
These briefs purported that the Pope purposed holding the Council General.
1535.
21
1535.
April 10.
Original
April 21.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta,)
File no. 14.
All persons here say that the Pope has done well to send these
briefs, lest (as nothing more had been said on the subject) a fixed
time be prescribed for convoking the Council, but that as for the
Pope and Cardinals, they have no more thought for the Council than
they have for the affairs of the next world, as they well know that
in the first place they would be deprived of all temporal jurisdiction,
and cardinals, bishops, and priests be forbidden to hold more
than one benefice apiece, and be compelled to constant residence
and to employ ecclesiastical revenues as they are bound to do by
law.
In these parts the Apostolic See is held in small account, but as the
King of the Romans and the Emperor, who are really good and
devout Catholics, show it great respect, a few persons have some
regard for it, but not much.
I send your Serenity with this, the effigy of the Landgrave whose
character is still more decided than the expression of his portrait,
and he is about 28 years old.*
Vienna, 2nd April 1535.
[Italian.]
43. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Letter Book
of Francesco
The Papal Nunico [Vergerio] tells me he shall depart next week,
Contarini in and will go first to the Cardinal of Salzburg, and then to the Dukes
of Bavaria, and the Count Palatine, who are all good Catholics, and
will acquaint them with the Pope's readiness to hold the Council.
St. Mark's
Library.
The King has heard that the Pope's envoy to King John [Zapolsky]
has passed, contrary to his Majesty's order, and that he is also the
bearer of a certain commission from the King of England, delivered
to him by the Prothonotary Casal, which very greatly displeases his
Majesty, who says that if King John does not comply with his
wishes, it will be owing to Rorario's mission.
Vienna, 10th of April.
[Italian.]
44. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Wrote to him on the 1st with the summaries of the advices from
Constantinople up to the 21st February. Having subsequently
received other letters of the 12th March, send their summary in like
manner for him to communicate as usual.
The last letters received from him, dated the 24th ultimo, were
copious and pleased the Signory; desire him therefore to continue
keeping them diligently advised of all he hears worthy of their
knowledge, as it will be to their satisfaction and to his own
praise.
[Italian.]
According to Chiusole's Genealogies, he was 31, having been born in 1504.
22
1535.
1535.
April 29.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Gasparo Pastor has been sent for hither, letters from France and
Contarini in England, received by him at Venice, having been found in his
St. Mark's
Library.
possession, and which were on their way to King John enclosed in
the letters of a certain Abbot, and if he have been privy to the
fact, it will cause him much trouble and molestation.
May 7.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta,)
File no. 14.
May 12.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
45. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the DOGE and SIGNORY.
On St. George's Day, King Ferdinand used annually to robe
himself in the habits of the Garter, having received the Order many
years ago from the King of England, but neither last year nor this
year did he assume them on account of the English King's divorce ;
and the Emperor, who is also of the Order, has done the like.
Vienna, 29th April 1535.
[Italian.]
46. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
To continue acquainting his most Serene Majesty with what they
hear from Constantinople. Besides the summaries of letters, dated
12th March, sent by them lately to him (Zuccato), they now
transmit those of the 29th and 30th of that month, for commu-
nication as usual.
[Italian.]
47. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the DOGE and SIGNORY.
It is said that the ambassador from the King of England [Pro-
thonotary Casal] together with King John's ambassador, who were
both on their way to him, have been arrested.*
Vienna, 12th May 1535.
[Italian.]
May 14.
48. The SAME to the SAME.
Original
Letter Book
The ambassador from England [Prothonotary Casal] accompanied
of Francesco by the Florentine Corsini, the envoy of King John, to whom they
were both going, are arrested. The ambassador's secretary,† who
had been first to King John, and was on his way back to meet the
ambassador, has stopped at Buda. The Papal Nuncio Rorariot is
with King John. Antonio Vurantio, Provost, who was lately in
Venice, has passed, but from what I hear he was disguised as a
shepherd, and arrived at Buda on the 1st instant.
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Vienna, 14th May 1535.
[Italian.]
* Concerning the arrest of Prothonotary Casal and Andrea Corsini, see State Papers,
vol. vii. part 5 continued, p. 599, and following.
† In date 13 November 1535, it will be seen that the name of this Secretary was
Marco Antonio Bentivoglio.
The mission of Rorario is alluded to in State Papers, vol. vii., part 5 continued,
p. 599.
1535.
23
1535.
May 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
June 1.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini,
in St. Mark's
Library.
June 3.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini,
in St. Mark's
Library.
49. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send him summaries of letters from Constantinople, dated 14th
15th, and 18th April.
His last letters of the 24th ultimo, which were full of news, have
the approval of the Signory.
[Italian.]
50. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Although on Corpus Christi day the King accompanied the most
Holy Sacrament well nigh all over the town, cap in hand and with
a torch, the procession lasting nearly two hours, his Majesty, never-
theless, thinking that by this time the Emperor will be on galley
board,* went yesterday likewise to accompany the Sacrament from
St. Stephen's to St. Michael's, where the Queen was, and there he
heard a Mass, and with very great devotion accompanied the
Sacrament back to St. Stephen's, so that the Almighty may thus
accompany the Emperor on his voyage.
These Lutherans commence rejoicing at the Emperor's coming
into Italy, hoping at any rate to have the Council. They under-
stand that his Holiness instead of reforming the customs (costumi)
of the priesthood, has allowed them to abridge the breviary, and
they hope he will do the like by the fasts, so that thus by degrees
they will come to an understanding together. They believe that
the Cardinals will assent to the marriage of priests; the remaining
difficulties being the revenues of benefices and some others. Here
nothing is read but "Pasquin's Passion," and the medal of the
Cardinal of Ravenna, " Crucifixus pro nobis." t
Vienna, 1st of June.
[Italian]
51. The SAME to the SAME.
This morning after my conversation with his Majesty, when he
commenced talking to the Cardinal of Trent, I joined some of these
noblemen who were discussing the challenge sent to Pasquin, these
Pasquinades pleasing them extremely, and we then went to Mass.
Vienna, 3rd of June.
[Italian.]
*The Emperor embarked at Barcelona for the expedition against Tunis on the 1st
of June.
† Benedetto degli Accolti, Archbishop of Ravenna, was made Cardinal by Clement VII.
A medal of him exists, with the motto "Benedictus Card. Ravenna,” and on the reverse
is a Neptune seated and turned towards a pharos (in allusion to the famous harbour of
Ravenna in the time of the Romans) with the motto " optimis artibus,” the Cardinal
having rendered Ravenna a harbour for men of science and letters. Possibly there were
Lutherans amongst them, and he being in disgrace on this account, they perhaps changed
the inscription.
"Pasquin's passion" may have been a satire ridiculing the sorrow professed by the
Pope for the troubles of the Roman Catholic church, for which he declared that a
Council-general was the sole remedy.
24
1535.
1535.
June 3.
Senato Mar,
v. xxiii. p. 86,
tergo.
52. DECREE of the SENATE concerning the LONDON FACTORY.
The King of England, having understood that on the last voyage
of the Flanders galleys, the greater part of our merchants defrauded
the Customs, when exporting their wools, sent to Hampton one of
his sergeants, who, after re-weighing certain wools, ascertained that
the merchants had received much better weight than usual; and his
Majesty having claimed damages, the Republic's consul, with his
Council of Twelve, passed a resolution greatly to the detriment of our
factory, thus, that by reason of these good weights, there might be
expended to the amount of 1,000l. sterling (equal to 5,000 ducats),
on account of the factory, besides what had been previously voted
for this purpose, resolutions contrary to our laws and orders, and
injurious to merchants hereafter undertaking that voyage, as they
would bear the burden without advantage, the persons benefited
remaining exempt from it.
Put to the ballot,--
S
June 3.
Senato Terra,
V. xxviii. p. 139.
That, save any acts to the contrary, the resolution passed by
the Council of Twelve in London, on the 18th of November last, be
cancelled and annulled with regard to the clause purporting that
of the money to be disbursed on account of the aforesaid advantages,
one third be paid by our London factory, and two thirds by the
merchants, they being inscribed as the factory's creditors for the
loan; and instead of the two thirds, the merchants who obtained
the good weights be bound to disburse the whole at the rate of the
advantages [received by them], without being in any other way
made creditors of the factory; nor henceforth may credit be given
to any one on this account, save for the first two "soldi," disbursed
for each poke of wool, on the departure of the galleys from Hampton,
according to the resolution passed in the aforesaid Council on the
28th of April last.
Also, that at no time the factory be taxed for these advantages,
either in virtue of the resolution already passed, or of any that may
hereafter be passed by said Council of Twelve, with the exception of
the two "soldi" specified above; the entire cost to be defrayed by
those who receive the favours, it not being just for the factory to pay
the customs for any merchant.
Ayes, 118. Noes, 5. Neutral 12.
[Italian]
53. MOTION made by DOGE GRITI and 16 MEMBERS of the
COLLEGE, concerning a Gold Chain given by HENRY VIII.
to CARLO CAPELLO.
How praiseworthy and beneficial to our State the operations of
our beloved nobleman, Carlo Capello, were, during his embassy to
the most Serene King of England, may be well known to all the
members of this Council who remember the despatches written
by him from time to time, and also by his sage "report"
report" now
delivered; and they will deem him deserving of our favour, most
especially having been four years on the embassy, in the course
of which, for the service and honour of the State he spent much
money; in addition to which, owing to his long absence from this
1535.
25
1535.
June 3.
MS. No. 1231,
Class VII.
Miscellany,
Q. 5,
St. Mark's
Library.
4
city, and to misfortunes which befell him, his private affairs incurred
no little detriment, he being the father of six children, with a
very small property; so that by reason of the excellent service
received from him on this and on his other embassies, it behoves
the justice and munificence of the State to show him becoming
gratitude.
Put to the ballot,-
That the chain given by the most Serene King of England to the
said Ser Carlo Capello, and now presented by him to our most
Serene Prince, be by authority of this Council given to said Carlo
Capello, he having suffered so much hardship and loss, as an
example for others readily to do their utmost in the service of the
State, as has been assiduously done by the aforesaid Ser Carlo
Capello.
Ayes, 149. Noes, 29. Neutrals, 2. (Kinsfolk withdrew). The
Council was told that the act requires a majority of four fifths.
[Italian.]
54. REPORT of ENGLAND made to the SENATE by the Am-
bassador, CARLO CAPELLO.
Most Serene Prince,
I may say that I have been in your service for six consecutive
years, as scarcely had I returned from the embassy to Florence,*
which was most wearisome and perilous by reason of the war, the
famine and the plague, when by favour of your Serenity I entered
your service in the College, as sage for the main land, in which post
I remained during 19 months, and before my period of office had
expired, your Serenity sent me to the present legation in England,†
from which by God's grace, I have now returned; and during that
interval, I have not been able to see to my own affairs.
The mission to England, where I remained during nearly four
years, was no less perilous and laborious for me than the one to
Florence. On my way thither I met with difficulties and mischances,
and coming home I became dangerously ill and at the point of
death for many days, the physicians having given me over, so that
one day's life in this city would have seemed to me a mercy, and
the disease is still upon me, so that I shall be unable to make my
report to the satisfaction of your Serenity, and it will be brief, nor
am I sure of ending it, being scarcely able to speak.
* The letters written by Capello to the Venetian Signory, during this Embassy, were
published at Florence in the year 1839, by Eugenio Alberi, in the first volume (series 2)
of his Venetian Reports; and at page 297 there is a note about a horse belonging to
Carlo Capello, of which horse there is also a record in Fynes Moryson's "Italy," date
Florence, 1594 (p. 149), thus,
"Upon the north side of the river Arno, and upon the banke thereof, is a monument of
a horse buried in the highway, with this inscription, in Latin—
<<
"The bones of the horse of Charles Capelli, Venetian Ambassador when the Citie was
"besieged in the yeere 1533,” (sic,) “ and these verses were added,—
"Praise, worthy horse of warre! thy thankfull Lord,
"Thee for thy merits doth this Tombe afford."
At the close of the Latin inscription, is the date, Obsessa urbe, 1530, III. idus Martij.
† It is seen by the Venetian Calendar, vol. 4, that the election of Carlo Capello to the
Embassy in England, took place on the 7th January 1531, and that he arrived there on
the 11th of August following.
26
1535.
:
1535.
I will not repeat the contents of my despatches, but merely
mention a few things which seem to me worthy of your Serenity's
notice.
England has very bad laws and statutes, not being governed by
the Imperial Code, but by laws in her own fashion, to which she
was subjected by one William the Bastard, who conquered the
country, and had dominion over it; and amongst their other bad laws,
I will acquaint your Serenity with two, which are contrary to all
right. The one is, that the cargo of any ship going to pieces off the
Island, becomes the prey of those who can seize it; so that many of
the natives seek to destroy and wreck vessels instead of saving
them. The other is, that the whole Kingdom is parcelled into
fiefs; as at the time of the Conquest, the said William confiscated
everything, and then gave the land in fee; and when a feudatory
dies without heirs, his land falls to the Crown, and if he leaves
children, half of their property-until they are twenty years old, or
upwards-goes to the King, who distributes it at his pleasure;
which causes a thousand abuses and improprieties.
This King's predecessor had a revenue of some 400,000 ducats,
and whilst I was in England, the present King, what with new
taxes, and these wardships, and by other means, may have increased
this sum to 700,000 ducats, of which Secretary Cromwell was and
is in great part the author; and now lately by these annats, and by
the church benefices which he has absorbed, that sum will have
been doubled; so at this present his annual revenue amounts well
nigh to a million and a half.
This Cromwell was a person of low origin and condition; he is
now Secretary of State, the King's prime minister, and has supreme
authority.
Capello then spoke at large about the life, power, and character
of said Cromwell.†
The King is most unpopular, and a rebellion might easily break
out some day, and cause great confusion. He has rare endowments
both of mind and body, such as personal beauty, genius, learning,
etc., and it is marvellous how he has fallen into so many errors and
false tenets.
The old Queen Katharine, who was much beloved, is at
in a bad way, well nigh without any revenue or attendants; and
she remains with but few persons in her court.
It is believed that were the King to die, although there are two
or three pretenders to the Crown, the Princess Mary, Queen
Katharine's daughter, would be made Queen and succeed to the
kingdom.
•
Capello then apologized for being unable to proceed, and not
narrating methodically, and he could scarcely speak; and these
excuses he made at several parts and passages.
He next alluded to the great costs incurred by him on the journey
out and home and during his stay, on account of famines, etc.
He
* "Per lege Imperial," by the code of the Emperor Justinian.
†The transcriber of this Report, who seems to have been in the Senate when it was
made, omits Cromwell's biography entirely.
1535.
27
1535.
June 6.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
said that he had always kept from ten to eleven horses, as he was
bound, but of late, expecting hourly permission to return, his stable
was in better order than usual.
He had not failed to give banquets, and to live grandly and
nobly, for the honour of the State; and he swore that from the
day of his departure until he got back to Venice, he had expended
seven hundred ducats during illness, etc., and for so many physicians;
so that (I think he said) he had only one [ducat?] remaining.
He said the King is already tired to satiety of this new Queen
(che il Re era stufo et satio hormai de questa nova regina.)
He said nothing about the King's disposition towards the Republic,
nor did he mention either the late Cardinal [Wolsey], or the present
one [Fisher].*
In case of any invasion, the King can raise two powerful armies,
one to take the field wherever needed, and the other as a reserve
in case of defeat.
He praised his secretary [Girolamo Zuccato], and recommended
him.
He mentioned the gold chain given to him, worth 400 ducats,
and had it exhibited. He alluded to the death of his relatives, and
to his losses during this embassy on account of his family
requesting the chain might be given him to aid the marriage of his
daughter or to redeem a certain tenement seized by his brother-in-
law, Messer Beneto Damosto for payment of dower due to him,
which if paid, he would most certainly restore the tenement to
Capello.
[Italian.]
55. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Letters having arrived, announcing the creation of Cardinals,†
including the Right Rev. [Gasparo] Contarini, the King and the
whole Court were no less pleased than to hear of the promotion
of the Archbishop of Capua [Nicholas Schomberg], his Lordship
[Gasparo Contarini] being known to his Majesty and many here;
and whereas some months ago the Lutherans had cause to criticise
the Pope's nomination of his nephews, so are they now astounded
and know not what to say; and were his Holiness to continue
acting thus, and not think of seizing Camerino, etc., and kindling
a flame in Italy, this would be the best way to silence them, for
after saying and repeating so much, they talk of nothing but the
immorality of the heads of the Church. Trusts the Right Rev.
Contarini will serve them as an example, nor is it necessary to
speak of his learning and condition, as they are known to every-
body. Does not know whether he should congratulate the Republic
or not, for on the one hand, the Pope, for his own service, has
deprived it of a matchless man (singularissimo homo), but on
* John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was created Cardinal by Pope Paul III. on the
20th of May 1535, and beheaded by order of Henry VIII. on the following 25th of June,
three weeks after Capello's allusion to him.
† On the 20th of May 1535.
28
1535.
1535.
June 10.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
the other hand, he is of such a quality and sort that wheresoever
placed he will act for the benefit and profit of the State. Prays
God to grant that they may one day see him in that post to which
many persons already expect him to be raised.
Vienna, 6th of June 1535.
Italian.]
June 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 100.
July 3.
Original
Letter Book
June 30.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
The last letters received from him, were dated 8th May. Are
well satisfied with his diligence. Enclose summaries of news received
from Constantinople dated 27th and 28th April, and 1st and 2nd
May, which are to be communicated as usual.
[Italian.]
56. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
57. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
On the 14th of May, the Admiral of the most Christian King
departed on his way to Calais for the conference to be held between
him and the agents of the King of England.
Ayes, 144. Noes, 28. Neutrals, 14.
[Italian.]
58. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send the advices from Constantinople dated 12th, 17th, 18th,
28th, and 31st May, to be communicated by him to the King face
to face, that they may not be published.
Will have heard that they have elected him Secretary in ordinary
of the Ducal Chancery, which they did willingly.
[Italian.]
59. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
of Francesco
Besides the creation of the seven Cardinals, two events, which
Contarini in greatly please the King and the whole Court, have been announced
St. Mark's
Library.
here, well nigh contemporaneously. The one is the cessation of
the Pope's attack on Camerino, the other the plenary indulgence
conceded to all who after confession and repentance shall pray for
the Emperor's success [in his attack on Tunis]. Nothing can be
better calculated than acts of this sort, to disconcert the Lutherans,
as they desire nothing better than to see the Pope at war with
some Italian Potentate, being convinced that it would produce the
same fruit as has sprung up in a great part of Germany; and
when they first heard of these disturbances they made prints and
pictures of the Pope, sword and buckler in hand, fronting Martin
Luther, who was armed in like manner, and beneath was a German
inscription, thus :
“We will settle it by battle."
The Papal Nuncio the Rev. D. Pietro Paulo Vergerio is still
here, and from what he tells me, will remain here during the stay
1535.
29
1535.
July 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 108.
July 8.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 9.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 14.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
of the Hungarian Ambassadors, by order of the Pope, and according
to the wish of the King, as his Majesty did not choose D. Hieronimo
Rorario, the Papal Nuncio in Hungary, to be present at these negotia-
tions. On the departure of the Hungarians, Vergerio will proceed
on his way to announce the Council to those other Princes and
Lords whom he has not yet seen.
Vienna, 3rd of July 1535.
[Italian.]
60. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
Are informed by letters from England dated the 16th ulto.,
that the conference held at Calais between the agents of the Kings
of France and England has been dissolved without any decision
with regard to the debated matter, which, we understand, chiefly
concerned marriages between the sons and daughters of their
Majesties.
Ayes, 142. Noes, 20. Neutrals, 11.
[Italian.]
61. The ARCHBISHOP of LUND, Imperial Ambassador with
the King of the Romans, to FRANCESCO CONTARINI.
Vienna, 8th July, 1535.
[Italian.]
The Landgrave of Hesse writes that on the 25th ultimo at
midnight, the army took Munster by storm. They killed many of
the Anabaptists, and have their King and some of the leaders in
prison.
Jo. Luden. [John Wesal?]
62. The SAME to the SAME.
Yesterday morning his Majesty acquainted me with the arrival
of the Emperor in Sardinia on the 12th [ulto.], and with his
departure for Tunis on the 14th.
Yesterday also, his Majesty received very agreeable intelligence,
and much desired by all these Princes, of the taking by storm of
Munster, many of the Anabaptists being killed, and their King
and many of the leaders being captured. This affair of the Ana-
baptists was a source of great anxiety to all the Princes of Germany
who had therefore summoned a Diet at Worms, of which, I suppose
there will now be no farther need, although there is a great quantity
of this sect in several parts of Germany.
Vienna, 9th of July 1535.
[Italian.]
63. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
The Pope's Nuncio departs tomorrow towards the Rhine, going
first to the Bishops Electors of the Empire who are Catholics,
and also to the other Princes on the Rhine, after which, he will
cross over to Saxony, leaving these bad mouthfuls for the last,
being thus counselled by the most Serene King [of the Romans].
His Majesty and all these Lords are very anxious to hear that
I
30
1535.
1535.
July 16.
Deliberazioni
64. DOGE ANDREA GRITI to SULTAN SOLYMAN.
Senato (Secreta),
By letters from France and England, understands that the con-
v. lvi. p. 110. 'ference between the chief ministers of those two Kings, held for
the Emperor has despatched the Tunis expedition, nor is anything
else talked of, it seeming to them that subsequently the other affair
[of the Council ?] will be treated.
Vienna, 14th of July 1535.
[Italian.]
July 23.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 23.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 116,
tergo.
the purpose of stipulating marriage between the children of one
and the other, has been dissolved without any decision.
[Italian.]
65. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
FRANCE.
Approve the judicious offices performed by him, especially because
on hearing that the French Ambassador, Mons. De La Morette, had
said in England that the Signory was persuading the Emperor to
attack Greece, and make war on the Turk, he assured King Francis
that they would never act thus, as they maintain and keep the
peace stipulated by them with Sultan Solyman.
July 28.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
[Italian.]
66. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Yesterday morning, when I went to the King, he said to me im-
mediately, "Ambassador, we have good news; there are letters from
the Emperor telling me of his good passage to Africa, that he has
taken the water tower,' had some skirmishing, taken some pieces of
artillery, and that the deposed King came and offered him 15,000
cavalry; but in the skirmishes, the Neapolitan Colonel, Count of
Sarno, was killed; and they hoped shortly to send me some other
good news."
I understand that in these letters the Emperor complains greatly
of the most Christian King, saying that the cannon balls fired at
the Imperial forces are stamped with the lily, but that as he is now
fighting for all Christendom, he trusts th Almighty will have more
power than any one else.
The Landgrave of Hesse was the cause of the capture of Munster,
for the soldiers encamped under the town, not having received their
pay, were about to disband, and the Landgrave gave them one
instalment from his own money, whereupon they stormed and took
the city; so that he is much praised by everybody.
Vienna, 23rd July 1535.
[Italian.]
67. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Have received several sets of his letters, which were very accept-
able to them, and commend his diligence in acquainting them
copiously with whatever occurs. His last were dated the 5th
instant
1535.
31
1535.
Aug. 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. 56, p. 122.
Aug. 7.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Aug. 11.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Enclose summaries of news from Constantinople, dated the 17th
and 19th ultimo.
[Italian]
68. The DOGE and SENATE to ANTONIO SURIAN, Venetian
Ambassador at Rome.
Have seen by his letters of the 2nd instant, that amongst the
measures carried in consistory for proceeding against the most
Serene King of England, by reason of his having put to death the
Cardinal of Rochester, a bull is being drawn up against the afore-
said King-reproving, reproaching, and excommunicating him, &c.,
(ch el aggrava regrava excommunica, etc.,); and that to this bull
there is also added a clause interdicting him and his kingdom
from trading with any Christian nation, which clause seeming
important to Venetian merchants trafficking in England, he (Surian)
had recourse to Cardinal Pisani, and requests further orders
from the Signory. Charge him, should he see that his Holiness
purposes persevering in these acts against said King, continuing
and proceeding so far as to issue the bull, at any rate with
the clause concerning the interdict, to confer with the Pope,
and pray him in the Signory's name, respecting the interdict
of commerce, to grant the Venetian merchants sufficient time to
remove their merchandise from that kingdom, according to his
Holiness's intention, that all Christians may abstain from trading
there; assuring the Pope that solely on account of the extensive
business transacted by the Venetians in England, have they been
moved to make this demand of his Holiness for time, and not from
any other cause.
This he is to do, as aforesaid, in case the above-mentioned acts
against the King of England be carried into effect; but otherwise
not to say another word on the subject.
Ayes, 150. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
69. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
The Duke of Wurtemberg has arrived by water to avoid passing
through the territory of the Dukes of Bavaria, as they are on bad
terms on account of his wife. His attendants came by land, being
in number some 120 horsemen, and they will prepare for the
ceremony of the investiture.
Vienna, 7th August.
[Italian.]
70. The SAME to the SAME.
Congratulated the King on the capture of Goletta.
The last letters from the Emperor state that a galley's boat (una
regata) was captured with an envoy from the King of France on
his way to Barbarossa with letters, which the Emperor read and
sent them back by the envoy to the King, nor can he digest these
evil offices.
:
32
1535.
1535.
Oct. 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 136.
Oct. 12.
Lettere del Col-
¡legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
Nov. 2.
Original
Letter Book of
On the day before, the King of the Romans, habited as an Arch-
duke of Austria, gave investiture to the Duke of Wurtemberg.
When the Turkish ambassador was here lately, the gentleman
appointed by the King to keep him company, inquired what plan
could be devised to unite his faith with ours, and he replied, "It
would be a very easy matter-you must send away all your priests
and friars, and we will do the like by ours, whereupon all would
believe in one and the same God; but your priesthood bewilder
your brains, and we are in the like predicament." This was told
me by the Bishop of Laybach, to whom I said, laughing, that I did
not think it became him to circulate this project in Germany, as he
knew how easily it might be realized. The Turk's words reached
the ears of the Duke, who was delighted with them, because it seemed
to him that he himself was a wise man, for he had already carried
them admirably into effect by rendering what used to be a poor
county a very rich duchy, he having, it is supposed, derived
upwards of 80,000 florins revenue from the property of priests
and friars; so whether the Council be held or not, he has no idea
of giving back one farthing.
Vienna, 11th August 1535.
[Italian.]
71. COMMISSION from DOGE ANDREA GRITI to the Nobleman
LORENZO BRAGADINO.
Bragadino having been elected ambassador at Rome in the stead
of Antonio Surian, LL.D. and knight, on arriving there is to visit
each of the Cardinals, presenting letters of credence from the
Signory.
To perform the like office with the ambassadors from the Em-
peror, from the most Christian King, from the Kings of the
Romans and of England, and also with the ambassadors of the
other Princes at the Roman Court.
Ayes, 152. Noes, 9. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
72. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Enclose the summary of their last letters from Constantinople
dated 27th, 28th, and 29th August, which are to be communicated
to the King.
[Italian.]
Oct. 26.
73. The SAME to the SAME.
legio (Secreta),
Lettere del Col- Acquaint him with the contents of letters received from their
Bailo" at Constantinople. To communicate them to the King.
[Italian.]
File no. 14.
74. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Although I went with the King to meet and pay my respects to
Contarini in the Elector, the Duke of Saxony, on the day of his arrival, I thought
Francesco
St. Mark's
Library.
it my duty to go and see him at his house, paying due compliments,
1535.
33
1535.
Nov. 7.
Despatches,
Venetian
and reminding him of the close friendship between the Republic and
all his predecessors, especially since the visit to Venice in 1493 of
his late father's brother the Elector Frederick.
His Excellency caused me to be graciously answered by Dom.
Francesco Vinacense, a very learned man, but the disciple and pupil
of Melancthon.
This Duke of Saxony is 32 years old, and has to wife the daughter
of the Duke of Cleves and Juliers, who bore him two sons. Besides
all his other titles of Elector, Lord Marshal, &c., he is now head of
the whole Lutheran sect. Every morning as soon as he is dressed
he hears the sermon in his public eating room ;* he does not hear
Mass, save when he communicates, and the Mass is ordained after
the manner of his own doctors of divinity, who are Martin [Luther],
Melancthon, and his companions, who however are not here, but
there are here five others, Agricola (and he is the one who preaches
at present), Spalatin (sic), the aforesaid Francesco (Vinacense), and
two others. Martin has remained at home with his wife, who was
a nun, and according to their account is a very handsome and
virtuous young woman,† and has borne him two sons; and when
talking with this identical Spalatin, with whom it behoved me to
contract a slight intimacy, to try if through his means I could ascer-
tain anything about the cession of Belgrade and Castlenovo, I told
him that one of these two sons of Martin would by rights be Anti-
christ, being born of a friar and a nun, and having such a father as
Martin.
Categ
The motto of the Duke of Saxony, and of the Dukes of Luxem-
burg and Mecklenburg, and of other lords who have accompanied
him, is still-
((
"Verbum Domini manet in æternum,"
and round his coins (one of which I enclose that your Serenity may
see his effigy) are the words—
Spes mea in Deo est."
Vienna, 2nd November 1535.
[Italian.]
75. Lorenzo BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY,
Archives,
The right reverend Cardinals appointed for the affair of the
File no. 4 B. King of England (sopra la cosa del Rè d'Ingeltera) assembled on
the 4th and drew up the minute of a bull against the said King,
depriving him of his kingdom and interdicting trade. It is true
that they will grant a suitable term (which as yet, however, has
not been specified) to the merchants to wind up their affairs on
that island, which it will be endeavoured to prolong as much as
possible.
* In the original, “in la sua stua.” "Stua" signifies a stove.
† In the Report of Rome (Paul III., 1535) by Antonio Surian (Series 2, vol. iii. p. 317,)
it is stated that she was the sister of the famous diplomatist Nicholas Schomberg, Cardinal
of Capua. According to the biographical dictionaries the name of Luther's wife was
Catharine de Bora, and her marriage took place on the 11th June 1525.
5.
с
34
1535.
1535.
Nov. 8.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
Nov. 16.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
Nov. 20.
Senato Mar,
v. xxiii. p. 109.
Nov. 27.
Despatches,
Venetian
The despatch of this business is much urged by the Imperial
Ambassador, so that the Signory's merchants who have dealings in
England must see to their affairs quickly.
Rome, 7th November 1535.
[Italian.]
76. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY,
This morning in Consistory some churches in France were con-
ferred, the Bull against the King of England being also discussed,
but as it had not been seen by all the Cardinals, the matter will be
despatched at the next consistory.
Rome, 8th November 1535.
[Italian.]
77. The SAME to the SAME.
The Bull against the most Serene King of England has not yet
been seen by all the Cardinals, and this very day it was presented
to Cardinal Pisani,
Rome, 16th November 1535.
[Italian]
78. IMPORTATION of ENGLISH WOOL.
Put to the ballot,-
All persons Venetian citizens, as also aliens, to be empowered
to export wools to our city, from England, Flanders, and Brabant,
during one year from this present time, whether by land or sea, by
any ship or vessels, Venetian or foreign, including those already on
the way [home ?], as likewise such as have departed [on the way
out?]; they are to pay one third to our arsenal, as the year during
which the freights were pledged to the Flanders Galleys of the last
voyage has expired.*
Ayes, 158. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 8.
[Italian.]
79. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Archives,
The Cardinals of the French faction have so opposed the Bull
File No. 4 B. against England that it has not yet been read in Consistory; the
Emperor's sister, the Queen Maria, governess of the Low Countries,
also discounsels its publication by reason of the great profit derived
by the Flemings from the trade with England.
Rome, 27th November 1535.
[Italian.]
* It has been mentioned elsewhere in these Calendars, that to secure the carrying trade
for the Flanders galleys, English merchandize, brought to Venice during their voyages,
paid to the masters of the galleys one third of the freight to which they would have been
entitled for conveyance of the goods; and it is now seen that when the Flanders galleys
renounced their voyages, the tax was claimed by the arsenal.
1535.
35
1535.
December.
MS. Report
in the Venetian
Archives.
80. REPORT of FRANCE made to the SENATE by the Ambas-
sador MARIN GIUSTINIAN.
For several reasons, the most Christian King maintains a close
friendship with the King of England. In the first place, because any
war he might undertake would be impeded by the English unless
they were his friends, they being greatly feared by the French,
(and ten Englishmen are in fact a match for twenty Frenchmen)
(ed in effetto dieci Inglesi vagliano per vinti Francesi) ;* and
because, heretofore, they conquered France so that nothing remained
to the King but Orleans, and hence comes the title of King of
France, which is assumed by the King of England, because after
taking Paris he had himself crowned there; and the English having
restored Normandy, the French crown gives them annually as
census or tribute 50,000 crowns perpetuis temporibus. Secondly,
the great treasure said to be possessed by King Henry, renders him
a good confederate in any war. Therefore King Francis seeks his
alliance, the common enemy uniting them, it being notorious that
his most Christian Majesty has no greater enemy than the Emperor,
whom the King of England in like manner has not only offended,
but expects daily to be invaded by him, which causes these two
Kings to unite willingly, the position of their territories rendering
it easy for them to molest and seize Flanders through their friend-
ship with the Duke of Guelders. In addition to this, the two
Crowns have formed a friendship together, because both one and
the other have a scarcity of friends, the most Christian King having
deserted his allies in 1530 at the Congress of Cambrai, whither he
went for the recovery of his sons; and the King of England lost
his friends, by repudiating Queen Katharine, the Emperor's aunt,
and by alienating the Church property. The fear of the Emperor,
which is common to both Kings, and consideration for his Kingdom
which renders King Henry suspicious of the Emperor (et l'interesse
che ha il Re d'Inghilterra del Regno suo per l'Imperator (sic),) join
the two Crowns together for resistance against a common enemy;
but distrust arises between them, the King of England being
apprehensive lest the Emperor allying himself with France may
give his most Christian Majesty the Duchy of Milan, and thus break
the confederation whenever he pleases. This same distrust may be
entertained by other Powers, who might wish to adhere to France
rather than to the Emperor. Therefore the King of England and
his Ministers seek to make marriage between Angoulême and the
daughter of the new Queen, and thus to give King Francis so deep
an interest in England that King Henry may no longer fear lest
the Emperor bribe him with the Duchy of Milan. The Bishop of
Winchester [Gardyner], Bryan, and Wallop are ambassadors in
France to treat, and in fact the English would wish for war with
the Emperor provided the French move quickly (venissero da buone
gambe), thus anticipating the war with which they are threatened
* Marin Giustinian was well able to form a just estimate of the comparative merits of
the two nations. As a young man he resided in England for four years (1515-1519),
during the embassy of his father Sebastian Giustinian; and in after-life, as seen by the
present report, he was himself ambassador in France from 1532 to 1535-6.
C 2
36
1535.
1535.
Dec. 5.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
Dec. 8.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Dec. 11.
Despatches,
Venetian
*
at home, by an attack on the Imperial dominions; and it is said the
English would come into Italy and Flanders, and defray one third
of the expense.
The most Christian King seems averse to this war, either
because he wishes to obtain better terms, or await greater oppor-
tunities; but as the Pope purposes proceeding against England, and
the Emperor intends to execute the sentence, the King is compelled
to adhere to France.*
Venice, December? 1535.
[Italian.]
81. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Long audience of three hours with his Holiness, who told him
that as the head of Christendom, which is so harassed by Sultan
Solyman, by the rivalry and discord between the Emperor and the
King of France, by the schismatic King of England, and also on
account of the Duchy of Milan,t he requested your Serenity to
to give him your opinion and advice, as he placed great trust in
the judgment of the Senate, by reason of its prudence, and of the
love it had always demonstrated towards him.
Rome, 5th December 1535.
[Italian.]
82. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
.
The Apostolic Nuncio, Vergerio, arrived yesterday. He has made
a five months' tour throughout Germany. He went to all the towns
on the Rhine, to Flanders as far as the ocean, then to Bohemia and
Saxony, and finally to all the parts of Germany. He held a con-
ference with Martin, and was much more honoured and caressed by
the Lutherans than by the Catholics. According to his account he
has important things to communicate; he says he shall depart
speedily, being summoned by the Pope to Rome, to report the whole
of his negotiations. He believes that the Council will be held
speedily. He has discovered that Martin was begotten of the Devil.
Vienna, 8th December 1535.
[Italian.]
83. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Archives,
Letters were received from the French Court. The King was
File no. 4 B. better; he had given audience to the English ambassador, and was
to go to mass. Although no open demonstration of war is made, his
Majesty says he will enter Italy in great force, and take the chief
command, provided your Serenity be on his side, according to the
hope given him by the Pope.
Mons. de Lange has departed for Germany.
* This report was published in Paris, A.D. 1838, by M. N. Tommaseo, and in 1839 by
Eugenio Alberi; and I have thus been enabled to correct some mistakes in the copy
preserved amongst the State Papers of Venice.
† Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, died on the 24th of October 1535,
1535.
37
1535.
Dec. 13.
Déspatches,
Venetian
Yesterday Consistory sat until after the 22nd hour. The Bull
against the King of England was read. Many objections having
been made to it, its despatch was delayed, and they ordered it to be
amended, not a little to the indignation of his Holiness.
Concerning the adjustment between the Emperor and the most
Christian King, the former he does not choose the Milanese to be
given, either to the Duke of Angoulême, or to the other son of the
most Christian King. The proposal made by the Imperial ambas-
sador in France to give the most Christian King the Milanese,
provided he would abandon the King of England, was not made
by the order of the Emperor, who was prepared to give King
Francis the Kingdom of England for one of his sons, on condition
of his taking for wife the Princess [Mary], daughter of the first
Queen; and in addition the Emperor would give him a pension on
the Milanese. This seems to me hard to believe, but it is my duty
nevertheless, to acquaint your Serenity with all that I hear, most
especially on good authority, leaving you to form your own opinion
on the matter. The French agents suspect the Emperor of giving
them words, and gaining time to arrange his affairs, so that whereas
at first they seemed to hope for some adjustment, they are now dis-
appointed; nor do they cease daily urging the Pope to devise some
form of agreement whereby to recover the Milanese.
Rome, 11th December 1535.
[Italian.]
84. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Archives,
The Pope has confirmed to me the speedy arrival of the Emperor,
File no. 4 B. which he expects will take place in the middle of next month,*
and he also confirmed the offer of the Kingdom of England
as made by the Emperor to the King of France. Expressed
surprise to his Holiness that the Emperor should offer so large and
powerful a kingdom, together with a pension on the Duchy of
Milan; and that the King of France should not accept so great
a bargain (si largo partito). The Pope rejoined, that in the first
place the King of France suspects that the Emperor would not
keep the promise which he makes solely for the purpose of de-
taching him from the King of England. In the next place it seems
impossible to King Francis that a Frenchman should rule England,
and therefore he does not seem to intend giving ear to this pro-
posal. The King of England has sent his most Christian Majesty
(to use the Pope's own words) "carte blanche, offering him a large
sum of money and a number of troops, both infantry and cavalry,
should he choose to wage war on the Emperor, but as yet the King
of France has merely answered him in general terms, and waits to
see what we may be able to do with the Emperor, as we intend to
treat this matter with his Imperial Majesty, nor will we that it be
negotiated by others."+
* The Emperor arrived at Rome on the 5th of April 1536. (See L'Art de Vérifier
les Dates.)
† "Mi confirmò che la venuta di Cesare qui saria molto presta, existimai chel habbi da
esser alla mità del mese futuro, et confirma il partito che porge lo Imperator al Re di
38
1535.
1535.
Dec. 18.
Senato Mar,
V. xxiii. p. 115,
tergo.
Dec. 20.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
Dec. 31.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
The Pope then asked me if I had any news from your Serenity
about the Milanese; I said I had not. He told me his Nuncio
departed on the 11th on his way to your Serenity; and it then being
time for his Holiness to robe for chapel, I took leave.
Rome, 13th December 1535.
[Italian.]
85. IMPORTATION of ENGLISH CLOTHS.
Put to the ballot,-
All merchants, both natives and aliens, to be empowered for one
year from this date to export white cloths from England for this
city, either by land or water, by any ship or vessel, Venetian or
foreign, with the obligation to pay one third of the freights to our
arsenal.
Ayes, 163. Noes, 16. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
86. The DOGE and COLLEGE to HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send him the summary of their last advices from Constantinople,
which are to be communicated to the King.
Have received his letters of the 10th instant.
[Italian.]
87. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
On occasion of the Christmas holidays, his Majesty caused Pro-
thonotary Casal to have rather more liberty than has been conceded
him hitherto, and allowed him to speak to one of his servants, who
has come from Italy to give him money, &c., but he is still in the
castle of Cità Nova, where he was before.*
Vienna, 31st December 1535.
[Italian.]
Franza, esser il Regno de Ingelterra, et quello se contiene nelle alligate mie; et dicendo io
a Sua Santta che mi maravegliava della Cesarea Mtà che offerisce uno si grande, et potente
regno, et pension sopra il Ducato di Milano, et del Re di Franza che non accettasse uno
si largo partito, Disse il Re di Franza prima dubita che lo Imperator non li mantenga la
parola, ma che il tutto se faci a fine chel se discosti dal Re de Anga. Dapoi li par che questo
sij impossibile che uno francese domini la Anga et però non mostra de voler attender
al ditto partito, al qual Re di Franza il Re de Anga manda, per scriver le formal parole de
sua Santità cartha bianca, et offerisce gran summa de danari et numero di gente, si da
piedi come da cavallo, volendo far la guerra contro lo Imperator, ma esso Re di Franza fin
hora non li ha data risposta alcuna salvo general, et aspetta quanto si potrà operar per noi
con lo Imperator perchè nui volemo trattar questa materia con sua Cesarea Mta non
volemo che altri la tratti," etc.
* In vol. 7 State Papers (Part 5 continued, p. 641,) there is a letter from Francesco
Casal to Cromwell, dated Rome, 10th of January 1536, containing a paragraph concerning
the imprisonment of Prothonotary Casal, thus, "A mio fratello non hanno mai voluto
che persona alcuna parli."
1536.
39
Jan. 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvi. p. 158.
Feb. 3.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
1536.
Jan. 1.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
The Frenchmen here have given the Pope hopes that the King of
File no. 4 B. England will return to the Catholic faith, in virtue of the good
offices, past and present, of the most Christian King, who cajoles the
English ambassadors, as heard through letters received from the
Court of France (dated the 17th ultimo) by the Imperial ambas-
sadors at Rome; and they are strongly urging his [most Christian ?]
Majesty to determine on the new confederacy (intelligentia), which
they wish him to conclude, and the King gives them fair words,
waiting to see what he can do here.
Rome, 1st January.
[Italian.]
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
A.D. 1536.
88. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
89. COMMISSION from the DOGE and SENATE to MARCO
MINIO, FEDERICO RHENIER, THOMÀ MOCENIGO, and NICOLÒ
TIEPOLO, Ambassadors Extraordinary to the POPE.
To visit the Pope's son, the most illustrious Lord Pietro Alvise,
and the Right Reverend Cardinals; to present letters of credence,
and declare the Signory's good will towards them; and to perform
the like office with the ambassadors from the Emperor, from the
most Christian King, from the most Serene Kings of the Romans,
of England, and of Portugal, now at the Court.
Ayes, 152. Noes, 9. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
90. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIGNORY.
Yesterday morning I went to the King, whom I found clad in deep
mourning, and it was told me his Majesty had this garb because on
the preceding day he heard of the death of his aunt, the Queen of
England; so in your Serenity's name I condoled on this demise,
telling him it might be supposed that a saint had expired, her
Majesty having always comported herself-especially in her ad-
versity—with so much patience and wisdom, as known to the whole
world. He answered me, "Ambassador! I say to you in truth-not
because she was my aunt-rest assured (sappiate) that this lady was
endowed with many more excellent qualities than are attributed to
her, and we believe she died like a saint."
We then went to Mass, and his Majesty chose me to hear it from
the chapel above, where there was no one but his Majesty, the
Queen, and his sons and daughters, they likewise being all dressed
in black. This death has caused the King much sorrow. In the
afternoon I went to him again, and having communicated the
news-letters from Constantinople, inquired through what channel
he had heard of said Queen's death. He told me he had letters from
his ambassador in England [Eustace Chapuys?], who a few days
before went to visit her Majesty, whom he found much better
(molto megliorata), and three days later wishing to visit her again,
they told him it was unnecessary, as she was dead. I asked his
40
1536.
1536.
Feb. 3.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 14.
Majesty what was heard about the Queen's daughter. He answered
me," We believe she is with the King, and fear that from grief
for her mother's death, and from other causes, she also will die."
He then complained a little of the King, in measured terms, how
that for a harlot (to use his own words), he had repudiated so
sage, virtuous, and sainted a wife, with whom he had lived upwards
of twenty years; nor could his Majesty refrain from shedding tears.*
Inspruck, 3rd of February 1536.
[Italian.]
91. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Send him the summary of letters lately received from Constanti-
nople for communication as usual. His letters of the 8th and 9th
January require no further reply.
[Italian.]
92. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Feb. 12.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
Letters received from France dated the 5th instant. Besides the
File no. 4 B. great preparations which are being made by the King, he has stipu-
lated an agreement with the King of England, who promises to con-
tribute in good part to the cost of the war; and he [the King of
France?] charges Mons. de Vigli (sic) [De Veilly?], his ambassador
with the Emperor, to tell his Imperial Majesty that he is willing to
delay until the first of next month and not make any warlike stir;
but De Vigli is to inform him that on the expiration of that term his
most Christian Majesty chooses to be at liberty to act; and in case
he [De Vigli] perceives any disposition on the part of the Emperor
to make an agreement in fact and not in words, the King will send
the Admiral to him. But it is thought that the Emperor delays
this negotiation and the treaty concerning the Florentine emigrants,
by words, in order to gain time to prepare himself for war; and
that for this reason likewise he postpones his coming to Rome.
Rome, 12th of February.
[Italian.]
93. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
King of the Romans, to the SIgnory.
Feb. 16.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
During the last two days, King Ferdinand has had the obsequies
Contarini in of the late most Serene Queen of England performed in very great
state, as becoming her Majesty's grade. I was with the King
during the whole of the ceremonies; and letters having arrived
St. Mark's
Library.
* "Dimandai per che via l' havea intesa la morte della ditta Regina; mi disse tenir
lettere del suo ambasciator in Inghelterra il quale era stato pochi giorni inanti a visitar la
predetta Regina, la qual lui havea trovato esser molto megliorata, et de lì a tre zorni,
volendo iterum tornar a visitarla, li fu ditto ch'l non accadeva perchè l'era morta. Diman-
dai a sua Maestà quello la intendeva della serma sua fiola; mi rispose, "Credemo la sia
con il Rè, et dubitamo etiam che per il dolor della madre et altri rispetti, che anche Lei
mori." Si dolse poi un pocho honestamente del (sic) quel Sermo Re, che per una mere-
trice (per dir come disse sua Maestà) l' havesse repudiato una cusì savia honesta et santa
moglier con la qual l' havea vivuto più de 20 anni; et non si potè contenir che non li vedesse
le lachreme alli ochij."
1536.
41
1536.
March 1.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
April 21.
Deliberazioni
Senato
(Secreta),
v. lvii. p. 16.
May 1.
Despatches,
Venetian
lately from the Emperor, I asked him what news they contained,
and he told me of the donation of a million and a half of gold
from the kingdom of Naples, of the postponement of the Emperor's
departure from that city, and that he had ordered a levy of 10,000
German infantry.
Inspruck, 16th of February, 1536.
[Italian.]
94. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
[Italian.]
95. The SAME to the SAME.
March 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Received yesterday his letters of the 26th ulto., which need no
File no. 15. reply; commend his diligence in giving them notice of English
events. Enclose the summary of letters lately received from
Constantinople for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
Have received his letters of the 29th January, which need no
reply; merely praise his assiduity. Enclose the summary of letters
from Constantinople for communication as usual.
April 12.
96. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Have lately received his letters of the 18th, which need no other
File no 15. reply, save greatly to praise his diligence. Enclose the summary
of letters from Constantinople for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
97. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The letters from Rome, dated the 13th instant, inform us that
the Pope has determined to assemble the Council in Mantua, at
the beginning of next year, to make provision against the Lutheran
heresies. These advices you will communicate to the magnificos
the Bashaws.
Ayes, 179. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 6.
[Italian.]
98. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Archives,
The Cardinal of Lorraine arrived at Rome on the evening of
File no. 4 B. the 29th ulto., and yesterday morning went to the Pope, with
whom he remained until night. He assured his Holiness of the
most Christian King's wish for peace; but he still abides by the
first proposals made by the Emperor at Gaeta and Rimini to Mons.
De Veilly, that the Duchy of Milan be conferred on the Duke of
Orleans; nor was it until his arrival at Piacenza that the Cardinal
of Lorraine heard that the Emperor had changed his mind, and
will no longer give the Milanese to the Duke of Orleans, but solely
to the Duke of Angoulême. The Cardinal also remonstrated mildly
against the agreement made by the Pope with the Emperor, and
42
1536.
1536.
May 26.
Despatches,
Venetian
his Holiness complained greatly that the French on their part
make this difficulty about the substitution of one son for the other;
and he then justified all his proceedings with the Emperor; but
disagreeing on the first point they did not discuss any other
particulars. His Holiness has renounced his proposed journey to
Bologna; his kinsfolk were all averse to it, and they are supported
by the astrologers, in whom the Pope has always placed some trust,
which he still maintains.
I went this morning to visit the Cardinal of Lorraine, who told
me he should return to the Emperor in two days and then go to
France; and that the Pope will remain here, until the negotiation
for peace assume a fair aspect. The French partisans here say that
the Emperor told the Cardinal of Lorraine he would have given
the Milanese to the Duke of Orleans, but his Italian confederates
do not permit him to do so.
The Count of Cifuentes has received letters from the Emperor,
dated S. Cassano the 25th ulto., narrating the negotiations of the
Cardinal of Lorraine, thus.-On Wednesday the 26th (sic) he went to
the Emperor at Siena and said his King was well inclined towards
peace, provided then Milanese be given to the Duke of Orleans,
according to the intention announced to the Emperor by Mons.
de Veilly; the King giving good security for the observance of
his promises, but requiring payment to him for life, of the revenues.
of the Milanese. The Emperor replied he did not know what valid
security could be given, if the Duchy remain in the hands of the
Duke of Orleans; and assigned the same reasons to the Pope.
Next day the Cardinal returned with the ambassador, Vigli
[De Veilly ?], making the same proposal, and laying before the
Emperor the perils of the war, and complaining that he was nego-
tiating with the King of England, and had made a league with
your Serenity. The Emperor justified himself amply on all these
points, showing that his sole wish was to make peace with King
Francis, and to be his good kinsman and friend, so as to enable him
(the Emperor) to undertake the expedition against Algiers this year,
after which they might unite against the Turk. The Cardinal of
Lorraine, not having farther instructions, said he would come hither
to the Pope, and after speaking with his Holiness, return to the
Emperor and then to France, to use his good offices for the aforesaid
peace.
Rome, 1st May 1536.
[Italian.]
99. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On the 21st, by way of Lyons, the merchants received letters.
File no. 4 B. announcing that the King of England had caused the Queen Anne,
Archives,
with her father and brother, to be arrested on suspicion of adultery.
This intelligence was not credited, but has since been confirmed,
and a prelate who at the time of the divorce suit was the proctor of
the true Queen of England, the Emperor's aunt, lately deceased,
assured me that he yesterday received letters from Queen Maria,
1536.
43
1536.
May 26.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
June 10.
Senato Mar,
V. xxiii. p. 137.
the Emperor's sister, Governess of the Low Countries, dated the 6th
instant, acquainting him with this.
The bull concerning the Council will be published on Whitsunday,
nor until then can a copy of its contents be obtained.
Rome, 26th May.
[Italian.]
100. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
No reply to make to his last letters of the 2nd and 3rd instant ;
commend his diligence in giving them notice of what occurs; to
continue doing so.
Enclose letters from Constantinople dated the 14th ult. To
communicate the same to the King and other personages as usual.
[Italian.]
May 31.
101. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
Send the summary of letters from Constantinople dated 29th
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15. April for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
June 14.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
102. DECREE of the SENATE concerning the VENETIAN SECRE-
TARY in ENGLAND.
It has been omitted to give our most faithful secretary Hieronimo
Zuccato in England anything for the purchase of horses, as is usually
given to all our ambassadors and secretaries.
Put to the ballot,-That of the monies set apart for ambassadors
50 ducats be given to our said most faithful secretary for the pur-
chase of saddle-horses.
Neutral, 1.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 2.
[Italian.]
June 14.
103. The DOGE and
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
To communicate to the magnificos the Bashaws, that the King
V. lvii. p. 27. of England having discovered that the most serene Queen had com-
mitted adultery, he by legal process (per via della iustitia) caused
her to be beheaded, as also her brother and four of his Majesty's
most confidential servants (più intimi servitori), having previously
deprived the Queen of her title.
Ayes, 163.
[Italian.]
104. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Have received his letters of the 20th ult. Commend his diligence.
The Senate has voted him 50 ducats for the purchase of horses.
Enclose summaries of the letters lately received by them from Con-
stantinople for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
44
1536.
1536.
June 18.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives.
Letters from France, dated the 8th instant, announce that the nego-
File no. 4 B. tiation of the marriage of the English King's daughter, by the late
Queen Katharine, is far advanced (è molto stretta); and that the most
Christian King has already 8,000 Switzers, and will engage 14,000
more, besides a good number of Lansquenets, part of whom have
passed through the Swiss towns; thus his most Christian Majesty
shows himself well prepared and resolute.
Rome, 18th June.
[Italian.]
105. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
106. The SAME to the SAME.
June 23.
Despatches,
Venetian
The Pope asked me what was said at Venice about the powerful
armies of the Emperor and the King of France; and what seemed to
File no. 4 B. me important is, that he said the King of England has promised.
Archives,
the King of France the most efficient succour for the defence of the
kingdom, but for the rest chooses to be neutral.
Rome, 23rd June.
[Italian.]
July 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
July 5.
107. DOGE ANDREA GRITI to KING HENRY VIII.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
As fittingly to express by letter the joy he experienced on
File no. 15. receiving the news of the King's marriage, would perhaps render
him too tedious, he has charged the circumspect Hieronimo Zuchato,
his very faithful secretary resident in England, to present himself
to his Majesty, and respectfully to congratulate him in his (the
Doge's) name on the event; requesting that the King will deign
to give the secretary unquestionable credence. He therefore prays
the Almighty to prosper this marriage, so that the King may have
such progeny as to satisfy his very reasonable wish, proving also to
the advantage, delight, and ornament of the very flourishing realm
of England.
[Latin.]
108. DOGE ANDREA GRITI to the most Serene QUEEN OF.
ENGLAND [JANE SEYMOUR].
By reason of his perpetual observance towards the most Serene
King of England, rejoiced extremely to hear that he had married
her Majesty, and most especially understanding that she is amply
adorned with such religious and mental endowments as to render her
eminently worthy of that supreme dignity and [good] fortune. He
therefore congratulates her Majesty, and prays the Almighty that
from so auspicious and fortunate a marriage such lineage may
ensue as to gratify her Majesty, and the general wish of the
illustrious kingdom of England. Lest perchance he should be too
prolix in duly setting forth his joy, as becoming, has charged his
most faithful and circumspect secretary, Hieronymo Zuchato, resident
there, to state it more fully by word of mouth in his (the Doge's)
1536.
4.5
1536.
July 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
July 8.
Despatches
Venetian
July 14.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
name, and requests her Majesty to vouchsafe him indubitable
credence.
[Latin.]
109. The DOGE AND COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Have received his letters of the 10th ulto., with very full accounts
of the marriage of the most Serene King and Madam (Madamma)
Jane, whom his Majesty has accepted as his legitimate wife, and
Queen of England, with all possible rejoicings, the coronation being
appointed for St. John's day. Although the Signory is convinced
that he (Zuccato) in their name, will have performed such office of
congratulation with the King and Queen as due, according to the
intention announced by him; they nevertheless, to testify their
satisfaction and observance towards their Majesties, chose im-
mediately to write the accompanying congratulatory letters as by
the enclosed copy. He is to present them first to the King and
then to the Queen, expatiating by word of mouth on the Republic's
extreme satisfaction and joy, and very great desire that from a
marriage of such celebrity his Majesty may have offspring to his
satisfaction.
In reply to the other parts of his letter, have only to commend,
as hitherto.
Enclose the summary of their last letters from Constantinople,
which he will communicate to the King.
[Italian.]
110. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Archives,
Although these Frenchmen represent their affairs as very
File no. 4 B. flourishing, I nevertheless hear through a sure channel, that hitherto
the King of England remains neutral, nor has he yet determined to
join the King for the defence of the kingdom, although the Pope
assured me of the contrary. Hitherto, the greater part of the Swiss
Cantons have been neutral, and the Switzers now in the King's pay
were not levied in the usual manner, but went to serve his most
Christian Majesty without leave from their masters.
Rome, 8th July.
[Italian.]
111. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Having received letters from Constantinople, dated the 11th ulto.,
about the putting to sea of Barbarossa, send their summary for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
July 21.
112. The DOGE AND SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Deliberazioni
By letters from England we understand that most Serene King,
Senato (Secreta),
vol. lvii. p. 35. after beheading Queen Anne, as you will have learned by the last
[advices], has taken to wife and proclaimed as Queen a gentlewoman
by name Madame Jane, daughter of a Knight [Sir John Seymour], a
46
1536.
1536.
July 22.
Despatches
Venetian
Archives,
File No. 4 B.
July 30?
MS. St. Mark's
private English gentleman. These advices we charge you to
communicate as usual to the magnificos the Bashaws.
Ayes, 148. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
113. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador in Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
The Pope has letters from France, dated the 9th instant, informing
him that the King was very powerful, and that should the Emperor
invade France he [King Francis] would immediately have the most
Serene King of England in his favour.
Rome, 22nd July.
[Italian.]
114. REGINALD POLE to POPE PAUL III.*
Has received his Holiness's brief, dated 27th July, announcing that
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. he has nominated the Council as a remedy for the ills of Christen-
No date of time. dom. For this returns thanks to God, congratulates the Pope, and
Printed in vol. i. anticipates the best result from such a measure. Promises to assist
pp. 467-470.
66
1752.
Epistolarum the Pope, with the other persons called to aid him with their
Reginaldi Poli," counsel, in whatever may relate to the future assembly. Is however
Ed. Brescia, surprised at having been summoned, having never aspired to similar
offices, of which he believes himself unworthy, for when summoned
heretofore he alleged causes and pretexts (tergiversationes) for not
obeying, nor cared subsequently to preserve the Pope's good dis-
position by letters or messengers. This good disposition being
neither withdrawn nor diminished affords great proof of the Pope's
graciousness and affability; but on the present occasion the Pope
has written to him so stringently that it is not possible to find
excuse of any sort, unless (which God forbid) he chose to break
every tie of subjection to the vicar of Christ. He will, therefore,
obey the call willingly, bearing in mind by whom it is made and
for what purpose. But what will the King of England think of
this journey? will it not offend him? This thought harasses him,
for to this King, heretofore the delight of the Church and well
deserving of the religion, more so than any other Prince, he
rendered and will always render all the offices due from a subject to
his sovereign, and from a son to his father. God grant that the
King may be converted, though, to say the truth, of this he sees no
indication; yet he does not despair, thinking of his excellent disposi-
tion, of his religious education, and of the many prayers made for him,
especially as a Council of the whole of Christendom is now being
formed; nor will God allow it to take place without the obedience
tam preciosa ovis, and of so noble a realm as England. This is the
object of his hopes and prayers.
Paduan Territory, 30th July 1536 ?
[Latin, 60 lines.]
* Reginald Pole was created Cardinal by Paul III. on 22nd December 1536, five
months after the date of this letter. His eldest brother Henry Pole, Lord Montague, was
executed on the 9th January 1539; and his mother, Countess of Salisbury, shared the
same fate (at the age of 70) on the 27th May 1541.
1536.
47
Aug. 10.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
1536.
August 4.
Despatches.
Venetian
The King of England has sent the Duke of Norfolk to declare
File no. 4 B. war on the Emperor, in case he invade France, and has already
Archives,
115. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador in Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
commenced monthly contributions. The King of France has as
many Switzers as he wants, and it is also said that in Picardy,
Mons. de Vendome had routed the Imperial troops, commanded by
Mons. de Roeux, in such wise that Mons. de Nassau, who was on the
way to succour him, had halted.
Rome, 4th August.
[Italian.]
116. REGINALD POLE to GIOVANNI MATTEO GIBERTI, Bishop
of Verona.
Had not he (Giberti) at this season been visiting his diocese,
would have gone to him at Verona, wishing to regain the time lost
Printed in vol. i. by his departure thence owing to the unexpected coming of that
No date.
pp. 477-479.
CO
Epistolarum messenger from England; for he is much hampered by these affairs,
Reginaldi Poli." and many others threaten him (tum vero ea me circumstant negotia,
Date 10th Aug. et plura impendent), so that he longs for nothing more than to discuss
1536, but see
Beccatello, Life them with him (Giberti), whom he ranks among his chief friends.
of Pole, p. 363,
where the date
is 1535.
Some ten days ago, another courier was sent to him express (per
equos dispositos), with letters, whereby Cromwell, by whose will
the King now reigns, (cujus arbitrio Rex nunc regnat) [query,
who now rules the King] writes to him in the King's name,
sending also a letter from Tunstall, Bishop of Durham,* a person
well known (he believes) to Giberti, and who is now considered the
greatest of English scholars (nunc in Anglia primas in literis
tribuunt), assigning this letter as the cause for despatching the
courier with such speed; Tunstall's object being, by the arguments
and reasons stated in his letter, to convert Pole from the opinion
maintained in his books, concluding with impassionate entreaties,
beseeching him for the honour of his family, for the love of his
country, lest England, lately rescued from the yoke of servitude
(such being the title given by him to the obedience which she
rendered to the Roman Pontiff), be again replaced by him in
slavery, and under the same yoke. Tunstall alleges many things to
this effect, expecting him (Pole) to be greatly moved by them, but
all their projects (cogitationes) were anticipated by God, who the
more they study to turn him aside from the known truth, the more
they confirm him in it. Therefore, answered Tunstall's letter imme-
diately the courier came express, and by express sent the reply, and
whilst writing it, he received letters from Rome, whereby the Pope
ordered him to go thither. It seems that the Pope wishes to try
whether he (Pole) will maintain by deed, what he so strongly
asserted in words, concerning his authority, and the tie of their
obedience. Wrote this immediately to the Catholics (ad nostros) in
England, sending them a copy of the Papal letter, and also of his
reply, whereby he promised, in a cause so great and important (in
* Letter dated 13th of July 1536. (Cotton MSS., Cleop. E. VI. p. 385.)
48
1536.
1536.
August 11.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. lviii. p. 145.
tam gravi et amplâ causá), not to fail in his duty, and at any rate
to go as the Pope commanded him. From his Holiness's letter,
learns that during this winter the Pope will hold in Rome a
meeting of Theologians (doctorum hominum), summoned by him to
discuss those matters which will be hereafter treated in the yet
more august Council which will be attended by Legates of all
the provinces.
Knows himself unworthy to appear in such an
assembly, but being called for such a cause he must obey. He
wrote against this sentence [the Act of Supremacy ?], which he
knows will displease the King.* But what could he do? "Si
hominibus placerem," etc. Hears that he (Giberti) also, has been
called to Rome, which pleases him greatly, and yet more would it
please him, if, after being called thither, matters should not only be
decreed, but moreover executed, according to the advice of him
(Giberti) and those who resemble him; but these things depend
on the will of God. Should he (Giberti) have determined to go,
wishes to know the time of his departure, and if a little delayed, he
might perhaps accompany him. The Abbot of San Giorgio Maggiore
[Gregorio Cortese], is also summoned, and invited him (Pole) to
accompany him, but he purposes departing sooner than he (Pole)
can be ready, as he will set out at the end of August, having
arranged to pass some days with the Archbishop of Salerno,
whereas he (Pole) does not purpose quitting Rovelona and its
neighbourhood until the end of September. Requests him (Giberti)
to acquaint him with his intentions. "Farewell. From our Para-
dise for such, in truth, may I call this place where I now reside,
both on account of the pleasant country and most delightful hills,
and yet more by reason of the companions whose society I enjoy
here; for Marco Monaco brought me hither a good twenty days ago,
and most willingly do I listen to his discourse on the divine word, as
on no subject does he speak more willingly; so what with his own
words and those of his companions who are imbued with the same
spirit, I hear nothing but the praise of God; and in this delicious
spot, I fancy myself with my Maker in Paradise. Again, farewell."
Rovelona, in the Euganæan Hills, 10th August 1536.
:
[Latin, 64 lines.]
117. MAPHIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
That considering the importance of the law-suit between the
nobleman Ser Maphio Bernardo and those individuals Di Scudi, it
be carried that after the despatch of the Vincentini cause, which is
now being tried in the Criminal Court of the Forty, the said cause
of Bernardo and Scudi be immediately brought before the said
court and despatched.
Ayes, 12. No, 1. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
* "In hanc sententiam ad eos nonnulla scripsi que scio illi minime placitura. Sed
quid agam ?" Pole is probably alluding to some passage in his book entitled, "De
ecclesiasticæ unitatis defensione libri quatuor ad Henricum Octavum Britanniæ Regem.”
(See Epist. Vol. I. p. 478.)
1536.
49
1536.
August 14.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
King Francis is in very close negotiation with the King of
File no. 4 B. England, who is well inclined to form an alliance with him, but
solely for the defence of the kingdom of France.
News have been received here of the death of the English King's
natural son.
Rome, 14th August.
[Italian.]
August 23.
Deliberazioni
1
119. The SAME to the SAME.
August 16.
Despatches,
Venetian
With regard to the King of England, he has sent a herald to the
Emperor, but does not act sincerely, giving words to one party and
File no. 4 B. the other, thinking that the war between these Princes adds to his
Archives.
repute, and that both will be compelled to pay him great respect;
nor does the Emperor fail to make him very large offers of giving
him any part of France he pleases; and according to appearances
the King of England would wish the Emperor and King of France
to appoint him sole mediator for the peace between them.
Rome, 16th August.
[Italian.]
120. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Senato (Secreta),
Concerning the King of England, it is said that he has written
v. lvii. p. 52. to the Emperor offering himself as mediator for the disputes between
his Imperial Majesty and the most Christian King, and awaits a
reply.
Ayes, 192. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 6.
[Italian.]
August 26.
Despatches,
Venetian
Sept. 11.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
118. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador in Rome, to
to the SIGNORY.
121. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
to the SIGNORY.
Archives,
By a letter from the Right Rev. Triultio, in France, dated the
File no. 4 B. 12th, it is heard that since the death of the Dauphin, the King
inclines towards peace, and continues to affirm that England will
be in his favour with regard to defence.
Rome, 26th August.
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
122. The SAME to the SAME.
Has heard through a good channel that amongst the articles of
peace proposed by the King to the Emperor, is one stipulating the
inclusion of the King of England, about which the Pope complained
greatly to the French ambassador, who apologized, saying that this
will be the commencement for leading him to the good road and
causing him to become a true Christian.
Rome, 11th September.
5.
D
50
1536.
A
1536.
Oct. 27.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
The Bishop of Verona [Gian Matteo Giberti] requests the Republic
File no. 4 B. to exempt him from payment of the tenths, according to the tenor
of the brief conceded by the present Pope, by so much the more,
as the little he possesses is all employed for the benefit of persons
truly poor, the amount however being now small, as he has lost
5,000 ducats annual revenue, from his resignation of the bishopric
in France, and through the loss of other benefices in England,
Rome, 27th October.
[Italian.]
Nov. 7.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
Nov. 27.
Despatches,
Venetian
123. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
124. The SAME to the SAME.
The Rev. French Ambassador is informed by letters from his
court, dated the 23rd ult., that the most Christian King proceeds
more slowly than at first with regard to giving his daughter to the
King of Scotland, because the King of England, in order to thwart
this marriage, now makes fresh proposals and various offers to his
most Christian Majesty, who is going [from Moulins] to Blois, and
then to Paris and into Picardy.
Rome, 7th November.
[Italian.]
125. The SAME to the SAME.
The Pope having heard lately of the disturbances and insurrection
in England against the King, sent off in haste the bull depriving
File no. 4 B. him of his kingdom, absolving his subjects from their oath, and
Archives,
excommunicating all those who serve his Majesty or adhere to him;
of which bull I gave notice to your Serenity on the 7th and 16th
November, and on the 11th December 1535. Concerning these
English affairs, letters have been received from Lyons, to the effect
that the rebels are more powerful (più possenti) than ever, and in
the field they had a Duke (sic) as their commander, who was
likewise powerful (potente), [but ?] hesitated to give battle because
he did not know whom to trust.
Rome, 27th November.
[Italian]
126. The SAME to the SAME.
Letters from Madame Maria,* dated Antwerp the 12th, about
the affairs of England, purport that when the first insurrection
File no. 4 B. broke out, the King sought to quiet it by means of the Duke of
Nov. 30.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
Norfolk, and pardoned the rebels, promising to inflict no punishment,
notwithstanding which, his Majesty caused some 50 of the ring-
leaders to be executed, so that the rebels rose a second time, and
not merely those in the North, but also a great number of others
in another quarter of the Island, so that altogether they were
much more numerous than they had been at first, the Duke of
Norfolk having joined them (sic),† seeing that the King had broken
* Maria of Austria, Queen widow of Hungary, Governess of the Low Countries.
†“Con li quali si è accostato il Duca prefato vedendo ch' el Re li havea rotta la
fede."
1536.
51
1536.
Dec. 6.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
Dec. 10.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File no. 4 B.
faith to them, and they had seized several places; and the stir was
of such importance that the King withdrew to London.
The Pope has great hopes that matters will proceed prosperously
for the rebels.
Rome, 30th November.
[Italian.]
127. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Letters from the Court of France, dated the 18th ult., announce
the conclusion of the marriage of the King of Scotland to the
daughter of the most Christian King, with the consent (di volonta)
of the King of England; and that the rebels were closely negotiating
their agreement with the King, and the insurrection is supposed to
be at an end.
A negotiation is on foot for the marriage of the Princess of
England-born of the old Queen-(the King her father promising
to have her declared legitimate by the Parliament) to the late Duke
of Angoulême, now Duke of Orleans, son of the most Christian
King, who I am assured is not much inclined towards it.
Rome, 6th December.
[Italian.]
Rome, 10th December.
[Italian.]
128. The SAME to the SAME.
On the morning of the 8th, the Pope sent for the prelates
appointed by him for the affairs of the Council, and announced his
intention to them, namely, that he would hold it at any rate, although
the Lutherans persist in their determination to oppose it; and he
desired them to think about the reform of the court. The prelates
in question are the Archbishop of Salerno; Sadoleto, Bishop of
Carpentras; Verona [Matteo Giberti]; the Lord Reginald Pole
(il Sig. Renaldo Polo); and the Abbot of San Giorgio Maggiore
at Venice [Gregorio Cortese]. Chieti* is still weak, though appa-
rently recovered from his illness, but nevertheless he cannot yet
transact business.
129. The SAME to the SAME.
Dec. 16.
Despatches,
Letters from the Court of France, dated the 1st, and from Lyons
Venetian
Archives, on the 5th, announce that the marriage contract of the King of
File No. 4 B. Scotland with Madame Madelaine, the daughter of the most Christian
King, was stipulated with the consent of the King of England, who
gave it when the rebels on the island were armed and in force, but
the insurrection being now quelled, according to the French advices,
he sent to revoke his consent, but this second order did not arrive
in time.
* Gianpietro Caraffa, Archbishop of Chieti (Vite de' Cardinali, vol. iv. p. 163).
D 2
52
1536-1537.
1536.
Dec. 29.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File No. 4 B.
Dec. 22.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
The Pope is informed by letters from England, dated the 20th
File No. 4 B. November, that the rebels are more powerful than ever, and in
number 40,000, and that they have told the Duke of Norfolk, who
interposed to quiet matters, that they insist on the revocation of all
the statutes of the realm which have bee passed during the last
seven years, and that the King return to the Catholic faith, but
that as yet there was no hope of this. The rebel forces increase
daily, the King being in danger, and the writer of the letter recom-
mends the Pope to send Reginald Pole, now created Cardinal, as
Legate to England, with money for distribution amongst the poor
people, as the affairs of the Church will proceed most prosperously.
Rome, 22nd December.
[Italian.]
1537.
Jan. 3.
Despatches,
Venetian
Archives,
File No. 4 B.
His most Christian Majesty is intent on amassing money, and
strengthens the army in Picardy as much as he can, with the
intention of waging the war in those parts, in the hope (it is sup-
posed) that by making an attack in that quarter the King of
England will assist him by bearing part of the expense.
Rome, 16th December.
[Italian.]
130. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
131. The SAME to the SAME.
On the 22nd acquainted your Serenity with the creation by the
Pope of nine Cardinals, to six of whom,* on the morning of the
23rd, he gave the hat in public consistory.
By the last advices from Lyons, dated the 12th, it is heard that
the rebellion in England has not quite subsided, though it is not so
active as appeared by the letters which the Pope had read in consistory
when the creation of Cardinals was discussed.
His Holiness has determined to send the sword to the King of
Scotland, who offers to march against the King of England with all
his forces in favour of the Church, and make a vigorous attack,
being always ready to do the Pope every other service. The sword
and hat were blessed by his Holiness as usual on Christmas eve.
Rome, 29th December.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1537.
132. LORENZO BRAGADINO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
In a long conversation held by me with the Pope he expressed
his wish that your Serenity should use your good offices with the
* Amongst these six was Reginald Pole; the three not present, were Roderic Borgia,
son of the Duke of Gandia, the nuncio in France, and the Archbishop of Chieti.
1537.
53
1537.
Emperor and the King of France that they may aid his Holiness in
the Turkish expedition, on which he is intent, and has summoned
the congregation of Cardinals appointed for this purpose to send
nuncios and to decide on the mode of raising money. The Pope
said that he would give both money, the popedom, and his own life,
adding, "Thus stricken in years as you see us we will go in person;
never was Christendom in greater peril, or easier the remedy,
were it not for the mischievous operations of two men, namely,
the Emperor and the most Christian King, who both hold a matter
of very little importance in greater account than the Almighty
and the whole world, obstinately persisting in a war against each
other which must bring the entire Christian faith to ruin.
We
are in despair; if we speak to the Emperor about the Turk, he
replies that we must declare ourselves against France and excom-
municate King Francis, who has an understanding with the Turk.
This is not the way to resist Sultan Solyman, separating Chris-
tendom from France, who has so much power and authority, and
military forces and money, which are needed for this undertaking,
unless it be that the Emperor would fain effect our total over-
throw, for he it was who has been the cause of our losing England,
as had he not promised to attack King Henry, Clement would not
have published the sentence. And to tell you the truth, the Em-
peror caused us the loss of Germany likewise, and all this increase
of the Lutherans; for at the time of his election at Worms, when
the sect was in the beginning, he ought to have extinguished
it, and not allowed all men to live after their own fashion; and
subsequently he did the like at Augsburg. We do not indeed
believe that he thus chose to keep his foot upon the throat either
of Italy or of the Church, saying, 'It will be thus at my option,
whenever I please, to let the Lutherans enter Italy for their ruin
and that of the Church, to which they are most hostile, and they,
with the hope of plundering the Church property and that of the
clergy, will exempt me from any expense.
> ""
The Pope then spoke to me about the affairs of England, which
he said were going quite against the King, and that he had seen
trustworthy advices from a great personage that there was no
hope whatever of an agreement, and that well nigh the whole
Island had rebelled, the insurgents requiring that at any rate
Cromwell and four others should be placed in their hands; and with
the insurgents there were the Archbishop of York and many noble-
men and gentry (nobili et signori). His Holiness had no further
recollection of their names, and merely mentioned a Mylord (uno
miglior), showing that he had very sure hope of a speedy and
favourable result, on which I congratulated his Holiness, telling
him, that when not expected, Providence and the goodness of God
had found means to make that Island return to the bosom of the
Catholic Church, so that we must not despair of his giving light,
whereby to find the road to concord between these Princes, on
which the maintenance of his Holy See depended.
The Signor Pietro Alvise [Farnese] has of late been very ill of
colic; this morning he took oil of bitter almonds and is much
54
1537.
1537.
Jan. 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvii. p. 93.
better, the spasms which troubled him much (but without fever)
having greatly diminished.
Encloses a news-letter from Brussels concerning English affairs.
Rome, 3rd January.*
[Italian.]
Jan. 30.
Mantuan
Archives.
Jan. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lvii. p. 94.
133. The DOGE and SENATE to the AMBASSADOR and BAILO
at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The most Christian King was going to Paris and re-enforcing his
army in Picardy, where it was said he would continue the war.
His Majesty has married his daughter Madame Madelaine to the
King of Scotland, who came to France for this purpose, and was at
the Court, the marriage having been concluded and solemnized,
with the consent, it is said, of the King of England.
To communicate these advices as usual to the magnificoes the
Bashaws.
[Italian.]
134. Commission to MARC ANTONIO CONTARINI, knight,
Ambassador on his way to the POPE.
Is to visit in the Signory's name the ambassadors from the
Emperor, from the most Christian King, from the Kings of the
Romans and of England, and from such other Princes at the Court
as may seem fit to him.
Ayes, 140. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
135. MATTHEO DELL' AGNELLA, surnamed "EL BARBA,” to the
DUKE of MANTUA.
Heard by his son, Giovan Mattheo, the bearer of the present letter,
that the Duke wished for an English bred hobbyt. Was very
anxious to serve his Excellency, but could not succeed, though he
made a circuit of many miles round London, nor could he find any-
thing worthy of the Duke. For this he is very sorry, but prefers
letting his son go back without the hobby rather than send his Excel-
lency what would not suit him; and truly, as the Duke may hear
more in full from Agnella's son and his companion, it is very difficult
at present, owing to the late wars and insurrections, to find anything
worth having here. Humbly prays the Duke to excuse him if
unable to serve his Excellency, whose very devoted servant he is.
Should he find anything which may seem suitable, will do his
utmost to gratify the Duke's wish by the first good opportunity.
Prays God to grant the Duke perpetual prosperity, humbly request-
ing his Excellency to include him and his son amongst his menial
servants, and to hold them as recommended.
London, 30th January 1537.
Signed: Mattheo dell' Agnella ditto El Barba.
[Original, Italian.]
* According to the letterbook from which I transcribed the despatches of Lorenzo
Bragadino, he entered Rome on the 22nd October 1535, and his successor arrived there
on the 27th January 1537.
+ "Uno obyno da razza di questo paese."
1537.
55
1537.
January?
MS. St. Mark's
January?
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Library.
No date.
pp. 2-4.
&c.
136. CARDINAL POLE to ANDREA GRITI, DOGE OF VENICE.
Amongst the many congratulations received by him on his exalta-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. tion to the Cardinalate, the omission of any from his own country
pained him, but when those of the Doge and Senate were presented
Printed in vol. 2.to him by their Ambassador, Lorenzo Bragadino, the announcement
"Epistolarum," seemed to him well nigh the voice desired by him from England,
which is not surprising, as during his long residence at Venice he
received so many favours, that he cannot in reason consider them
less than those for which he is debtor to his birthplace. At Venice
he had facilities for study such as he certainly could not have found
at home, and he moreover enjoyed the friendship of most eminent
men. On this account he had already written a letter with the news
for transmission to the Doge, instead of which he receives from
Venice congratulations, calling to mind the new duties imposed on
him, which are certainly great and serious (magna et gravia). It
is his intention to fulfil them, provided God grant him the necessary
strength. The Doge and Senate may consider him on every occa-
sion their most devoted citizen.
Rome, January 1537?
[Latin, 51 lines.]
(C
Thanks him for his congratulations on the Cardinalate, which
prove Sforza's good will. The kindness of Sforza's cousin, the most
Printed in vol. 2.illustrious Farnese, will also certainly have contributed to the Le-
No date.
pp. 2-4.
Epistolarum," gate's good opinion of him. Wishes him success in his legation, and
&c.
promises him his prayers for its attainment.
Rome, January 1537?
[Latin, 43 lines.]
January?
MS. St. Mark's
Printed in vol. 2.
pp. 8, 9.
Epistolarum,"
&c.
138. The SAME to CoSIMO GERIO, BISHOP OF FANO.
Pays his own compliments to
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Gerio on the great abilities displayed by him in the letter.
Answers his congratulations.
Library.
No date.
Rome, January 1537?`
[Latin, 39 lines.]
((
March 5.
Senato Mar,
v. xxiv. p. 5.
137. The SAME to CARDINAL GUIDO ANTONIO SFORZA, Legate
of Bologna.
139. MOTIONS made in the SENATE concerning DUTIES on
ENGLISH MANUFACTURES.
The period of two years having expired during which kerseys and
coloured cloths were to pay but 4 per cent. duty on kerseys valued
at 3 ducats [the piece?], an act which evidently continues very
greatly to benefit our duties, it will therefore be put to the
ballot,-
That by authority of this Council the aforesaid decree be pro-
longed for three years, with all the forms and conditions as in the
act passed on the 16th July (sic) [7th July] 1524.
On the 18th December last year it was also enacted that, during
one year from that time, all persons might bring to Venice by any
56
1537.
1537.
March?
No date of time.
MS. St. Mark's
ship or vessel, white cloths exported from England, for conveyance
to the Levant and elsewhere, which having proved very advan-
tageous for our duties, it is therefore necessary to prolong the permit
for another year.
Put to the ballot,-
Ayes, 152. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 7. (Copy sent to the Board of
Revenue.)
[Italian.]
140. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
In obedience to him and to the Bishop of Verona [Matteo Giberti]
Library,
postscript in
he has changed his diet for the improvement of his health. He is
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.now better, and may call himself robust. Was deterred at first by the
Printed with a fear of setting a bad example on the assumption of his new dignity;
v. 2. pp. 23-28. the religion renders it necessary that he should take care of his health.
"Epistolarum Is desirous of what he asked the Pope, that he will assist him with
Reginaldi Poli." his prayers. Contarini to remind the Pope of his promise. Feels
himself invigorated by his prayers. If the prayer of Moses was so
efficacious, what may he not expect from that of his Holiness? Should
the Pope at times be weary, Contarini, as a new Aaron, is to support
him by prayer.
Can write nothing about the affair given him
in charge until he enters France. Hopes God will dispel the dark-
ness now visible.
Piacenza, March 1537?
[Latin, 105 lines.]
March?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time
or place.
That the Act passed on the 18th December 1536 be prolonged for
another year with all the clauses, etc. therein contained.
141. The SAME to the SAME.
March 24.
MS. St. Mark's
Unless the Pope supplies him with money speedily, it will be
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. universally believed he has acted imprudently, not to say most
Printed in v. ii. foolishly (stultissime). He receives a monthly salary of 500 gold
pp. 28-30.
crowns (quingentorum aureorum); all the legates his predecessors
"Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli." warned him from their own experience that this sum was too small
for the maintenance of so large a retinue as he had determined to
take with him, and that funds must be procured from elsewhere.
Having no private fortune he will have recourse solely to him by
whom he was sent, but restrained by natural bashfulness he did not
speak about this to the Pope, relying for the rest on his generosity,
which Cardinal Contarini had heretofore commemorated.
monthly salary is certainly insufficient; he has found it so by
experience, and to this Priuli can bear good witness.
The
Lyons, 24th March 1537.
[Latin, 50 lines.]
142. The SAME to CARDINAL FARNESE.
Letter of thanks for private services rendered.
Piacenza, March.*
[Italian.]
* It is probable that this letter was written from Piacenza when Cardinal Pole was
on his way as Legate to the Low Countries and France.
1537.
57
1537.
April 20?
MS. St. Mark's
143. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL RODOLFO PIO, Cardinal of
Carpi.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
pp. 33-41.
The many and serious troubles which now harass him are increased
No date of time. by his being compelled to abandon France without seeing the Car-
Printed in v. ii. dinal of Carpi.* His regret is mitigated by the Bishop of Verona
"Epistolarum [Matteo Giberti] who went in Pole's name to Pio, and by the
Reginaldi Poli." Cardinal's young envoy Francesco, who acquainted him with Pio's
will and advice. Apologises for declining the proposed interview in
the place appointed, where they might at least have condoled with
each other on the evil nature of the times, as he will now do by letter.
What other course can he pursue, what but the times are to blame?
How was it possible to believe that a king, by nature generous and
by religion Christian, should be compelled by the times to refuse
to receive a legate from the Pope. Knows that the King does so
unwillingly; this is seen by the honours which he caused him to
receive on the way, and by the previous declarations made by the
French ambassadors to the Pope, who told his Holiness that his
(Pole's) coming would be most agreeable to their King, though
there were many who prognosticated the result. If when even near
the palace he could not gain admission, what can he call this if
not the iniquity of the times? Has nothing to blame, save the
iniquity of the King of England, whom King Francis thought it
necessary to gratify in this matter, and who demanded of the most
Christian King that he should lay hands on an ambassador and
legate of Christ's vicar commissioned to him for the cause of Christ,
and deliver him [the legate] prisoner into the hands of a hostile
power. This demand was subversive of the law of nations and of
God, destructive of all intercourse between man and man, and a
betrayal at one and the same time of God and his neighbour, and
an insult to France. Cicero pronounced Cato fortunate, because
no one had ever dared to ask a baseness of him. On this occasion
England did certainly not render the like homage to France.
surprised that the King of France could have listened to such a
proposal without anger. But this persecution on the part of the
enemy does him (Pole) honour, he being persecuted as the Apostles
were of yore, and Christ before them. He was to have nego-
tiated the peace between the powers, the Council, and the affairs of
England. His legation, therefore, related entirely to the interests
of Christ.
With regard to England, the object was to reconduct her to the
religion of which she was formerly a model. This end can certainly
not be condemned by any one, and he will now show whether
the means adopted by him for attaining it were at variance with
precedents afforded by his country (alienam a majorum instituto).
The disease having descended from the head into the body of the
entire island, the remedies (in the language of physicians) were
two, surgery and diet. Many persons, including those who had
taken up arms in England, were in favour of surgery. He (Pole)
preferred the milder course, and chose diet. Was this an error?
* In the year 1535 the Cardinal of Carpi was sent as nuncio to France, by Pope
Paul III. to announce the Council. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 174.)
58
1537.
1537.
When preparing for his mission to the King of France, who now
denies him audience, he believed that the friendship between France
and England, and that of King Francis with the Pope, would
greatly facilitate his project. The recent disturbances in England
gave the King of France a fair opportunity, and although the insur-
rection is quelled for the moment, yet the country will never be
secure until the affairs of the religion (whereby it was caused) are
adjusted; so that it seemed for the advantage of England to adjust
the same by means of the most Christian King. Lest the King of
England's antipathy to their order should render him averse to him
(Pole), he was accompanied by the Bishop of Verona [Matteo
Giberti], a prelate who had used his good offices for the King in
the reign of Pope Clement, and been most friendly towards the
English nation, and he (Pole) had frequently heard the King com-
mend the services he had rendered him, Giberti being also in favour
with King Francis for like conduct with regard to France. There-
fore deemed the Bishop of Verona a fitting person to counsel what
became the dignity of the two Kings.
Cardinal Pio now sees how far he (Pole) has shown himself a
traitor to the King of England, whose councillors having persuaded
him in his letter to the most Christian King to style him (Pole)
a traitor and guilty of "lese-Majesty," he appeals to the judgment
of the most Christian King, and hopes for an opportunity to prove,
not only to the most Christian King, but to all Christian Kings,
and before the universal Church, what his treason is (qualis sim
proditor). Those men, however, who persuaded the King thus to
write, if they did not thus show themselves sufficiently traitorous
to his Majesty, had depraved him so completely that he, who was by
nature most religious, scrupulously observant of the institutions
of his ancestors, gentle (modestum) and gracious, spontaneously
generous and clement, thirsted (concupisceret) for honours never
hitherto imagined by Kings, subverted the dogmas of the Church,
despoiled churches, destroyed monasteries, persecuted the ministers
of the Church, and at length most cruelly put to death men
amongst the best of any ever born in England, none excelling
them in learning and every virtue, and the King himself placing
the utmost trust in them. Nor does he say this solely of Rochester*
and others in whom these merits were eminently conspicuous, but
of all executed for the same cause.
If these counsels do not sufficiently convict their authors of
treason to the King, these letters [to the King of France], such as one
robber would scarcely write to his accomplice, most clearly show
what traitors they are; and indeed, were a legate accredited to a
robber, still less to a King, and that King being most Christian,
does not think that he could find any other robber so unmindful of
the law of nature (which in this matter even robbers acknowledge)
as to think himself at liberty to ask his fellow robber to surrender
the legate to him. Those men, therefore, who persuaded the King
of England to require another King, the most Christian, to deliver
* John Fisher, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, beheaded on the 25th June 1535.
1537.
59
1537.
the legate into his hands, are therefore traitors. If lese-Majesty be
treason, what can be more iniquitous to Majesty (if it be not its
extinction and annihilation rather than lese-Majesty) than for any
one to cause Majesty to ask of a King that which is repugnant to
all honesty, decorum, and humanity? (Si lædere Majestatem Regis
est proditorem esse, ecquæ res esse potest, qua magis Majestas Regis
ladatur (si hac tamen lædere Majestatem est, ac non potius tollere
et delere) cum quis Regi auctor est, ut ei petat, quæ omni honestati,
pudori, et humanitati repugnant.) Nor did the royal councillors
prove themselves traitors solely by their disregard for his (Pole's)
present office, which is respected by all nations, even such as abhor
the Christian religion; but they also failed to consider how he had
always borne himself from childhood, and that he had never ceased
exerting himself for the welfare of the King and the realm. So it
is evident that the real traitors are those who represented him to
the King so differently to what he always was and still is. Fears
the King will discover his error when it is too late.
This letter is too diffuse, but he wished it to make him amends
for the interview of which he has been disappointed.
April 27.
MS. St. Mark's
Should it please God that he should act for the welfare of his
country, the efforts of these folk (horum conatus) will prove vain.
Cambrai, 20th April 1537?
[Latin, 219 lines.]
144. CARDINAL POLE to ERARDO DELLA MARCK, Cardinal
Bishop of Liege.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Sent a noblemen, his familiar, to the Cardinal of Liège at Brussels
pp. 41-45.
No date. yesterday, accompanied by a person in the service of the Bishop
Printed in vol. ii. of Cambrai, but the Governor of Valenciennes would not allow
"Epistolarum him to pass, without a special order from the Queen [Maria of
Reginaldi Pole." Hungary, Governess of the Low Countries]. Was surprised that
by the Queen's order, passage should be denied to a person con-
veying a letter to her chief councillor; but the Governor must
have acted officially, as he is a most courteous person. Cannot
but consider this proceeding strange. The Pope intrusted him
with this legation chiefly at the instigation of two Imperial ambas-
sadors, the one [Chapuis ?] by letters from England, the other
[Cifuentes?] at Rome; nor was anything done with regard to the
road and the whole journey without their counsel and advice,
and indeed they were well nigh the impellents throughout. (Nihil
quod ad viam, et ad totum iter pertineret, non modo sine eorum
consilio et hortatu, sed pene non illis impulsoribus factum esse.)
The Pope deferred to them in all things, and Count Cifuentes, the
Imperial ambassador, and Ortis, LL.D., who conducted the suit of
the late Queen Katharine at Rome, where he is now the Emperor's
proctor, well nigh compelled him to take the road through France,
to which he very strongly objected (me maxime reclamante). They
then congratulated him and the Pope on his having prevailed
on the Bishop of Verona [Matteo Giberti] to accompany him; and
touching the journey, it was settled that if he went through France,
and unless an opportunity offered for crossing over to England,
it was to end in Flanders, where he might expect every facility
.
60
1537.
1537.
for transacting the public business with which he was charged.
But as his commission related not only to the adjustment of English
affairs, but to peace between the Emperor and the King of France,
and to the Council General, which matters he was to discuss with
all the powers through whose territories he might pass, it was
also settled that on his way through France-unless the affairs.
of England allowed him to go conveniently to King Francis-he
was to send the Bishop of Verona to him to negotiate what related
to the Peace and the Council, he (Pole) in the meanwhile remain-
ing in the same place (so long as the English business left him at
liberty), awaiting the Bishop, who was to return to him imme-
diately on ascertaining the King's will about those two matters.
The Pope assented to all this, in accordance with the opinion and
will of the Imperial ambassadors, nor as yet has he (Pole) departed
from these instructions; but after entering France, when hopes
were given him of a conference, the King, on his (Pole's) arrival
in Paris, anticipating his demands, sent him a message to say that,
urged by the English ambassadors, he could not receive him. For
the rest he treated him with the greatest honour, and granted
his request for audience for the Bishop of Verona, to negotiate the
Peace and the Council. The Bishop went to the King's camp, but
perceiving at the first interview that he was averse to a truce as
proposed by the Pope, Giberti returned. Then purposed passing into
Flanders to complete his mission, as counselled by the Imperial
ambassadors, with the Pope's consent.
The drop of courtesy bestowed in France was expected to be
followed by a flood of hospitality in the Emperor's dominions,
as a province belonging to his Imperial Majesty was proposed by
his ambassadors to him (Pole) as the limit of his legation; instead
of which, is prevented from sending one of his attendants with a
letter to so great a personage as the Cardinal Bishop of Liège. The
thing is so marvellous that he would wish to know the cause, as
having gone thither by the advice of the Emperor, he expected him
to fail in nothing that could facilitate the undertaking. Will
discuss all these matters with the Cardinal when they meet, which
he hopes will be soon. Wishes to know where the interview can
take place, and would prefer the Province of Liège. The Pope
recommended him (Pole) as his son, to the Cardinal of Liège, and
desired him (Pole) to obey him by reason of his tried constancy
and faith in God and the Holy Roman Church, and of his generosity
in all things. Is sufficiently guarded by the good-will of the
Bishop of Cambrai, though he cannot but feel alarm both by reason
of the soldiers who come even to the gates of the city, and stop
the passes; as also because free transit is allowed to everybody,
including the English, whose King's hostility makes them not only
spies but conspirators (insidiatores) against him, as he has ex-
perienced lately. In short, the Cardinal of Liège, knowing who he
is, by whom sent, the object of his mission, and who instigated
and as it were insisted on it (et quibus instigantibus, atque adeo
compellentibus veniam), will give him suitable advice.
CA
Cambrai, 27th April 1537.
[Latin, 127 lines.]
1537.
61
1537.
May?
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
145. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL ERARDO DELLA MARCK,
Cardinal Bishop of Liège.
No date.
pp. 41-45.
Being unable to have an interview with the Cardinal of Liège,
and as the Pope orders him to follow the Cardinal's advice, sends
Printed in vol. ii.the Bishop of Verona [Matteo Giberti] to state the case, which
"Epistolarum could not be in better hands, as Giberti is alike prudent and pious,
Reginaldi Pole." and will bring back the required information. Regrets being
unable to express his gratitude to the Cardinal verbally. Will
always remain heartily grateful to him, and prays the Cardinal
to extend his courtesy to the Bishop of Verona likewise; and
should he present him to the Queen [Maria of Hungary], would
be much gratified, but refers himself to the Cardinal's judgment.
Cambrai? May 1537?
[Latin, 36 lines.]
May 14.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 15.
66
146. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO and AMBASSADOR
at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Pope seems intent on the convocation of the Council, to make
provision against the Lutheran heresies, and he apparently wishes
it to be held at Mantua, although the Duke of Mantua says that
city is not suited to the purpose, nor capable of holding so great
a number of persons as usually attend such a meeting, on which
account it appears that the matter will be procrastinated.
Is to communicate this likewise to the Magnificos the Bashaws.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 7.
[Italian.]
May 18?
147. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Has received the Pope's letter, anticipating as it were the
Cod. xxiv., Cl. x.difficulty of proceeding. Affairs in England offering neither hope
nor opportunity, his Holiness orders him to Mantua, where the
Printed in vol. 2.Council will be held; and on calculating the time, conjectures that
No date.
pp. 46-57.
Epistolarum the Pope will be there long before this letter is delivered to him.*
Reginaldi Poli.” Wishes to obey promptly, but the road is not safe, and there are
reasons which would dissuade him from to speedy a return, and
indeed detain him for some time; and as these reasons connect
themselves with a cause which the Pope has so much at heart,
will state them, and then do what his Holiness shall please.
Is in the midst of all sorts of perils, although invested, or perhaps
because invested, with the office of Cardinal Legate. On arriving
in Paris hoped to confer with the King, who was not far distant.
The King caused him to be received honourably in Paris, but sent
him word he could not treat directly with him, or even allow him
to remain in France, being compelled to act thus by the King
of England (sed precibus ejus coactum, qui mihi, et universo
ordini nostro, atque legationis causæ esset inimicissimus), for whom,
by reason of the times, he is obliged to have great consideration.
15
* Paul III. subsequently renounced the idea of holding the Council at Mantua, and
suspended it until the 1st of November 1537. (See Sarpi's History of the Council of
Trent.)
62
1537.
1537.
Then proceeded immediately to Flanders, and was courteously
received by the Bishop of Cambrai, but having sent one of his
attendants with letters to the Bishop of Liège, who was at the
Court of the Governess of the Low Countries, the messenger was
captured by the Governor of Valenciennes under pretext of military
movements, but in reality because the Ambassador of the King of
England had a few days previously requested the Governess [Maria,
Queen Dowager of Hungary, sister of Charles V.], not only to
forbid him and his attendants to remain in the Low Countries,
but also to prevent their passage through them on their way to
Germany. Thought it beneath his dignity to travel in disguise, as
was also proposed to him, and accepted the offer of the Bishop of
Cambrai to send his own archdeacon, a learned and trustworthy
man, to the Bishop of Liège, with his [the Cardinal's] demands.
After eleven days he was answered that the Queen [Maria of
Hungary] would send a person to escort him to Liège, where the
Bishop would give him whatever security he could desire, but the
escort has not yet arrived.
This perilous condition is yet more serious, considering the
precedent thus afforded by the dread of the Princes of Christendom
to displease the King of England (ne inimico nostri ordinis
displicerent). Is apprehensive, not only of being compelled to
withdraw from France, and excluded from Flanders, but of being
put to death, the King of England, through his Ambassador, having
requested the King of France to place him in his hands. The
King of France did not consent to so open a violation of the law
of nations, but many persons urged him to quit France as soon
as possible. Believes himself to be safe in France, though he might
perhaps fear, lest for the gratification of the King of England, who
seems to seek his life above all things (qui nihil magis quam
meum sanguinem appetere videtur), some attack may be made
upon him.
These considerations well nigh compel him to remove to a
distance immediately, especially as the insurrection* is quelled,
many persons being executed, and the King having seized all the
ringleaders. This intelligence reached him at Lyons, but a report
then circulated that to satisfy the population in some degree, the
King would convoke a Council, in which to discuss the religious
matters which had instigated the rebellion, it being indeed said,
that the day of St. John the Baptist, 24th June, had been appointed
for this Council. This report, however, was very soon contradicted,
nor can anything but evil be expected. These circumstances would
suggest a speedy return, but excessive haste should be avoided,
lest it appear that he was sent by the Pope without good reason.
There was good cause so long as the insurrection lasted, but since
its suppression there is no motive for remaining, the more as the
dangers are many, and he is the only Cardinal of whom the Pope
could avail himself, should he choose to negotiate with England.
These considerations may induce the Pope to recall him.
•
* The Northern insurrection in England.
⭑
P
20
63
1537.
1537.
June 9.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 29.
Will now assign reasons why he should remain still at his post.
First of all, if the Pope thought fit to subject himself to expense
and anxiety for this mission, it seems that he ought to leave the
legate so long as there be hope of any little advantage, because
his departure would dishearten the Catholics. In addition to this,
it is well to be always on the watch for any opportunity to regain
England, lest the tenets of her present generation be inherited by
the coming one (ut filiis eorum qui nunc vivunt, ejusmodi opiniones
prodantur). The opportunity, therefore, must be taken, to which
end it is desirable that a person known to the English, of irreproach-
able character, and upright and firm in his religious opinions,
(cujus existimatio nunquam apud eos sit læsa, rectaque semper, et
constans de religione opinio), should remain well nigh always
before them, to take advantage of any opportunity; but how can
this be done if the Legate has no place in which to remain, and
the opportunities seem irrecoverably lost? He might at least repair
to the territory of Liège, where there is no lack of cities and castles
in which he might be safe. Opportunities will perhaps not be want-
ing, as may be inferred from this identical insurrection, whose leaders
were first lured by fair promises and then crushed; the people,
therefore, cannot but be malcontent, and will again rebel the moment
they can. Opportunities will therefore occur, and it would seem
well to remain on the watch for them; but in the meanwhile, the
King [of England], his most powerful and bitter enemy, is endea-
vouring to get possession of him, dead or alive, and he boasts that for
this purpose he will spend as much as one hundred thousand pounds
sterling (centum enim aureorum Anglicorum millia se profusurum
jactat,* ut me in sua potestate vel vivum vel mortuum habeat).
Who, therefore, will save him from the perilous power of this man?
God! on whom no one ever relied in vain; and good example, as
afforded by the Bishop of Verona [Matteo Giberti], given him by the
Pope as a companion on his journey and partaker of his labours,
and who is such a mirror of fortitude, that, seeing him so firm in the
midst of so many dangers, Pole is encouraged to remain.
* In the printed copy, vol. ii. p. 55, "jactant."
-
Has thus stated the arguments in favour of return or delay, for
the Pope to decide, and the Legate will most readily obey.
Cambrai, 18th May 1537?
[Latin, 236 lines.]
148. AMENDMENT concerning ENGLAND-MOTION made in the
SENATE.
As the secretary in England has not been written to since
upwards of six months: Put to the ballot,-
That the summary of the letters from Constantinople, dated
16th and 21st May, be sent to him likewise, for communication to
the King.
Ayes, 66. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1. (The letter to be dated 12th
April.)
[Italian.]
•à
64
1537.
↓
;
1537.
June 10 ?
MS. St. Mark's
149. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
Library.
No date.
Have at length reached Liège, employing forty days for a journey
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Which might have been performed in two. The Bishop of Liège
received him most graciously, showing himself the son and friend
Printed in vol. 2.of the Pope. Therefore commends him much, but does not write
"Epistolarum, about business to avoid wearying the Pope. A few days ago the
Reginaldi Poli." Bishop of Verona wrote on the subject, addressing his letter to the
pp. 59-61.
Pope's secretary.
Liège, 10th June 1537?
[Latin, 31 lines.]
June 10.
MS. St. Mark's
150. The SAME to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
From his (Cardinal Contarini's) letter, dated Rome, 12th May,
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl.x. received on the 5th June, understood how he had exerted himself
pp. 64-68.
No date. about the money matter, and how readily the Pope had supplied
Printed in vol. 2. his need, which was very great; but must describe the sort of
"Epistolarum, imprisonment endured by him at Cambrai, where he and his at-
Reginaldi Poli." tendants remained well nigh forty days, as it were besieged, and
had to avail themselves of the assistance of others to obtain their
liberty, which necessarily increased their extraordinary expenses.
May rest assured that he does not waste the money, and he can
obtain good evidence of this from Priuli; incurs no unnecessary
expenditure; Cato, the censor, could neither suppress nor diminish
any part of it; and the assiduity of the Bishop of Verona, who
has especial care for the economy of his household, leaves him
nothing to wish for, but the monthly salary is insufficient; nor
on this will he dilate any further. How matters are proceeding
in England may be inferred from what those who now rule there
plotted against him. Sends him copy of a letter written by him
to the Pope, and of one from Priuli on the same subject. With
regard to his legation, he has as yet merely been able to with-
draw to a place secure from treachery and conspiracies (tutum ab
istorum insidiis et conjurationibus) with great difficulty, through
the goodness of the Bishop of Liège. The citizens here are ready
to defend him. Two days ago a certain Englishman arrived here,
and he (Pole) obtained some intercepted letters addressed to this
person by the English Ambassador in Flanders, telling him that if
he could accomplish what they had discussed together, he would find
great favour with the King, and be well rewarded.
The rogue
therefore came to Liège, pretending that having been outlawed from
England, he was starving, and therefore wished to enter his (Pole's)
service; but, had he remained another night in the town, he would
certainly have been imprisoned; so anticipating this, or conscience-
stricken, he made his escape before daybreak. From the letters of
Priuli, he (Contarini) will learn several particulars of this sort, which
clearly demonstrate the intentions of those (istorum) who track his
footsteps in every place, and at all times, but his hope in God dispels
all fear. Should he (Contarini) ask about his hopes with regard
to the entire cause, they are very great, provided but moderate care
be had.
1537.
65
1537.
; so
The Bishop of Verona [Giberti] is now absent at Brussels
not knowing what he has done, is unable to write distinctly at
present, but by the next courier will give a fuller account of all
things. Does not despair of the cause, more than the Children
of Israel, who in an excellent cause gave battle twice to their brethren
of Benjamin, when the Lord assisted Israel*; and in like manner,
those who defend this cause will be victorious in their defence,
although at present they seem to have been conquered twice, once
in Ireland and again in England, where the people in like manner
were moved of God (semel in Hibernia Deo duce providente, iterum
in Anglia, Deo, ut ipse etiam judico, populum_hortante).† Is
glad to hear that the Pope perseveres in his projects of reform
and has derived no less pleasure from the perusal of Contarini's
confutation (censura) of Melancthon. Hopes that should the Pope
persevere in the reform of morals (in censura morum), there
will not be much controversy about the rest, and may God give
peace to the Church.
.;
Liège, 10th June 1537.
[Latin, 114 lines.]
July 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
July 9.
151. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning ENGLAND.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
It having been seen by the foregoing letters from England that
v. lviii. p. 32. the most Serene King wishes the Signory to acquaint him with the
Turkish news, according to the custom of the State heretofore, and
as it is fitting not to omit performing this office with his Majesty:
Put to the ballot,-
K
That the summary of the present letters from Cattaro, Antivari,
and Corfu be sent to our secretary in England, with orders to
communicate it to the most Serene King.
Noes, 5. Neutrals, 6.
Ayes, 139.
[Italian.]
152. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Having heard by his last letters of the King's wish to be
acquainted with the Signory's advices respecting the Turkish pre-
parations and armada, not choosing to fail in the performance of
this office with his Majesty, send a summary of news received by
sea, and charge him to communicate it to the King.
The last letters received by the Signory from him (Zuccato) were
dated 3rd June.
(Written in virtue of a decree of the Senate, and sent by the
College.)
[Italian.]
* See Judges, Chap. xx.
† Query the rebellion of Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, attainted 21st May 1536. Lord
Thomas Fitzgerald sent Charles Reynold, Archdeacon of Kells, to Pope Paul III., and
Dominick Power to the Emperor Charles V. with letters craving their aid towards the
conquest of Ireland, which he promised to hold of them for ever. (See Cox in Collins,
vol. vi. p. 149.)
5.
E
66
1537.
1537.
July 21.
Library,
No date.
pp. 73-77.
153. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
MS. St. Mark's From Contarini's letter to Priuli, dated 10th June, learns how
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. much he had been distressed by their danger, which they, however,
escaped by means of the Bishop of Liège. At the time they were
Printed in v. 2. besieged rather than free, nor were they sufficiently safe, even in
"Epistolarum the city itself [viz. Cambrai]. They are now living in a city which
Reginaldi Poli." they hope is sufficiently secure, but its outlets, in whatever direc-
Date 21st July. tion they may travel, are not equally so. Contarini now fears that
it may not be fitting to remain in those parts, especially with so
little hope of succeeding in the chief object of the entire legation.
The two letters written by him (Pole) to the Pope and to Contarini
himself, stating what could be said for and against, by one on the
spot, are an answer to this. It merely remains for him to submit
to the Pope's decision, but considering what has already taken place
in England, and what is still passing there, although instinct would
urge him to Rome (etsi sensus eo me impellat), the success of the
business, which he prefers to his own safety, counsels him rather to
remain. Of indignity there is no fear, as nothing can be more
dignified than to dare remain in such perilous places, where least
of all the enemy of the cause would wish them to be, and from
whence he threatens to eject them; but were they now to depart,
he will boast of having expelled them, though what he may say
or boast of, is merely to be held in account because it might dispirit
good adherents.
Liège, 21st July.
[Latin, 56 lines.]
July 30.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.
V. xii.
♦
154. INCREASE of SALARY for the SECRETARY in ENGLAND.
Five years have elapsed since Hieronimo Zuccato is alone in Eng-
land with a salary of 30 ducats, to which be there added 20 ducats.
Ayes, 16. No, 1.
[Italian.]
August 10.
155. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
Library,
No date.
pp. 80-82.
MS. St. Mark's Expatiates on the more than brotherly kindness of the Bishop
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. of Liège, without which the Papal Legate would have had no safe
resting place. The opportunity is favourable for aiding him in a
Printed in v. 2. matter which will be fully detailed in a letter from the Bishop of
"Epistolarum Verona to D. Carlo da Fano. Requests Contarini to favour this
Reginaldi Poli." business with the Pope. Is ready to return on receiving the Pope's
Date 10th Aug. commands; nor would he have delayed so long had not Giberti,
returning from the Queen's Court* and from Liège, brought home
a message from the Bishop, who wishes Pole to stay with him for a
few days, he being at a distance of eight miles from Liège, where
he is to arrive in two days. Contarini will learn the remaining
news from the letters of Priuli.
Liège, 10th August.
[Latin, 38 lines.]
* Brussels, residence of the Queen Dowager of Hungary.
1537.
67
1537.
August 21.
MS. St. Mark's
156. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
Perceiving the state of affairs in England, should think it advisable
Library,
No date
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. to remain at Liège, but as the Pope commands him to return he
will do so, although, owing to the rage of the enemy, the road will
Printed in v. 2. not be safe for him. Hopes, however, to escape all peril, through
"Epistolarum the care of the Bishop of Liège, to whom he owes so much. To-
Reginaldi Poli." morrow they will set out; and on again seeing the Pope and
Date 10th Aug. Contarini, Pole will fancy himself in the presence of his country
pp. 88-89.
and his relatives.
Liège, 21st August.
[Latin, 28 lines.]
Sept. 30.
MS. St. Mark's
Sept. 13.
157. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning ENGLAND.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta).
tergo.
That ex nunc the College be authorized to write to the most
v. lviii. p. 54. Serene Kings of England and Portugal, and to such other Princes
and Lords as shall seem fit to said College, in the form and tenour
of the letters written to the King of the Romans, and to the
Electors of the Empire; being also authorized to expend such sum
of money as fitting and necessary for the despatch of said letters
without further ballot in this Council.
Ayes, 211. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
Bovolona, 30th September.
[Latin, 34 lines.]
158. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
Library,
No date
pp. 89-90.
Before arriving at Trent, received a letter from the Rev.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Prothonotary informing him that the Pope left it to his own
decision either to remain at Liège or to return to Rome. Thinks it
Printed in v. 2. fortunate that this second letter did not arrive until he had already
"Epistolarum obeyed the order of recall contained in the first. In a few days
Reginaldi Poli." hopes to be at Rome; writes from Bovolona, the villa of the Bishop
Date 30th Sep. of Verona [Giberti], not far from Ostia in the Mantuan territory,
on the banks of the Po, where he purposes embarking tomorrow on
his way to Ferrara, and then to Ravenna. Repeats his praises of
Matteo Giberti, who will leave him at Ferrara. At Verona,
embraced Contarini's brother Tommaso, and his brother-in-law
Matteo Dandolo*, who immediately on hearing of his arrival,
hastened to salute him. His Achates, Priuli, is never away from
him.
159. DOGE ANDREA GRITI to HENRY VIII.
Oct. 11.
Lettere del Col-
On hearing that Corfu (an island extremely convenient, not only
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15. for the Republic, but also for Italy and the rest of the Christian
Powers) was besieged by the Turks with an overwhelming army
and fleet, although the strength of the enemy was such as to alarm
* In the years 1549-1550, Matteo Dandolo was Venetian Ambassador at Rome, and
his despatches contain many notices of the conclave which finally elected Pope Julius III.,
although at its commencement there was a strong majority in favour of Cardinal Pole.
✩
E 2
68
1537.
1537.
Oct. 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
all Christendom, determined not to lose heart, and relying in the
first place on the Divine assistance, had recourse not only to the
Signory's own means, but also to other Christian Kings and Princes,
to extinguish the general conflagration, lest it increase to the
detriment of the Christian Commonwealth. Determined, therefore,
to form an offensive and defensive league with the Pope and the
Emperor against the common enemy, reserving honourable place in
it for other Christian Princes, and to wage hostilities strenuously,
although the Republic is free from all danger, the enemy having
raised the siege of Corfu.
Requests his Majesty to aid the war as most becoming, both on
account of his extreme piety towards God, as also by reason of the
good will which he bears the State, as at present he could do
nothing more profitable for Christendom, or more for his own
renown, as he will hear more fully from the Secretary Hieronimo
Zuccato, to whom he will give credence as to the Doge in person.
[Italian.]
160. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
The Great Turk having lately violated the peace between him and
the Republic, laying siege with a fleet and army to their city of
Corfù, from which he subsequently departed, they determined to
make an offensive and defensive league with the Pope and the
Emperor against the Turks, reserving a most honourable place for
the other Christian Princes. Desire him, in company with the
Venetian consul, to present the letter which they send him
addressed to his Majesty, as by the enclosed copy, stating what is
aforesaid, and praying and exhorting him, in this so great need of
all Christendom, to render such assistance as required, he (Zuccato)
acquainting them with the King's reply.
[Italian.]
Dec. 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 95. to Lord Cromwell, and with his (Zuccato's) sage suggestion about
161. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY in ENGLAND.
By his letters of the 17th ult., are acquainted with what he said
writing another letter to the King of England requesting him to
lend his assistance against the Turks. Have, therefore, written to
his Majesty, as by enclosed copy, and charge him to present the
Signory's letters, amplifying them by word of mouth as he may
think fit, so that his Majesty in this so great need of all
Christendom, may give such assistance as becoming his forces and
the title borne by him of " Defender of the Faith."
Are certain that he will do so very readily, to his immortal glory,
for the service of God and benefit of Christendom.
The secretary is to answer their letters speedily, giving them
notice of current events.
Ayes, 165. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
1537.
69
1537.
Dec. 17.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
Dec. 27.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
163. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL ERARDO DELLA MARCK,
Cardinal Bishop of Liège.
Congratulates the Cardinal on his good health, for which he will
No date of time. never cease to pray, as it would seem to him less iniquitous to for-
Printed in v. 2. get his parents than not remember for ever the kindness of the
-
162. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
By the return of a messenger sent by them in August to the
"Bailo" Canal, have heard what is contained in the enclosed sum-
mary, which he is to communicate to the King as usual.
[Italian.]
Dec. 31.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 103.
pp. 99-101.
CC
Epistolarum Cardinal, who always stands him in the stead of parents; nor will
Reginaldi Poli." he ever cease showing his gratitude on all occasions by every sort
Date Dec. 27.
of observance.
With regard to the Cardinal's legation, was very glad to hear
from Benedetto Gentili that he was satisfied with the specification
of the powers (facultatum). All the jurists were of opinion that
any fresh declaration might be rather injurious than beneficial,
though should this be thought necessary for the removal of any
scruple, Pole will ask it of the Pope, by whom it will be readily
conceded.
Touching the paragraph in cipher written to Gentili, desiring
due provision to be made against those who oppose the reform of
the morals of the clergy (cleri moribus); will be on the watch for the
cause of God, and hopes to succeed. By thus serving the Cardinal
of Liège, he will serve God, to whom this entire cause belongs.
Rome, 27th December.
[Latin, 29 lines.]
164. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
Received letters from their secretary in England, dated the 17th
ult., giving an account of what was said to him by Lord Cromwell,
as by the enclosed copy.
In a subsequent letter, dated 20th November, understand that
Lord Cromwell confirmed by order of the King what he had
previously asserted as of himself, namely, that his Majesty was
surprised that with regard to the expedition to be undertaken
against the Turks, nothing had been written to him either by the
Pope or by the Emperor, as the ambassador will perceive by the copy
of the letter, which they are sending to Rome, that it may be com-
municated to his Holiness. Think fit to send it in like manner to
the ambassador, charging him to take an opportunity for reading
it to the King of the Romans, that his Majesty may forthwith make
such provision as he shall deem most opportune, it being quite
certain that if able to obtain the assistance of the King of England
for the undertaking, it would very greatly aid and profit all parties.
[Italian.]
70
1538.
1538.
Jan. 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 104.
Jan. 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
Send him summaries of letters from the governments of Candia,
Canea, and Zante for communication to the King.
[Italian.]
Jan. 14.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 109.
A.D. 1538.
165. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices of great importance received from
the Levant, concerning great mischief done and doing by Barbarossa,
as Zuccato will perceive, and which he is to communicate to the
King.
Jan. 20.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
[Italian.]
Jan. 8.
167. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Have received very fresh letters from Napoli di Romania, Mal-
File no. 15. vasia, and Zante, announcing the very great havoc committed there,
166. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Feb. 13.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lviii. p. 121.
as by the enclosed summary, which he is to communicate imme-
diately to the King in great form (cum gran modo), as he will
have done by the other advices.
[Italian.]
168. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Send him the summary of the letters from the Government of
Candia.
[Italian.]
169. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose the summary of letters and advices from Constantinople,
to be communicated to the King as usual.
[Italian.]
170. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR with
the EMPEROR.
By his letters of the 27th ult. are acquainted with what he told
the Emperor about the letters sent to him, the ambassador, by the
[Signory's] secretary in England, in accordance with the desired
good result (tendente a quel bon fine che si desidera). To per-
severe in this course, as it would be very beneficial to Christendom
were it possible to obtain the assistance of the King of England
for the expedition; and they are pleased to hear of the offices
performed by him with the Legate to this effect. To continue
acting thus, as shall appear necessary to him, according to the will
of the Emperor, whom he is to assure that whatever his Imperial
1538.
71
1538.
March 1.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 2.
March 1.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
Majesty has with his usual wisdom done and said has caused the
Signory extreme satisfaction, and they hope he will continue doing.
for the future whatever he shall deem fitting for the attainment of this
most important object.
.
Ayes, 179. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
March 18.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lix. p. 16.
March 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 15.
Send the summary of advices from Constantinople, dated 23rd
and 24th January, of which confirmation has been received through
several channels, that he may communicate them to the King.
Ayes, 173. Noes, 12. Neutrals, 9.
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
171. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
March 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 17.
The Republic's defensive and offensive League against the Turk
(concerning which they wrote to him heretofore) having lately been
concluded at Rome, a very honourable place being reserved for such
kings and Christian princes as are not comprised in it, charge him to
announce the ratification to the King of England as becoming and
as required by their observance towards his Majesty, from whom
they not only hope, but are certain, that he will contribute such
forces (presidij) and favour as expected from him by the Christian
religion owing to the title deservedly given him, and because
he will thus act in accordance with his own goodness and
magnanimity.
[Italian.]
172. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
173. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices in letters from Napoli di Romania,
from the 25th January to the 15th February, and from Pasqualigo,
Proveditor of the Fleet, and other places (et del proveditor del
armata Pasqualigo et altri loci), for communication to the King.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
174. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Send him the enclosed summary of advices received from the sea
for communication to the King as usual.
[Italian.]
175. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Send summary of a report made in the College by a trustworthy
person come from Constantinople, for communication to the King as
usual.
Ayes, 137. Noes, 36. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian]
72
1538.
1538.
April 2.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 18.
April 6.
Lettere
del Collegio,
File no. 15.
April 12.
Lettere
del Collegio,
File no. 16.
April 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 28.
176. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices contained in letters from Cattaro,
dated 21st March, for communication to the King as usual.
Ayes, 152. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
177. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose the report of a native of Cattaro, who quitted Con-
stantinople on the 26th February, and gives account of the great
preparations, both for an army and a fleet, which were then being
made by the Great Turk.
To announce this to the King.
[Italian.]
178. The SAME to the SAME.
Send him the enclosed advices, dated Constantinople, 8th March,
which are of very great importance, for communication to the King
as usual.
[Italian.]
179. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
(ZUCCATO) in ENGLAND.
By many advices received from several quarters, have heard
of the very great preparations making by the Turk for the inva-
sion of Christendom, which preparations are not only in course,
but moreover commence making themselves felt, as in the Signory's
province of Dalmatia the Turks are doing great mischief, and have
already laid siege to several important castles there. It is also
asserted by well nigh all the news-letters, that Sultan Solyman in
person is coming by way of the Friuli, with a very large army, to
invade Italy. The war commencing thus in the Republic's territory
it behoves them to make valid preparations for defence, and for the
preservation of many poor Christians, releasing them from the
hands of so cruel an enemy as the Turk. This can only be accom-
plished at incredible cost, to be incurred by them not merely to
protect the State of Venice, but also the whole Christian common-
wealth, which is in manifest peril, unless assisted by those Princes
to whom its defence chiefly appertains, such as the most Serene
King of England, who, knowing the very great general need, will
(they are very certain) on this most important occasion do as has
always been done by his ancestors.
Zuccato, therefore, to acquaint his Majesty in the first place with
what is aforesaid, and with the great reliance placed by them in the
love he bears the Republic, in the ancient goodwill which has
always subsisted between his most Serene predecessors and the
State, and with their observance towards him. Is then earnestly to
request his Majesty in their name to assist them with as large a
sum of money as shall seem fit to him, for the succour not merely
of the Republic but of all Christendom, demonstrating to him that he
cannot have a better opportunity for gaining immortal renown and
1538.
73
1538.
May 2.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 16.
April 30.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 39.
universal goodwill, not only for himself but for his posterity. He
will likewise confer an eternal and very great obligation on the
Republic and their descendants, who will always be mindful of
such benefit received from his Majesty, and endeavour to prove their
gratitude on every occasion. To give them immediate and detailed
advice of his Majesty's reply.
Have lately received Zuccato's letters of the 24th ult., which need
no reply, save commendation for his diligence in acquainting them
with English events, and he will moreover continue to do so for the
future.
Enclose summaries of the advices about the affairs of the Turks
in Dalmatia for communication to the King as usual.
Ayes, 145. Noes, 26. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
180. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
(ZUCCATO) in ENGLAND.
May 9.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 43.
July 11.
Deliberazioni
Enclose summary of advices from the Venetian Governors of
Zara, Sebenico, and Spalatro, dated 22nd, 23rd, and 24th instant,
for communication, &c.
[Italian.]
181. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose the summaries of advices from Dalmatia and other places,
which he is to communicate to the King as usual. Are certain that
of his great wisdom the King will well weigh their importance, and
not fail rendering such assistance for the defence of the Christian
religion as becomes his goodness and well deserved title, as written
to Žuccato in their foregoing despatch.
[Italian.]
182. Tho DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of letters from their ambassador with the King
of the Romans, and of the advices from Constantinople, dated 29th
March to the 23rd April for communication, &c.
Ayes, 171. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
May 28.
183. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
Enclose summary of letters from Candia, dated 27th April, for
v. lix. p. 52. communication, &c.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
184. The SAME to the SAME.
Senato (Secreta),
Send him the news-letter, enclosed in the dispatch from the
v. lix. p. 70. Signory's Captain General on the sea, dated Corfù, 25 June, for
communication, &c.
Ayes, 189. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
}
74
1538.
1538.
July 13.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 16.
185. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Oct. 9.
Parti Comuni
Consiglio X.,
v. lix. p. 180,
tergo.
Send him the summary of advices from the sea announcing the
voyage of the Turkish fleet to Candia after ravaging the Archipelago.
Is to communicate them to the King as usual.
[Italian.]
July 14.
186. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta);
Enclose the summaries contained in letters from their Captain
File no. 16. General on the sea, dated Corfù, 25 May, for communication &c.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
Oct. 3.
187. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
Enclose the summary of letters received from their Captain
legio (Secreta),
File no. 16. General for communication to the King and other personages.
Zuccato's letters of the 7th September received lately, require no
farther answer save commendation for his diligence.
[Italian.]
188. MAPHIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
The nobleman, Ser Maphio Bernardo, having appeared before the
Chiefs of this Council requesting an order from them for the Civil
Court of the Forty to hear a cause pending between him and the
wife of Levrieri, so that being speedily despatched, he may then
attend (as is his intention) to the winding-up of his bank, which
concerns the public for the honour of our city:
Put to the ballot, that by authority of this Council the Chiefs of
the "Old Civil Court" of the Forty be desired to try said cause of
Maphio Bernardo at their first sitting in November, notwithstanding
the law respecting the priority of other suits; this same request
having been made by the plaintiffs.
13.
13.
2.
Ayes, 16
Noes, 10
Neutrals, 2
[Italian.]
-
-
-
Pendet.
Exiit Ser Nicolaus Bernardus Consilř.
189. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO)
in ENGLAND.
Oct. 14,
Deliberazioni
v. p.
Senato (Secreta), Send him summaries of the letters from their Captain General on
on the sea, dated from the 23rd to the 30th September, for commu-
nication, &c.
Ayes, 179. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 8.
[Italian.]
-
Oct. 22.
190. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni.
Senato (Secreta),
Send him summaries of letters from their Captain General on the
V. lix. p. 94. sea, dated Corfù from the 4th to the 8th October, for communi-
cation, &c.
Ayes, 129. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
1538-1539.
75
**
1538.
Oct. 23.
Parti Secrete
Consiglio X.,
v. lix. p. 186,
tergo.
Nov. 2.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 99.
Nov. 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 16.
191. MAPHIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
Repetition of the motion made heretofore for Ser Maphio Bernardo,
that the council [of the Old Civil Court of the Forty] be appointed
to hear him about a certain suit, as requested in the name of the
plaintiff, D. Cecilia, the wife of Levrieri; declaration being made
that should any case be appointed for the 1st of November, this of
Bernardo is to follow immediately, and to be the second. The intro-
ductory paragraph [in the petition] about winding up the affairs of
the bank, to be cancelled.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 8. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
192. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of letters from the Captain General on the sea,
from galley-board at Corfù, dated 15th to the 18th October, for
communication, &c.
Ayes, 157. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
193, The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Send him the summary of the advices received from the sea, for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1539.
1539.
Jan. 1.
194. CARDINAL POLE to DAVID BEATON,* Cardinal of Scotland:
When it was first announced by the Pope that the King of
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Scotland demanded for his kingdom a pillar from the Roman
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Printed in vol. ii.
No date. Church, favoured the grant, although no name was mentioned, and
pp. 117-119. subsequently on giving his vote when Beaton's name was pro-
"Epistolarum claimed, he evinced extreme satisfaction. Now that the dignity
Reginaldi Poli.” has been conferred, congratulates Beaton by letter, but not more
than he congratulates the entire realm of Scotland, which will
be thus saved from the contagion of those neighbours, who, by
confounding divine and human institutions (qui divina et humana
permiscentes), seek to deprive the Church of order, decorum, and
strength (ordinem ex Ecclesia, quasi pulchritudinem ejusdem, et
robur tollere conantur). Scotland will now have her hinge and
pillar, both to maintain the dignity of the hierarchy (decus ordinis)
and preserve the country from the contagion of most corrupt men.
The College of Cardinals relies on Beaton's piety and watchfulness,
and most especially on the piety of King James, who has had great
opportunity for illustrating it, as whilst the contagion infected the
* David Beaton was created Cardinal by Paul III., on the 20th December 1538. (See
Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 205-209.)
76
1539.
+
1539.
whole of the neighbouring country and corrupted its faith, his Ma-
jesty kept himself and kingdom pure and undefiled as a pillar of the
Roman Church. He followed in this the example of the most noble
kings, his ancestors, who, inferior to no sovereigns in this respect,
so surpass them all in antiquity of lineage, that the Roman Church
ranks them amongst her eldest sons (cum vero antiquitate sic
superant, ut inter primogenitos Ecclesia Romana eos numeret);
and for the Church of Rome to grant to such a son a demand so
piously made, affords ample matter for the whole Church to rejoice
and give thanks to God.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Individually, rejoices at Beaton's election, hoping that through this
example and assistance, his own country-the neighbour of Scot-
land-heretofore eminently religious (in religione olim pulchram)
and like a bride the ornament of her spouse, now deformed,
abandoning her spouse like a painted adulteress in the arms of
another, may recover her former lustre, and be reconciled to her
spouse. May Christ and the spouse of the Church grant this,
through his most precious purifying blood, his example rendering it
a duty for them to shed theirs in like manner, (sanguine eam
suo preciosissimo lavit, cujus exemplo, qui Dominus est omnium,
nos pro eadem sanguinem fundere semper parati esse debemus),*
especially all Cardinals,† who are reminded of it, even (amongst
other things) by their vesture, so that, should any one ask them, as
the Prophet did, "Why is thy robe red?" (quare rubrum est vesti-
mentum tuum ?) they may answer, as Christ did, " Because it behoves
us to answer by deeds rather than by words" (quod respondeamus :
quod Christus fecit, quod nos factis potius, quam verbis respondere
decet). This is what he hopes from Cardinal Beaton, nor does he
hesitate to promise it himself for certain. In the meanwhile,
requests Beaton to recommend him in most humble terms to his
Majesty [James V.]; to whom although personally unknown, yet
is he allied to him in blood and devoted to the King for whatever
concerns his honour and welfare, as he hopes to prove very clearly,
should the King ever test him.
Offers his services to Beaton at Rome for whatever may contribute
his honour or advantage.
Rome, 1st January.
[Latin, 49 lines.]
195. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL SADOLETO.
No date.
Printed in vol. iii.
pp. 63-66.
Laments the death of Cardinal Simonetta, which must be
universally regretted, but especially by their order of which he
was an eminent ornament, and also because he was the friend of
"Epistolarum Cardinal Sadoleto. They ought, however, to congratulate each
Reginaldi Poli."
* Cardinal Beaton was assassinated on the 28th of May 1546 (see Hume, vol. 3. p. 301),
so the passage sounds prophetic.
† Probably an allusion to Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, executed on the 22nd of June
1535. (See Hume, vol. iii. p. 192.)
Jacopo Simonetta was created Cardinal by Paul III. in May 1535, and died in 1539,
which date I therefore assign to this letter. Simonetta had been one of the chief
defenders of Queen Katharine in the divorce case, and during the absence of Capizucchi
conducted the trial. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 149.)
1539.
77
1539.
(C
other on his release-not from life, but from misery-and on his
exaltation to glory.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Feb. 7.
Deliberazioni
Apologises for not having written sooner as he was waiting for
something certain to tell, but can only say that he is at ease, and
speaks often of him to his host [Matteo Giberti, Bishop of Verona ?]
with such praise as he deserves, and by whom he is in like manner
admired, and they expatiate on his virtues and literary science.
196. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of MANTUA [ERCOLE
GONZAGA].
No date.
Thanks him for the friendly hospitality conceded to a youth, his
Printed in v. iii. kinsman,† who also shares his fortunes, both being persecuted by the
pp. 71-73.
Epistolarum same enemy. Cardinal Contarini did not think it desirable for the
Reginaldi Poli." young man to remain with him at Rome. Mantua seemed a more
No date of time fitting residence, and this was also the opinion of the Bishop of
or place.
Verona. Perceiving that the Cardinal of Mantua treated the youth
as a mere guest, without employing him for any of those offices
which young men are accustomed to render to Princes, proposed, in
order to relieve the Cardinal from this burden, to send him to
Padua, provided the Bishop of Verona approved of it. The Cardinal
however was averse to this, and would not allow the youth to
leave him, unless he went straight to him, Pole. Thanks the
Cardinal cordially, but as the causes which forbad him to recall the
youth have in great measure ceased, he now requests the Cardinal
to give him leave to return.
Rome? 1539 ?
[Latin, 55 lines.]
Begs him to embrace Paolo and his other nephews, and Gian-
francesco, and the whole family; and were it possible, the entire
city,* to which he (Pole) is and ever will be most grateful.
Verona,
1539 ?
[Latin, 64 lines.]
Feb. 3.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 11f,
tergo.
&c.
197. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
(ZUCCATO) in England.
Enclose summaries of news from the Levant, for communication,
Ayes, 104.
[Italian.]
198. THE SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summaries of the letters from their governors of Corfù,
Senato (Secreta),
v. lix. p. 117. 'dated 20th January, for communication, &c.
Ayes, 150. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
* In 1531 Cardinal Pole resided at Avignon (see Venetian Calendar, vol. iv. No. 677),
six leagues from Carpentras; of which city Sadoleto had been made Bishop by Leo X.,
and Pole's affection for the place dated from that period.
† Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare. (See Collins's Peerage, vol. vi. pp. 155-
157, edition, London, 1812.)
-
78
1539.
1539.
Feb.
199. CARDINAL POLE to FRANCIS I., KING of FRANCE.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
The
Most grateful to the King for condolence by the French ambassador
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. [in Rome?] on the affliction and oppression of his family.
No date of time King has not only a royal, but Christian mind, commiserating the
or place in MS. nobility unjustly aggrieved. The calamities of his family are
connected with those of the Church, and of the [Catholic] religion,
which is so cruelly and impiously harassed. Does not doubt its
being speedily succoured by the King, as by his ancestors. This
firm hope is his greatest comfort in these calamaties of the Church
and of his country, both public and private. Is greatly confirmed
in this hope by the Pope, who assures him of the King's readiness
to succour the Church in its great need, as at no period was it ever
so cruelly persecuted, even by any infidel Prince, still less by a
Christian power. Therefore his Holiness has accredited him (mi ha
spedito) to the Emperor, whom should he find as well disposed as the
King, he is then to attend his most Christian Majesty.
Rome, February?
[Italian.]
200. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
* March 21.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta)
File no. 16.
In continuation of their duty towards the King, enclose advices
from the sea, namely, the report of Antonio Modeneo, who quitted
Adrianople on the 28th of January; the summaries of letters from
Cattaro, dated the 6th instant; from the Governors of Candia down
to the 3rd February; and another report sent by the Government
of Corfu; for communication to his Majesty as usual.
[Italian.]
April?
201. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL BEMBO.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Congratulates him on his promotion to the Cardinalate, recipro-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.cating the congratulations received from Bembo when the same
Printed in v. ii. grade was conferred upon himself. Young as he is, being a youth
pp. 204, 205. in comparison with his friend, so much his senior, he cannot repeat
Epistolarum
(C
Reginaldi Poli." the exhortations given to him by Bembo concerning the exercise of
No date of time his office.
of place.
In MS.,
Writes from Carpentras, where he is recruiting himself most
Carpentras. pleasantly at ease, after the arduous business which has hitherto
Occupied him, and is preparing for future toil with Bembo's old
friend, and now his colleague, Cardinal Sadoleto, who overwhelms
him with kindness.
May 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lx. p. 26.
Carpentras, April? 1539 ?*
[Latin, 28 lines.]
202. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of letters.
Ayes, 142. Noes, 32. Neutrals, 15.
[Italian]
* Bembo was created Cardinal on the 20th December 1538, but did not accept the
grade until the 24th March 1539.
1539.
79
1539.
May 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 16.
May 26.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v lx. p. 27,
tergo.
August 15.
MS. St. Mark's
203. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Sent him the preceding advices by their last, and now enclose
summary of letters from the Governor of Cattaro, dated 30th April
and 2nd instant, for communication to the King as usual.
Have received the letters written by Zuccato from time to time,
and he is to continue doing so, as it proves to their satisfaction.
[Italian.]
204. The DOGE and SENATE to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Send him the summary of the letters from the Governor of
Cattaro, dated the 15th instant, to be communicated to the King.
[Italian.]
June 4.
205. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
Enclose summaries of letters from the Government of Candia,
x. p. 31. dated 20th and 22nd April, and from their other maritime posses-
•
sions, for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
206. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
His desire would take him to the Pope's feet, but mental distress
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.makes him wish for solitude, which he always loved, and now more
pp. 181-188.
Dated
15th August
1539.
No date. than ever when sorrow not only goads but overwhelms him. Does
Printed in v. ii. not indeed despair of his country, as God cannot forget it, and
"Epistolarum his time must be awaited patiently. Acknowledges this, but still
Reginaldi Poli."grieves, and wishes Contarini to request the Pope not to insist
on his returning to the bustle of Rome (ad celebritatem istam urbis).
It is not for the good of the cause that he should be seen there.
Would it not be said that the case of England is utterly desperate?
Let the Pope therefore grant him a little quiet. If he dwells on this
it is because the words of Cardinal Farnese make it appear that the
Pope insists on his being at Rome. Therefore refers everything
to his (Contarini's) prudence and love. Some leave is conceded to
those of their order, as to others. On the loss of kinsfolk, friends,
wife, or parents, a few days for sorrow are taken by them, during
which they abstain from public duty, and this custom, as observed
with regard to one single loss, is acknowledged. He (Pole), who
in a moment has lost not one relative but almost all, part by
death, and part by imprisonment,* and above all, who sees his
country well nigh exterminated (for nothing else can be said of
a land from which faith and religion are banished), without inde-
corum may ask leave of absence from Rome, and leisure from
* On the last of December 1538, the Marquis of Exeter and the Lord Montacute were
arraigned at Westminster, three days after which Sir Edward Nevill and Sir Geoffrey
Pole were arraigned with some inferior persons. All were condemned. The Marquis of
Exeter, Lord Montacute and Sir Edward Nevill were beheaded on Tower Hill, January
9th, 1539. Sir Geoffrey Pole was pardoned.
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and Gertrude, Marchioness of Exeter, were attainted
by Parliament, April 28th, 1539; and the Countess of Salisbury was beheaded in the
Tower, May 27th, 1541. (See Ellis's Original Letters, First Series, vol. ii. p. 96.)
80
1539.
•
1539.
Oct. 5.
Chiefs of the
Ten, Letters,
File no. 32.
the business of the Court to mourn these misfortunes. Thinks it
would be indecorous not to make this request most earnestly, as
were he to demand a vacation for life, to devote himself entirely to
prayer and tears by reason of such great calamities as have befallen
his family and country, he would perhaps act strictly in confor-
mity with decorum and duty (qui si in tantis calamitatibus, et
meorum et patriæ vacationem per omnem vitam peterem, ut ora-
tioni et lacrymis totus incumberem, meo fortasse et decori et officio
maxime servirem). Knows that he (Contarini) has his welfare as
much at heart as if it concerned himself, lamenting his adversity
in like manner, and is so convinced of the Pope's benignity, that he
is certain his lamentations alone will suffice to obtain for him the
favour demanded.
Carpentras, 15th August.
[Latin, 114 lines.]
207. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Should any persons wish to export wheat and other grain from
England to Venice, where a great scarcity prevails, is to do his
utmost to obtain the necessary permit. If requested by anyone
to that effect, to urge the King or the English ministry to grant
a permit for the free export of wheat and other grain for Venice,
the exporters, however, giving sufficient security to the Republic's
consul in London for its conveyance to Venice. To assure the King
and the ministry of the Signory's extreme gratitude, should the
demand be granted, and to give full account of the result.
Signed: Piero Badoer, procr., C.C.X.
Bernardo Emo, C.C.X.
Sebastiano Foscarini, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
Oct.
208. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL SADOLETO.
MS. St. Mark's Concerning his (Sadoleto's) affairs, the Pope received his saluta-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. tions graciously; asked about his health and studies, and the climate
Library,
pp. 66-71.
No date. of Carpentras, and showed he greatly appreciated his abilities.
Printed in vol. iii. Thought it advisable to anticipate the Pope with regard to the
"Epistolarum matter affecting him (Sadoleto), as his Holiness seems determined
Reginaldi Poli." to recall all the Cardinals to Rome, especially those accustomed to
reside there, as has been done already, much to his (Pole's) personal
inconvenience. Therefore told the Pope how fitting it was for
Sadoleto to reside at Carpentras, especially considering the evil
nature of the present times, when the people are much more prone
to innovation than heretofore; and lest those remarks should seem
merely generical, narrated what he himself had witnessed with
regard to the popular tumult at Avignon, and the plots of the
heretics, which were all admirably suppressed by Sadoleto's pru-
dence, so that, as was said by the Provençals, his presence there
seemed truly providential. The Pope listened graciously to the
whole, but did not say a word, so that he departed without hearing
much about Sadoleto's recall. Touching his (Pole's) endeavours to
1539--1540.
81
1539.
"C
1540.
Feb. 24.
Senato Terra,
v. xxx. p. 162.
defend the Christians of Provence against the insatiable avarice of
the Jews, he hopes Sadoleto will have received further information
from his agents in Rome, whose demands were granted. Was glad
to see by Sadoleto's letter to the Cardinal de Bellai, that he confutes.
his adversary by attending to other matters, because in a discussion
with a person already separated from the Church, his dignity forbad
him to enter the lists; the more as Sadoleto had already experienced
the obstinacy of his opponent, and therefore did well to combat
him indirectly.
Rome, October? 1539 ?
[Latin, 139 lines.]
Having written thus far, Pole was seized with fever, which
molested him during ten days; he is still weak, but writes to
prove his convalescence.
December?
209. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
When by divine providence, Pole detached himself from his
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.country, parents, and kinsfolk, placing himself in the hands of the
Pope, he earnestly prayed to be relieved from the embarrassment
Printed in v. iv. in which he sees others involved by awaiting from foreign powers
No date.
pp. 32, 33.
Epistolarum rather than from the sole vicar of the Lord, whose dominion alone
Reginaldi Poli.” he acknowledges, what is necessary for their dignity. This he has
now obtained by his appointment, through the Pope's goodness, to
the legation to the patrimony [Viterbo]. Will shortly return thanks
orally, and kiss the Pope's feet, but in the meanwhile, announces how
much he is affected by so great and opportune a benefit, conferred at
a moment when the succour was very greatly needed.
December?
[Latin, 16 lines.]
A.D. 1540.
210. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning ENGLISH WOOL
As the prolongation of the Act passed by this Council on the 20th
November 1535 about the importation of wools from England,
Flanders, and Brabant, by land or sea, on payment of one-third of
the freight to the arsenal, expires on the last day of the present
month of February, it being necessary, to enable the merchants to
bring wool hither,
Put to the ballot,-
That the aforesaid Act of the 20th November 1535, which was
prolonged on the 26th September 1538 until the close of February
1540, be further prolonged in omnibus et per omnia until the close
of February 1542.
Ayes, 110. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
5,
F
•
82
1540.
1540.
March 22.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxi. p. 11.
March 22.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxi. p. 12.
211. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN CONSUL and his
SUCCESSORS in ENGLAND.
According to his suggestion, wrote to their secretary (Zuccato) in
England to obtain from the King and the Magnifico Cromwell, the
renewal of the permission to export wools from England to Venice.
Do not doubt that the secretary will easily procure what they wish,
but the consul nevertheless is not to fail giving him every assist-
ance in his power for the attainment of a favourable result. On
receiving the permit, is to keep it in his own possession, so that from
time to time it may remain in the hands of the Signory's consuls,
taking good care for the future to whom it be given, to avoid any
repetition of the present disorder*, having the exporters' names in-
scribed at the consulate (cancellaria), and making them give security
and take oath that the wools exported in virtue of this permit shall
be brought to Venice. To transmit their names in writing to the
Signory, that they may be registered in the books of their [London?]
factory.
Is to send them likewise the names of all those merchants who
during the last four years have exported wools from England in
virtue of that patent, as already written to him.
Ayes, 175. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
212. The SAME to the SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in ENGLAND.
His letters of the 17th ult. acquainted them with the irregularity
which occurred respecting the patent to export wools from England,
and the offices performed by him with the Magnifico Cromwell to
obtain for them the retention of this privilege, for which they praise
him. But as he finds it difficult to obtain the permit to export wools
from England to Venice, and as they desire its confirmation, not
only for the benefit of their merchants and subjects, but also for the
public, he is to use his best offices with the King and Cromwell, so
that the King's subjects in Venice, and those of the Signory in
England, having had constant intercourse and being well treated,
his Majesty is requested to confirm the patent in the same form as
it now stands. Should the King not choose to grant it for so great
an amount, is to request him at least to renew it for some lesser
weight, so that the Venetian merchants may thus be enabled to
trade in England; telling him in the Signory's name that at this
present time his Majesty could grant them nothing more agreeable.
To this effect the secretary is to employ his utmost industry until
their wish be obtained; and on receiving the permit for as many
[sacks of wool] as he can, he is to consign it to the consul, with the
orders contained in their preceding letters of the 26th January, so
that for the future it may not be used unduly, to the detriment
of the Venetian nation. To transmit a note containing the names
of all those who during the last four years have had the "permit,"
together with the quantity of wool exported by them in virtue of
* The disorder signified apparently that the wools exported from England, in virtue of
the "permit,” were not sent to Venice.
+
1540.
83
1540.
April 28.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
May 11.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.
v. viii. p. 153.
June 11.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxi. p. 28.
it;
and to acquaint the Signory with the names of the persons
to whom it may be consigned from time to time, that they may be
registered in the London factory at Venice.
Ayes, 175. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
213. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
On my way hither I met the Countess Palatine, the sister of the
Duchess of Milan, and according to what I heard from her attendants
it is believed that the said Duchess Dowager will marry the Duke
of Cleves and Juliers, who is here at the Emperor's Court; and
concerning this they are awaiting certain replies from England.
Ghent, 28th April 1540.
[Italian.]
214. ENGLISH MINISTER in VENICE-MOTION made in the
COUNCIL of TEN.
That to gratify Dom. Sigismund Harvel, minister in this city
from the most Serene King of England, four of his servants living
with him, and to whom he gives a salary and their board, be allowed
to carry arms, their names being notified as usual.
Ayes, 9. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
215. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning ENGLISH WOOLS.
The woollen manufacturers have informed the Senate that there
not being any Frankish wool in Venice at present, their trade is
reduced to such an extremity that unless speedy provision be made
it will be utterly ruined. Wherefore, as it is one of the chief em-
ployments of the Venetian people, and a very great livelihood for
the poor, it is necessary to enable the merchants to import the
greatest possible quantity of wool, for the benefit of the city. And
as on the 29th of February last this Council prolonged until the end
of February 1541 the Act passed on the 20th November 1535, about
the importation into Venice of wool from England, Flanders and
Brabant, both by land and sea, on condition of paying one-third
of all the freights to the Arsenal;
Put to the ballot,-
That all persons importing wool into Venice by land from England,
Flanders and Brabant, during the period of one year from the present
time, be exempted from the payment of any freight to the Arsenal.
Wool brought in foreign ships from the same places during the same
period, and in Venetian ships during eighteen months, to enjoy the
same exemption, with the exception however of such wools as are
already on their way either by land or sea; the importers being
bound for the future to bring their authentic certificates of the day
of departure, the aforesaid Act of the 29th (sic) [24th] February
remaining in reliquis firm and valid.
Ayes, 156. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
F 2
84
1540.
1540.
June 11.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
June 19.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
June 26.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 2.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
216. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The King of England lately ordered the arrest of the Lord
Deputy of Calais* on suspicion of his having negotiated the marriage
of his daughter to a Frenchman without the King's knowledge, and
he has also imprisoned some more bishops. According to a report
which comes from Antwerp, the Lord Deputy has wounded the
King, but no great credit is given to this.
Brussels, 11th June 1540.
[Italian.]
217. The SAME to the SAME.
News has been received from England of the arrest of the Lord
Deputy of Calais. Amongst other persons whom the King has also
imprisoned, is his prime minister, the Secretary Cromwell, for
having uttered certain words concerning the faith, against the
King's supremacy. It is thought that he likewise will make the
same end as all the others most in favour with the King, who
is said to have found a large sum of money in his possession. No
other authentic news has been received from England.
Ghent, 19th June 1540.
[Italian.]
218. The SAME to the COUNCIL OF TEN.
The right revd. Legate tells me he has letters from Rome, dated
the 9th instant, informing him that advices had been received from
Venice to the effect that many meetings and conventicles were held
there by Lutherans; so he requested me to write to your Excellency
to provide against this, and not allow one rotten apple to spoil the
rest which are good, but to expel them [the heretics?] from the
capital and your other towns, as unless these first beginnings be
guarded against, they are followed by the things now witnessed in
Germany and England, where there is neither religion, nor yet
obedience to the temporal rulers. These evil commencements are
followed by so many other disorders, that when it is wished to apply
a remedy, it is no longer possible.
I promised to perform this office, and your Excellencies will do
as to your wisdom shall seem fit.
Bruges, 26th June 1540.
[Italian.]
219. The SAME to the SIGNORY.
The French Ambassador, who was here in the name of the most
Serene Queen [Eleanor of Austria], is gone back to France, Mons.
de Lavaor [Lavaur?] remaining alone, and he tells me that by letters
from the French Court, dated the 26th June, it is understood that
two sentences have been already passed against Cromwell, but are
* Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle.
1540.
85
4
1540.
July 17.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
not yet published; and that the Bishop of Winchester [Stephen
Gardiner] has been appointed Vicar General (Vicario General della
Religion) in his stead.
The Ambassador from England, who also visited me, says that the
Bishop of Bath [John Clerk] has crossed the Channel, and is on his
way either to the Emperor or to the most Christian King, on a
mission from the King of England.
Bruges, 2nd July 1540.
[Italian.]
July 10.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
St. Mark's
The Bishop of Bath arrived here from England on Sunday, and
Contarini in on Monday morning departed on his way to the Duke of Cleves,
brother-in-law of the King of England, and he is to return im-
mediately. He says that Cromwell will be burnt, together with
two other heretics, one of whom was a Friar, who preached
Lutheranism.
Library.
220. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The Prince of Salerno has departed hence accompanied by Don
Luis d'Avila, and another Gentleman of the Emperor's chamber, and
they are gone to England, for the purpose, they said, of seeing the
Island, and the King; though they may perhaps have something to
negotiate with his Majesty on behalf of the Emperor.
Here in Bruges there are many beautiful things, and amongst the
rest a wonderful engine which draws (estrazze) the water from certain
ditches, and then by means of leaden pipes underground, and under
the canals of this city, it reaches the wells, which have thus a
constant supply. Should your Serenity wish to do the like at
Venice, you might draw the water from the Brenta, which would be
much purer, and not very expensive, and by similar underground
and under-water pipes of lead or oak, keep all the wells of Venice
constantly supplied; and you might also have mills in Venice as at
Bruges. It seems to me a fine thing, and should their Lordships
the water-bailiffs give ear to this most holy work, your sublimity
has but to give the order, and I will have the model made, and
bring it with me.
Bruges, 10th July 1540.
[Italian.]
221. The SAME to the SAME.
In my foregoing letter of the 10th I wrote that the King of
England was sending the Bishop of Bath to the Duke of Cleves.
The cause is said publicly to be that his Majesty purposes re-
pudiating even this last wife, the sister of said Duke of Cleves,
because he [the King] had promised marriage to another woman,
maid of honour to the deceased queen, as you must have heard in
detail from your secretary [Hironimo Zuccato] in England. Hence
comes it that whereas the King and the Duke have hitherto been
most closely leagued together against the Emperor, they now-both
one and the other-would ally themselves with him on any terms.
86
1540.
1540.
July 29.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
The negotiations of England are already incessant; and lately
whilst we were at Bruges, the English ambassador had audience of
the Emperor almost daily, whilst previously they scarcely spoke to
each other, and posts pass to and fro constantly. Ambassadors are
also expected from the Duke of Cleves. In short, affairs here
seem all tending to the Emperor's advantage, as was also the case
with the insurrection at Ghent, which will yield him two millions of
gold, nor would he have now come into these parts had it not taken
place.
With reference to the repudiation of the Queen of England, I
may mention that the Landgrave [of Hesse]* has a beautiful and
most amiable wife, the daughter of the late Duke George of Saxony.
She is a good Catholic, and has borne him four children. But the
Landgrave, being enamoured of a very beautiful girl in the service
of his wife, importuned his wife to enter a convent, representing
that he was eaten up by the French disease and unwilling to
communicate it to her. As she would not consent to this, he at
length sent to consult Martin Luther and his companions, who
stated their opinion that his Lordship might take this damsel like-
wise to wife, as no divine law exists prohibiting polygamy, but the
Old Testament on the contrary affords many instances of a plurality
of wives. Your Serenity will thus perceive into how many errors
-one greater than the other those who commence deviating
from the true Catholic faith precipitate themselves.
Antwerp, 17th July 1540.
[Italian.]
222. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Instead of going (as expected) to Maestricht for St. James's day,
Contarini in went to Dort, which is all in the water, the water being fresh, ebbing
St. Mark's
Library.
and flowing like the sea at Venice, and they call it "Little Venice."
Proceeded from Dort to Rotterdam, the birthplace of Erasmus,† and
but few were the courtiers who abstained from inspecting not only
his house, but the chamber in which he was born. From Rotterdam
proceeded to Delft, and then to the Hague, where they arrived on
Saturday. The Emperor is to hold the Courts of Holland there,
but since his arrival until now, he has been constantly in bed with
the gout, and gives audience to no one. In the meanwhile visited
Mons. de Granvelle, and we commenced discussing the divorce of
the King of England, who has in fact made his bishops declare that
by no contract can the sister of the Duke of Cleves be his wife; and
according to the statement of his Majesty's adherents, letters have
been found in Cromwell's possession showing that this Princess had
promised [her hand?] previously to another Prince of Germany.
But the truth is that after the sentence passed by the bishops on a
* A sketch of the character of the Landgrave of Hesse was given to the Signory in
1530, by the Ambassador Nicolo Tiepolo, who wrote that when reproached for having
killed his mother because she reproved him for his Lutheran tenets, the Landgrave
replied that he put her to death for other causes. (See Calendar, vol. iv. no. 1096.)
† Erasmus died at Basle on the 12th July 1536.
1540.
87
1540.
Aug. 7.
Original
Libra 1y.
Aug. 10.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
By
Letter Book
of Francesco
St. Mark's
With regard to the 11 doctors on either side to be elected [by
Contarini in the Catholics and Protestants], that they may assemble next
October at the Diet of Worms, this mode of election is not much
approved of by the Catholics in general, because the 11 Protestants
will be all united, whereas some of the Catholics may perhaps
adhere to their opponents respecting the marriage of priests, the
communion under both forms, and the like.
The Hague, 7th August 1540.
[Italian.]
224. The SAME to the SAME.
Since my last of the 7th, it has been heard for certain that the
most serene King of England has caused Cromwell to be beheaded.
He, moreover, made a better end than the evil, of which he had
been in great part the cause, deserved.
Nothing more is said about the repudiation, it being already a
stale affair (per esser cosa vecchia).
The Hague, 10th August 1540.
[Italian.]
Sept. 18.
225. The SAME to the SAME.
Original
Letter Book
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
At the end of October next the deputies for either party, both
of Francesco Catholics (Ecclesiastici) and Protestants, 11 on each side, are to meet
at Worms and discuss amicably the affairs of the faith and the
religion, and see what articles are fitting and unfitting, and then
report upon the whole at the future Diet. It is supposed that
some of the deputies elected by the Catholics will concur with
the Protestants on many points, which does not please the right
reverend Legate and other ecclesiastics. Besides treating the affairs
of the religion, the Emperor hopes also to obtain at this Diet a
subsidy for the most serene King of the Romans, for the defence
of Hungary against the Turks if necessary.
Brussels, 18th September 1540.
[Italian.]
certain Saturday, his Majesty on the following Monday married the
niece of one of the English dukes, she being already pregnant by
him; and it is said that he had promised her marriage before
espousing Cleves, who is now called the Lady Anne, and he has given
her a separate residence and 3,000l. per annum for her expenses.
The Prince of Salerno and the gentlemen who accompanied him
have returned from England, and Dom. Francesco da Este is also
gone to see the island, and has not yet come back.
I hear on good authority that the Emperor has sent an ambas-
sador to England, besides the one in ordinary there, and, as written
in my last, the English ambassador resident here has of late had
very frequent audiences of his Majesty.
The Hague, 29th July 1540.
[Italian.]
223. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
·
88
1540.
1540.
Sept. 26.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Oct. 30.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Nov. 14.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
226. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The King of England has suspended the affair of the strangers
until Easter, at the suit of the French ambassador, and it is
believed that his Majesty will somewhat modify the Statute.
The new Queen Katharine is said for certain to be pregnant.
The Rev. Vergerio, Bishop of Capo d'Istria, has returned to the
Court of France, and he gave me a copy of the writing presented
by him to the Legate stating his opinion concerning the conference
(colloquio), which I send to your Serenity)
Brussels, 26th September 1540.
[Italian.]
227. The SAME to the SAME.
On the day of Saints Simon and Jude the Emperor gave the
Order of the Fleece to the Prince of Orange and Mons. de Buren
(Governor of Friesland), with the usual ceremonies.
The Papal
Nuncio, the new French ambassador, Mons. de Veilly, the Portuguese
and I, accompanied his Majesty to the mass. The English ambassador
was not present owing to the dispute about precedence between him
and the Portugese ambassador, and when one of them attends a
ceremony the other absents himself.
Brussels, 30th October 1540.
[Italian.]
228. The SAME to the SAME.
The Prior of Naples, Knight of Rhodes, tells me that the King of
England has appropriated to himself all the English revenues of the
Knights of Rhodes, and made them lay down the White Cross; and
from what the English ambassador tells me, his Majesty acted thus
because they did not hazard their lives, still less their substance and
revenues, against the Infidels, as they are obliged and bound to do,
under penalty of confiscation of all their effects.
Brussels, 14th November 1540.
[Italian.]
Nov. 21.
229. The SAME to the SAME.
Original
Letter Book of
At Antwerp, a number of Portuguese, who lived as Christians
Francesco and were in reality Jews, have been arrested, their synagogues and
Contarini in much other evidence to that effect having been discovered, so they
can scarcely excuse themselves. Their purses will be cut, especially
those of some of the chief of them, and it is believed that 100,000
crowns will thus be obtained.
St. Mark's
Library.
Mons. de Granvelle has arrived at Worms on behalf of the Em-
peror, the persons appointed to hold the conference (colloquio)
being already assembled there, and they are expecting the Papal
Nuncios; may God grant that it prove for the benefit of the
Christian religion.
Brussels, 21st November 1540.
[Italian.]
1540.
89
1540.
Nov. 30.
MS. St. Mark's
230. CARDINAL POLE to STANISLAS OSIO.
Library.
p. 18.
After an interval of years, answers his congratulatory letters on
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Pole's election to the Cardinalate. Was prevented from replying
Without date. sooner, first by the arduous negotiations in course at the time, and
Printed in v. ii. secondly by his sojourn in a province where there was no opportunity
"Epistolarum for the transmission of his reply. Has now made inquiries about
Reginaldi Poli," Osio from some of his countrymen,* and sends him this letter,
dated as above. complimenting him on his success in life, which Pole anticipated,
when he saw him studying at Padua, and now offers him his good
offices.
Rome, 30th November 1540.
[Latin, 24 lines.]
Dec. 10.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Dec. 4.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
The Emperor arrived here on the 28th ult. He had St. Paul's
Contarini in church prepared for the performance of the ceremony of the Fleece
St. Mark's
Library.
on St. Andrew's day. He heard vespers there on the eve with
the intention of attending mass in like manner on the morrow,
with the knights, ambassadors, and others, but having passed rather
a bad night he did not rise from his bed, so there was no further
ceremony, save that the knights went to mass in their chapel, and
dined at the palace as usual, being only nine in number. The Em-
peror is still in bed, his malady being a slight attack of piles (un
poco di moroide). According to report, he will perhaps remain here
some days.
231. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The embassy from England which was to come hither consists of
the Bishop of Winchester [Stephen Gardiner], and another gentleman
of the King's chamber. They have already arrived at Calais, and are
accompanied by 100 horsemen ; but as yet nothing more is known
about the cause of their mission.
Valenciennes, 4th December 1540.
[Italian.]
232. The SAME to the SAME.
Letters have been received from the conference at Worms in date
of the 5th, and it seems that the adversaries are so strong and obsti-
nate in their opinion, that there is no way to convince them.
The Bishop of Winchester is expected from day to day, as also an
ambassador from the King of Poland.
Valenciennes, 10th December 1540.
[Italian.]
*By the printed edition of this letter, it appears that Osio was a native of Poland,
which is confirmed by the biographical dictionaries, and these show that his intimacy with
Reginald Pole commenced at the University of Padua. On his return to Poland he
became secretary of King Sigismund, and eventually Bishop of Warmia. When Pius IV.
sent him to the Emperor Ferdinand about the continuation of the Council of Trent, that
Sovereign said he "could not resist a man whose mouth was a temple, and whose tongue
an oracle of the Holy Spirit." In acknowledgment of so important a service Pius IV.
created Osio Cardinal, on the 26th February 1561. The Catholics styled him " pillar of
the Church," and the "Saint Augustin of his age;" the Protestants found him one of their
most formidable adversaries. Cardinal Osio died at Capranica, in the Roman States, in
the year 1579.
90
1540.
1540.
Dec. 18.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Dec. 26.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
233. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The Bishop of Winchester has arrived at Mons, and by the Em-
peror's order is gone to Namur.
There are letters from the conference at Worms purporting that
the business there proceeds very slowly, and not much to the satis-
faction of the papal agents, or of Mons. de Granvelle.
The letters from Germany urge the Emperor to go speedily to the
Diet [of Ratisbon ?], as otherwise the Princes, after waiting for him
eight or ten days, will immediately depart.
Valenciennes, 18th December 1540.
[Italian.]
234. The SAME to the SAME.
Arrived here on the 23rd, as did the Emperor on the morrow,
having made the first day's journey from Valenciennes in a litter,
and all the rest on horseback; he is now quite well.
Yesterday afternoon he gave audience to the Bishop of Winchester,
who went to his Majesty with great pomp, being accompanied by
some 150 persons on foot, all with gold chains round their necks.
So far as can be heard, he is come to accompany the Emperor,
and to be present at the Imperial Diet [of Ratisbon], and according
to report, he will not use his offices in favour of the Pope. He
is accompanied by another gentleman of the King's chamber [Pate ?],
who will subsequently remain here as ambassador in ordinary with
the Emperor; and the ambassador, late resident here [Sir Thomas
Wyatt?], has taken leave of his Majesty, and in two days will
depart on his way back to England.
It is reported from Worms that the adversaries have printed
their Confession there, with all their articles, and they are very
elate, it appearing to them that these articles are unanswerable.
Numerous pasquinades, as customary at Rome, have appeared, all
against the Pope.
Today the Emperor went to mass at St. Mary's, accompanied by
the Nuncio, by the French Ambassador, and by me. The English
Ambassadors did not attend.
Two Franciscan Friars of the Observantine Order have also come
to the Emperor from Ireland, in the name of the whole of that
island, to complain of their Lord, the King of England, and to
request his Majesty to take them under his protection, as they will
submit to him (che si daranno a quella). They are going to Rome
to beseech the Pope to compel the Emperor to take that kingdom,
because the inhabitants will all submit to his Imperial Majesty
(perchè tutti si darano a sua Impl. Maestà).
The Emperor will depart tomorrow for Luxemburg.
Namur, 26th December 1540.
[Italian.]
1541.
91
Jan. 7.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Jan. 19.
Original
Letter Book of
1541.
No date.
235. CARDINAL POLE to FRANCIS I., KING of FRANCE.
MS. St. Mark's Thanks the King for having remembered him, whilst by friends
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x., and kindred he is forgotten, they seeking to deprive him of all
printed in v. iii. support. With regard to the Bishop of R
Library,
(Episcopum
pp. 32-34.
Rudensem?) whom the King recommends to him, he was presented
Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli." to him at Venice by the Bishop of Lavaur? (Episcopo Vaurensi).
Will not fail to aid the Bishop of R.... and will pray God that
King Francis may preserve that piety which transpired in his con-
versations with the Pope, with Cardinal [Gasparo] Contarini, and
himself, during the Congress of Nice.
•9
Viterbo ?.
[Latin, 39 lines.]
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
A.D. 1541.
·
Luxemburg, 7th January 1541.
[Italian.]
236. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The English ambassador late resident here,* absented himself
with a single servant, nor is it known whither he is gone. He had
some suspicion that his King was not well satisfied with him, and
therefore feared to enter his presence. He was in truth a very
admirable and worthy man, and I believe also a good Catholic.
There are letters from Worms, dated the 20th December, and it
seems that affairs there are not proceeding very prosperously, there
being on the contrary some discord amongst the Catholics, with
small hopes of agreement.
The French Ambassador, the two who lately arrived from
England, and I came hither by land, the journey being shorter,
but more fatiguing. The Nuncio and the Portuguese Ambassador
are coming by way of Cologne by water, which is longer but more
convenient.
237. The SAME to the SAME.
The Emperor arrived here late last evening, as did I on the day
before. Mons. de Granvelle has also come from Worms, and it
seems that the entire negotiation will be transferred to the Diet,
and, from what I hear, with small hope of adjustment. They
lately disputed during four consecutive days about original sin,
on which point they will have agreed, as yesterday morning
Bucer admitted that sin which remains after baptism, is sin
without transgression (colpa), and this is what the Catholics
insist on.
Spires, 19th January 1541.
[Italian.]
* Sir Thomas Wyatt. See Nott's Surrey and Wyatt, vol. ii. p. 63.
92
1541.
1541.
Jan. 26.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
238. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
On the 24th we were to have departed hence for Ratisbon by
way of Nuremberg, but the Emperor having been seized with a fit
of the gout on the preceding day the departure was delayed, nor
can it yet be known when his Majesty will depart, as he is still in
bed, and has suffered much pain.
The Bishop of Feltre, the Master of the Sacred Palace, and
many others of the Catholic Doctors have come hither from Worms;
nor in short, during the two months and upwards of their colloquy,
have they done more than was written in my foregoing letters.
First of all, they waited for the most illustrious De Granvelle
[Antoine de Perrenot, Bishop of Arras], who did not arrive until
the 22nd of November; then on the 25th, after making his lordship
sing High Mass in the cathedral, they assembled in the place
appointed for the conference. After perusal of the letters addressed
by the Emperor to the Princes and States of Germany, as also
of Mons. de Granvelle's commission, which was most ample, his
lordship made so very fine an oration that it moved many
persons to tears. A few days later the Bishop of Feltre, in the
name of the Pope, made another oration, no less fine than the
first. They next commenced discussing the mode of procedure,
either according to the treaty of Franckfort, or to that of Haguenau,
and spent many days in debate on this matter, determining at lengthi
to proceed on the basis of the treaty of Haguenau. Concerning
these treaties your Lordships can obtain full information from
Messer Marin Giustinian, his magnificence being better acquainted
with the subject than anyone. They then mooted another diffi-
culty respecting who was to speak, and much time was spent on
this likewise, it being at length settled to have one spokesman
for each side, the Catholics electing Eckius, and the Protestants
Melancthon. At length, on the 14th inst., and not before, and being
agreed on the first article (De Trinitate), they disputed for four
consecutive days about the second article (De peccato originali),
concerning which they at length became agreed. Then on the 17th
letters arrived from the Emperor, commanding that whether the con-
ference (colloquio) had been commenced or not, the entire business was
to be transferred to the Diet. Thus has this conference been dissolved,
nor have they proceeded farther because, concerning the other articles
which follow (De giustificatione, etc.), it seems that the Catholics
are not well agreed amongst each other, and it is thought that
unless the Emperor himself in person produce some good effect
with the Princes of Germany, small fruit will be gathered from
amongst these Doctors. The Pope's determination to send Cardinal
[Gasparo] Contarini to the Diet is much commended, by reason of
his eminent qualities.
Spires, 26th January 1541.
[Italian.]
1541.
93
1541.
Feb. 4.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Printed in v. iii.
pp. 13-15.
Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli.”
(4
Feb. 28.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
March 13.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
March 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxi. p. 67.
239. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
Letter referring to private matters. Prays God for the success
of his cause, and for the health of his advocate.*
Rome, 4th February 1541.
[Latin, 44 lines.]
240. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
It is reported from England that by the King's order Sir Thomas
Wyatt has been arrested. He was heretofore his Majesty's ambas-
sador with the Emperor. According to report his arrest took place
because he was devoted to Cromwell; and it was said yesterday
that he had been beheaded.
Ratisbon, 28th February 1541.
[Italian.]
241. The SAME to the SAME.
The Right Rev. Legate [Gasparo] Contarini arrived at the
Carthusian monastery on the day before yesterday, and yesterday
he made his entry in great state, having been met by well nigh the
whole Court, including Mons. di Prata [De Praet ?], and the Bishop
of Arao [Arras ?], in the name of the Emperor, many bishops, all the
ambassadors, save those from England, and the Frenchman, who was
somewhat indisposed. The clergy likewise went to meet him, and
at the gate he was received under a canopy, which is not usually
done, unless to the Emperor. He then went to the cathedral and
sang the "Te Deum laudamus," after which he went to his habitation,
where he received presents from the municipality of Ratisbon, from
the bishop, and from many others, his popularity being such as to
defy exaggeration, many persons being heard to exclaim" Benedictus
qui venit in nomine Domini," and everybody seemed to rejoice at
his coming. God grant that he may be an instrument destined by
Him to effect something beneficial for the affairs of the religion.
He is lodged in the palace where Cardinal Campeggio resided, and
which forms the centre of the Emperor's palace (per mezzo quello di
Sua Cesarea Maestà,) and his Imperial Majesty has appointed his
audience for today.
Ratisbon, 13th March 1541.
[Italian.]
242. MOTION made in the SENATE for the appointment of an
Ambassador to England.
Since the return from England of our nobleman, the Ambassador
Carlo Capello, knight, who left his secretary there, the election of
* In the year 1541, Paul III. sent Gasparo Contarini, with the title of Apostolic
Legate, to the Diet of Ratisbon, where his moderation and concessions to the Protestant
party caused him to be accused of heterodoxy at Rome.
94
1541.
1541.
March 23.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
March 26.
Original
Letter Book of
his successor has been delayed from day to day until now, and thus
the laudable custom of keeping an ambassador from our state at the
English Court-as the other powers do-has been interrupted.
On many very fitting accounts, both public and private, and for
many very reasonable causes, it cannot but be profitable and
convenient to elect an ambassador to the King of England; and by
so much the more, as the secretary resident there during the last
eleven years requests leave to return.
Put to the ballot, that an ambassador be elected to the most
Serene King of England, he receiving for his expenses 140 golden
ducats per month, like the others, without being bound to show
any account, and to keep eleven horses, including those of his
secretary and servant, and four footmen, and to depart when and
with such commission as shall seem fit to this Council.
Ayes, 79,
St. Mark's
Library.
Amendment.
That the present matter be deferred, on fitting accounts.
Ayes, 96. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
243. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
All the princes here, both spiritual and temporal, ask me about
my successor, Messer Marin Giustinian, who is well known to then,
and they greatly wish for him here by reason of his experience and
intelligence in these matters, and especially the ecclesiastical doctors,
who say it would be very fitting for him likewise to be here, as he
has long treated the subject. Dom. Giovanni Cocleo has dedicated
to him his work on saint worship (De veneratione et invocatione
sanctorum), which I send herewith for delivery to him.*
Ratisbon, 23rd March 1541.
[Italian.]
244. The SAME to the SAME.
Yesterday the Count Palatine Otho arrived here, and tomorrow
the Landgrave is coming with 340 horsemen. As yet nothing more
Contarini in is heard about the Duke of Saxony.
Francesco
The other day, when talking with Duke Ludovic of Bavaria, he
said to me, "Ambassador, we understand that the Cardinal Legate
here is a Venetian, your countryman, and of your own family. Tell
him in our name to defend the affairs of the religion stoutly, and
not to have regard for anything, as we also will do the like; and
do you likewise act thus."
I answered his Excellency that I would do as enjoined me,
though it was unnecessary, the Cardinal Gasparo being as ready
* In the year 1539, the theologian controvertist Cocleo was attacked by Richard
Morrison, who answered his treatise against the marriage of Henry VIII.; and the
rejoinder of Cocleo was entitled, "Besom of John Cochlæus for the sweeping of
Morrison's cobwebs.”
1541.
95
1541.
and active as possible in this matter; and in truth all who listen
to his right reverend Lordship are astounded at the facility and
grace (galantaria) with which he confutes all these articles;
and although the nuncio Poggio was a skilful and very experienced
statesman, as well acquainted as any one with all the affairs of
this Court, yet to say the truth he was no great theologian, whereas
now the Pope has his Legate here, and for nuncio the Bishop of
Modena, also a learned man, and who understands this matter and
has negotiated it constantly; so that they praise the Pope to the
skies for having sent Cardinal Contarini hither.
I for myself believe and maintain what Holy Mother Church
believes, in which belief I shall persist until death, and I have
extreme satisfaction in hearing the right reverend Legate discourse,
it seeming to me that no one understands these matters better
than he does; but really afterwards, when talking with these
Lutherans-for I am compelled to associate with them likewise—
they adduce so many arguments and have such a flow of language
that I confess ingenuously to your Serenity that I know not how
to answer them, this not being my profession. I mention this be-
cause, were my successor Giustinian here, it could not but prove very
greatly to the honour and glory of our noble, holy, and Catholic
Republic, to have another defender of the religion, and one who is
capable of vigorously confuting these heresies, about which I know
not how to utter a word. Your Serenity would thus please the
Pope, the Emperor, the Dukes of Bavaria, and other Catholic
Princes, and all these Bishops; and indeed on the day before yester-
day the Bishops of Bamburg and Augsburg inquired of me when
Giustinian would arrive, as his presence here would be greatly
to the purpose as he understood these negotiations marvellously,
and excelled in these matters, they having known and been very
intimate with him. It would therefore be for the honour and
advantage of the State to send him immediately, as he will arrive
in very good time, the Protestants having so long delayed their
coming hither that the Diet will not commence until after Easter,
and although the Emperor remains most unwillingly, he nevertheless
being here, cannot depart. The Legate came hither from Trent in
a litter in twelve days, so any ambassador from Venice will have
plenty of time for the journey. The Pope has sent to this Imperial
Diet the aforesaid Legate Contarini, the most Christian King has
sent Dr. Rhaimond, who has already arrived, and the ambassadors
from the King of England are the Bishop of Winchester and another
[Pate?], who, although opposed to the Pope's temporal interests
(che sebene nelle cose del Pontefice sono contrarij, tamen nelle
altre sono con Catholici), are nevertheless with the Catholics in
the other matters and defend them stoutly; so that the Signory
likewise cannot but do well to send Giustinian.
Ratisbon, 26th March 1541.
[Italian.]
The nuncio Poggio departed on the day before yesterday, and the
Emperor gave him a gold cup full of crowns, worth in all 4,000
crowns.
:
96
1541.
1541.
March 29.
April 6.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
245. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
The Landgrave of Hesse made his entry in Sunday with a very
Contarini in handsome retinue all armed, and yesterday he had public audience
St. Mark's
Library.
of the Emperor. It is incredible how all flock to see him, whereas
no one stirs for a sight of the other Princes, and they do the like by
Melancthon, he having come with the councillors of the Duke of
Saxony, who it is thought will either not attend the Diet or arrive
at its close. Melancthon has apologized to me about a pamphlet or
epistle which has been published with a dedication to the Venetian
Senate. He tells me it is not his, but composed by others and pub-
lished in his name, as is the case with many other works, nor would
he have dedicated it to the Senate without some occasion. I said
this was of little importance, but that I indeed prayed God to render
him his instrument to produce some good effect for the Christian
religion. He answered me that he was an insignificant person (un
picciol homo) and could do but little, though so far as was in his
power he wished solely for some good result.
L
Yesterday when at the house of the Cardinal Legate [Gasparo
Contarini], the Papal Nuncio, the Bishop of Modena, inquired of me
when my successor [Giustinian] would arrive, saying that his pre-
sence here would be much to the purpose, he, the Nuncio, knowing
very well how great his ability is with regard to these matters of
religion.
Letters from England state that the King has had the Lord
Deputy of Calais and some twelve other persons arrested, and it
also seemed that on the frontiers there, the understanding between
the French and English is not so good as it might be, by reason of
certain fortifications which the most Christian King is building in
those parts.
Ratisbon, 29th March 1541.
[Italian.]
246. The SAME to the SAME.
The Cardinal of Mentz arrived here unexpectedly early one
morning in order that no one should go out to meet him, and he
came with a most splendid company. On that same day he went
to the Emperor, and on the morrow visited the Cardinal Legate
Contarini; and whereas heretofore this same Elector and the Car-
dinal Saint Sixtus, who was then Apostolic Legate, wrangled
greatly about precedence, so now on the contrary he is most
gracious and respectful with the present Legate, and although
Elector, and Cardinal, Primate of Germany, and of the most noble
house of Brandenburg, besides having many other titles which are
now for the first time all centered in one sole person, he shows
himself as obedient and respectful as possible to the Legate and
the Apostolic See.
Every day lately the Emperor has been endeavouring to adjust
the disputes between the Duke of Bradenburg and the Landgrave,
and to be appointed arbitrator in this matter, lest from the hatred
and mortal enmity between the parties they have recourse to
1541.
97
1541.
O
arms, even in his Majesty's presence!! Although it is well nigh
impossible to arrange the business, his Imperial Majesty has some-
what quieted the Landgrave, so that they have been able at any
rate to commence the Diet, in which it was feared that some great
turmoil would otherwise have taken place; and although some
other Electors and Princes and Bishops have still to arrive, yet is
the Emperor so anxious to depart hence that he would not wait any
longer, and went yesterday, in the name of the Holy Ghost, to hear
mass, with such Princes and Bishops as are already here. The right
reverend Legate went beforehand to the church, where he awaited
his Majesty on a gilt throne in advance of the Emperor's on the
opposite side nearer the altar, so that he really seemed the Pope
in person. The Cardinal of Mentz also went in a litter to await
the Emperor, and accompanied the Legate to the high altar, and
when his Majesty arrived turned back as far as the door to meet
him. After the mass had been sung by the Bishop of Ratisbon
the Legate gave the benediction. The Landgrave of Hesse and the
Count of Hainault (the Duke of Saxony's envoy) were not in the
cathedral, not choosing to be present during the mass, and they
waited for the Emperor in the town hall, which had been prepared
for the session of the Diet.
→
M
On the termination of the mass, the Emperor with all the Princes
(the Cardinal Legate Contarini remaining in the Cathedral) went to
the town hall, and the Count Palatine Frederick announced in his
Majesty's name in German (the Emperor not speaking that language
fluently) that he had summoned all the Princes of Germany to this
Diet to provide for the affairs of the religion, and for the common.
weal of the Empire, as by a writing which would be read to their
lordships, whom he requested to listen to it attentively, that they
might be enabled to counsel and decide as should seem fit to them for
the benefit of the Christian religion and of the empire. Thereupon
Navia (il Navia) read a long writing recapitulating all that the
Emperor had done since the year 1531, when in the like manner,
the last Diet was held here at Ratisbon. That in the first place the
Emperor went in person to Vienna to fight the Turks, and had not
Sultan Solyman taken flight (fugito), he [the Emperor] would have
demonstrated how anxious he was to hazard his life for the benefit
of Christendom. He next went into Italy to arrange with Pope
Clement about the Council, according to his promise at the Diet.
After this, he proceeded to Spain and made the Tunis expedition in
person against Barbarossa, as well known to the whole world;
returning again to Italy, to urge the present Pope [Paul III.] to call
the Council which did not take place for the causes well known to
the Princes Electors. On hearing that the King of France had
commenced hostilities against the Duke of Savoy, who as one of the
Princes of Germany is under his protection, being also his Imperial
Majesty's brother-in-law, the Emperor went into Provence to assist
the Duke, always endeavouring through the Pope, first at Rome,
and subsequently at Nice, to make peace with King Francis, tɔ
effect which he exposed himself to danger, by going in person to
Aigues Mortes; and then he went to Spain. He constantly laboure l
by sea and land, defensively and offensively, to act against the Turk,
5.
G
98
1541.
1541.
April 11.
MS. St. Mark's
as was notorious to everybody; and when he heard subsequently
that the affairs of Germany were in great confusion on account of
the religion, that the Low Countries had commenced rebelling, that
Denmark had already separated herself from Germany, and that
the Swiss Cantons might be supposed to have well nigh followed
this example, as they unscrupulously took pay from aliens, and
served them against the Empire, he therefore set out for Germany,
it being his wish to come through Italy, but seeing the importance
of speed, he again incurred peril, travelling alone postwise through
France, to remedy and obviate all these disturbances. So he prayed
these Princes to consult and determine what should be done for the
benefit of the Christian religion, and the welfare of the Empire, and
to provide against the Turks, who now evidently intended again
invading Austria; and concerning the affairs of the religion, whether
they approved of His Majesty's appointing learned and suitable
persons to confer together, and subsequently reported to the Diet
the course recommended by them.
After the perusal of this paper, the Cardinal of Mentz and the
Envoys of the other Electors withdrew to one side, and the rest of
the Princes and Bishops to another, and having conferred together
for a short while, they answered the Emperor that as the writing
was long, they requested him to give them a copy, that they might
consider it, and then reply as necessary. So it was arranged for them
to send (this morning) their secretaries, to whom the writing should
be read again, that all might have a copy, and but little else will
be done until after the holydays, as we are well nigh in Passion
week.
Ratisbon, 6th April, 1541.
[Italian.]
247. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
Library,
Congratulations on his safe arrival and honourable reception at
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Ratisbon. Is also glad that at the first conference the Emperor
No date. showed himself well disposed to adjust the controversies which
Printed and dated disturb the Church. This proves that most prudent sovereign
in v. iii.
hopes to succeed in his purpose, the more as the Turks have turned
pp. 17-19.
Epistolarum eastward, for which God be praised. Yesterday by the Pope's
Reginaldi Poli."
order his (Contarini's) letters to Cardinal Farnese, to this same
effect, were read in Consistory. The Pope commended his pru-
dence, and all applauded. Would fain give him good news from
Rome in return, but cannot, as they have war at the gates."
With regard to the Marchioness of Pescara,† supposed by him
(Contarini) to be a suitable mediator for the suppression of her
brother's obstinacy, she tried all means to divert him from war to
obedience, and having failed in her object, had recourse to prayer,
and withdrew into a nunnery at Orvieto, whence she writes to him
(Pole) that her days pass happily. This verily is true happiness,
to think of God and not of the world; wherefore purposes per-
* Allusion to the attacks of Ascanio Colonna and his faction.
+ Vittoria Colonna, sister of Ascanio.
•
1541.
99
1541.
April 13.
Original
Letter Book of
April 22.
MS. St. Mark's
April 25.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
severing in prayer, that his (Contarini's) prudence may render him
successful in this important negotiation.
Rome, 11th April 1541.
[Latin, 78 lines.]
Francesco
On the 6th, I wrote about the proposal made in the Emperor's
Contarini in name in the Diet, and now send a copy of it translated into
St. Marks's
Latin.
Library.
248. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
""
or
The members of the League of Smalkald, that is to say the Pro-
testants, after having held several consultations together, at length
gave the Emperor their reply in writing, the "Obedients
Catholics doing the like, although it seems that amongst these
"Obedients" there is some difficulty. From what I understand, both
parties will assent to his Majesty's appointment of such persons
as may seem fit to him that they may confer and negotiate some
form of concord, and then state the whole to the Diet, for the
adoption of such resolutions as expedient, and God grant that they
may benefit the Christian religion.
Ratisbon, 13th April 1541.
[Italian.]
249. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL GASPARO CONTARINI.
pp. 22-24.
Together with the Cardinal of Rimini, explained to the Pope
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. how fitting it would be to send him (Contarini) two months
No date of time. salary. The Pope considered it perfectly just. Today his Holiness
Printed in v. iii. was the first to speak about it to him (Pole), inquiring whether the
"Epistolarum money had been remitted, and when answered in the negative,
Reginaldi Poli," being also told that not even had the order been issued, he had it
dated 22nd April despatched immediately. With regard to his (Contarini's) other
demand for permission to pass two months in his diocese,* to avoid
the summer heat, from which he suffers greatly; discussed the
subject first with Cardinal Farnese, to prepare the way, and then
· spoke to the Pope, who granted the request, saying that should he
go into Cisalpine Gaul, as he apparently intended, Contarini might
easily meet him there if necessary.
1541.
Rome, 22nd April 1541.
[Latin, 43 lines.]
250. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Passion week and the Easter holydays prevented the Emperor
from naming the members of the conference until the 20th, the
persons appointed being as by the enclosed copy; and today,
in the name of God and Messer St. Mark, these Doctors are to
meet and commence negotiations.
* Gasparo Contarini obtained the bishopric of Belluno in the year 1536. (See Cardella,
vol. iv. p. 155.)
†The copy does not exist, but Sarpi in his History of the Council of Trent, gives the
names thus:-for the Catholics John Eckius, Julius Pflag, and John Gropper; for the
Protestants Philip Melancthon, Martin Bucer, and John Pistoire.
JorM
G 2
100
1541.
1541.
April 29.
Original
Letter Book of
May 3.
Original
Letter Book of
Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
May 7.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Last evening, letters arrived from Rome, with an account of all
that has taken place hitherto between the Pope and Ascanio Colonna.
The Lutherans here, and indeed many others of the Court, cannot
bear that the Emperor should so zealously defend the Pope's interests
here, to the detriment of all his own affairs elsewhere, whilst the
Pope on the other hand is intent on nothing but to effect the ruin of
one of his Majesty's adherents.
Ratisbon, 25th April 1541.
[Italian.]
Francesco
The Emperor has been hunting for three days, having also done
Contarini in the like some days previously, and he was accompanied by the
St. Mark's
Library.
251. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Dukes of Bavaria, and the Duke of Brunswick. They are to arrive
at the Carthusian Monastery, outside this city tomorrow evening,
and will remain there Sunday and Monday to keep the birthday
of the Empress, and on Monday evening will come to see what has
been done by the controvertists appointed by him, who have already
held three meetings, and according to report commenced with the
article "De justificatione," concerning which the Catholics hope that
the Protestants will agree with them. The articles are in number
fifteen, as by the enclosed list.*
Ratisbon, 29th April 1541.
[Italian.]
252. The SAME to the SAME.
The Emperor returned hither on Monday, and according to report
he is going to some baths three leagues hence to drink the waters,
as taken by him heretofore.
These Doctors seem to be agreed about the article "De fide et
justificatione," thus, "Quod viva et efficax fides per charitatem jus-
tificat hominem, et quod non debeat prædicari de sola fide, nisi istis
adjunctis, dilectione, timore Dei, pœnitentiâ, et bonis operibus."
They are now discussing the article "De vera Ecclesia Dei."
Ratisbon, 3rd May 1541.
[Italian.]
253. The SAME to the SAME.
Concerning the affairs of the conference, all its members assemble
daily, and since my last of the 3rd, they seem also to have agreed
about some other articles. Since then, however, they are said to
differ greatly concerning the article "De venerabili Sacramento,”
which is a matter of very great importance; and the like has
apparently occurred "De Potestate Ecclesiastica." They are also in
great difficulty "De ministris Ecclessia," so that whereas at the
beginning they anticipated some good result, they now on the
contrary have not such high hopes as at first, but nevertheless
Maou
* The list is not copied in the letterbook.
1541.
101
1541.
May 14.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
May 16.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
continue debating about the other articles, and will subsequently
report the whole to the Diet.
Ratisbon, 7th May 1541.
[Italian.]
254. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The business of the conference (colloquio) has somewhat cooled,
and with regard to the article "De venerabili Sacramento," not only
do the Protestants disagree with the Catholics, but these last in like
manner are divided amongst themselves; and concerning this article,
neither the Emperor, nor the Legate, nor any other Catholic, will
deviate in the least from the Dogma of the Catholic Church. By
means of the Legate the article "De Potestate Ecclesiastica-de
Ministris Ecclesiae," is to be left for the last; and with regard to
the others, they proceed but slowly, by so much the more as during
the last four days, Eckius, the chief of the Catholic Doctors, has been
indisposed, and were his malady protracted it would be untoward,
as this business is familiar to him, and he understands it as well
as possible. It seems that at the beginning there was more hope
of an adjustment than now, but the Emperor nevertheless does
not omit doing everything in his power to obtain some good result;
and should no adjustment be made between these Princes, many
persons are of opinion that his Majesty will return to Flanders,
especially as he has sent away his whole fleet that it may go into
the Levant, having also dismissed the 400 spears who accompanied
him thus far.
It is heard by letters from Flanders that King Henry has sent
some infantry across the Channel because the most Christian King
has been raising new fortifications at Ardres; and also on account
of a dispute which has prevailed during the last few months between
the French and English about a bridge.*
The Marquises George and Albert of Brandenburg and the Duke
of Pomerania have arrived here, all three being most violent
Lutherans (Lutheranissimi).
Ratisbon, 14th May 1541.
[Italian.]
Ratisbon, 16th May 1541.
[Italian.]
255. The SAME to the SAME.
With regard to the conference (colloquio), it seems that during the
last few days, they discussed the article "De confessione," and al-
though they say that confession is a good thing, they nevertheless
came to the conclusion that it is not "de jure divino," nor yet neces-
sary for salvation (de necessitate salutis); so that the farther they go
daily, the more evident it is that they are firmer than ever in their
opinions, which may the Almighty regulate.
*Cowbridge. The disputes about Cowbridge are alluded to in "the Chronicle of
Calais," printed for the Camden Society, A.D. 1846; and at p. 197 of that work it is stated
that the last notice of the matter is dated 2nd of February 1541. We now see that the
controversy appointed for that day was still going on in the following month of May.
A
102
1541.
1541.
May 22.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time.
Printed in v. iii.
pp. 34-35.
"Epistolarum
May 29.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
256. CARDINAL POLE to CRISTOFORO MADRUCCI, CARDINAL
BISHOP of TRENT.
Formal letter.
Rome, 22nd May 1541.
[Latin, 31 lines.]
Reginaldi Poli," and dated as above.
257. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
These doctors have at length terminated their conference (collo-
quio), and it is universally supposed that the malady of Eckius has
been the cause of their despatching the business much more speedily
than they would have done had he been in health, he being a person
who would have chosen to debate each point at full length, and the
affair would have been more protracted.
From what I hear, the conclusion is, that the Protestants hold
to their own opinions, and most especially with regard to the
principal articles. Respecting the two articles which have been
disposed of the one at Worms, "De peccato originali," and the
other here "De justificatione,”—the Catholics say that the Protestants
have come over to their opinion, and the Lutherans declare that
ours think as they do (Li Catholici dicono che li Protestanti sono
venuti nella sua sententia, et li Lutherani dicono che li nostri
sono della lor opinione). Concerning the majority of the other
articles-and of the most important ones they are
they are more at
variance (più discordi) than ever. Everything has been consigned
to writing, and will be reported to the Diet in the course of
the present week, as the theologians have been unable to agree
together; it will now be seen whether some good adjustment and
result can be effected through these Princes. Many persons are
of opinion that the matter will not be long delayed, and that in
one way or the other it will have speedy dispatch.
An oration has been issued with the following title :-"Ad
Principes Electores et Status Imperij, De Origine et Defectu Papæ ;
De ejus practicis; et quid demum hoc tempore de eo sperandum sit."
Thereby you may perceive whether they are on the point of
adjustment (in termine di accordarsi); and although it is in
German, your worthy and faithful Secretary Ludovici can translate
it at leisure, and your Excellencies comprehend its tenour.
Words cannot express how much comment the Pope causes by
his hostilities in Italy [against Ascanio Colonna], and the inference
drawn is, that provided he aggrandize his own relations, he cares
but little whether he thus ruin the Church. I am told by a trust-
worthy person, that lately at one of the banquets given by these
Princes for at the Diets they do nothing else daily-the greater
part of the persons present said that Ascanio Colonna ought to
come hither, and that, if the Emperor would not assist him, he
should be assisted by others, such strong language being used that
I am ashamed to write it.
gigant
With regard to the other articles, as they are to be published,
I abstain from sending them until they are in print.
1541.
1:03
1541.
Last Sunday, the Emperor went to Mass in the Church of St.
Emmerano,* where a dispute arose between the Marquis George of
Brandenburg and the Count Palatine Otho Henry, about precedence;
the Marquis claiming it in right of his age, and Count Otho Henry
saying that the house of Bavaria took precedence of all the other
houses. It length, being unable to agree together, they and all
the other Princes present departed, leaving the Emperor alone
with the two electors-Frederick Count Palatine, and Duke Lewis
of Bavaria,-together with the ambassadors of the other electors.
On the other side of the choir there were the] Right Reverend
the Legate [Gasparo Contarini] and the Nuncio, with all the other
Bishops.
Here in the houses of the Protestants the preachers proclaim
their dogmas daily, in six places, to very full congregations; most
especially on holydays; and it is supposed that should nothing
else have been done at this Diet, the city of Ratisbon likewise,
from being Catholic, as it was, will now turn Lutheran. No persons
are seen in the churches, save those of the Imperial Court or the
attendants of some of the Catholic Princes.
The advices from Flanders, especially from the Queen [Dowager
of Hungary], purport that the Emperor, after settling affairs here,
will return to Flanders, as confirmed by many others at Ratisbon,
in case he be unable to make any satisfactory adjustment with these
Princes. The English ambassador here, the Bishop of Winchester
[Stephen Gardiner], is seen to be often at the house of Mons. de
Granvelle, and to have frequent audiences of the Emperor; so possibly
should his Imperial Majesty come to no agreement here, he will
make an alliance with King Henry.
Ratisbon, 29th May 1541.
[Italian.]
May 31.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Today the disputants of the conference (li Colloquitori) pre-
Contarini in sented to the Emperor the book containing the whole account of
St. Mark's
Library.
the conference (colloquio), and this week it will be published in the
Diet, where everything will be heard in detail. It seems that they
are agreed about some few articles; about the principal ones they are
at variance; and some others are referred by them to his Majesty,
that he may find such form and way of concord as shall seem fit
to him.
258. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
His Majesty is sending Mons. de Praet into Flanders to be
present at the marriage of the Duchess of Milan to the Marquis,
the son of the Duke of Lorraine. He will depart in three days, it
being also said that he will proceed to England, with whom the
negotiations seem to become closer hourly, in which case the
Emperor will return to Flanders.
* There is an account of the Benedictine Abbacy of Saint Emmerano at Ratisbon, in
Büsching's "Nuova Geografia." (Italian edition, vol. x. p. 108.)
104
1541.
M
1541.
June 2.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
June 9.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
I enclose some replies made by the Catholic Doctors to part of
the propositions of the Protestants sent by me a few days ago.
Ratisbon, 31st May 1541.
[Italian.]
June 2.
Senato Terra,
vol. xxxi. p. 129.
259. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Since yesterday it is reported all over the Court that the Emperor
is sending orders to Italy to prepare for the Algerine expedition, he
having determined to undertake it; and although many persons
think it unreasonable, yet is it my duty to write whatever I hear,
by so much the more as the report is general throughout the Court ;
nor at present do they talk of anything else.
Yesterday and today these Princes assembled to try and find
means to adjust the dispute about precedence between the Count
Otho Henry and the Marquis George of Brandenburg, as otherwise
they cannot call the Diet, but as yet they are not agreed.
The Bishop of Vienna [John Faber], who was a great defender
of the Catholic faith, has died, and will be succeeded by his Majesty's
preacher Nausen, he having been the Bishop's coadjutor.
All persons are of opinion that we shall speedily depart hence;
some say for Italy, others for Flanders.
Ratisbon, 2nd June 1541.
[Italian.]
260. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning ENGLISH WOOL.
On the 11th of June 1540, at the request of the woollen manu-
facturers, it was carried in this Council that all importers of wool to
Venice by land from England, Flanders, and Brabant, were to be
exempted, during one year, from the payment of any freight to the
Arsenal.
Put to the ballot, that by authority of this Council, said act passed
on the 11th June be prolonged during one year from this time, with
the same conditions as contained in said Act.
Ayes, 138. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
261. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Yesterday the Emperor sent for all the Princes, both Catholics
and Protestants, and informed them that the conference (colloquio)
was ended, and that the disputants (collocutori) had presented to his
Majesty the book, whereby it appeared that they were not agreed
about many of the principal articles, and he therefore wished the
Princes to record what they thought fitting to be done for the benefit
of the Christian Religion; and that they should have copies of the
book to enable them to consult and state their opinion.
Ratisbon, 9th June 1541.
[Italian.]
1541.
105
1541.
June 10.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
June 15.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
June 19.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
June 22.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
262. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
Ratisbon, 10th June 1541.
[Italian.]
Yesterday Cardinal Frangipani made a very fine speech [in the
Diet ?], so that it well nigh moved all the Princes to tears, and it is
thought that they will at any rate be disposed to do some good; but
we must now await the replies to all the articles proposed by his
Majesty.
263. The SAME to the SAME.
On Monday the 13th, the Landgrave of Hesse went and took
leave of the Emperor, and departed yesterday morning with great
pomp, they being mutually well satisfied with each other. The
pretext assigned by him for his departure is the dangerous illness
of the Duke Henry of Saxony, the father of his son-in-law; and
he says he is compelled to be on the spot, lest other persons seize
Duke Henry's territory.
The Protestants and Catholics together will give assistance to
the kingdom of Hungary in the form desired by the Emperor, pro-
vided they are at peace and quiet amongst themselves; and it is
believed that although they will not agree about religious matters
(as already manifest) they will nevertheless find some mode of
adjustment concerning this other, and they have appointed eight
of their Princes to negotiate and treat the matter.
Ratisbon, 15th June 1541.
[Italian.]
264. The SAME to the SAME.
Here they are intent solely on making copies of these books and
of the replies to them, which will at length be printed, so I do
not take much trouble to be amongst the first to possess them,
especially as small hopes of concord are visible, though it is indeed
considered certain that a way will be found by means of some
agreement so long as it shall please God.
Everybody is of opinion that the Emperor's departure will take
place in a few days.
Ratisbon, 19th June 1541.
[Italian.]
265. The SAME to the SAME.
Yesterday morning, at the opening of the gates, the King of the
Romans arrived, having come postwise in three days from Vienna.
The Emperor being informed of his coming waited for him in his
shirt at the window, and after they had embraced and remained a
short while together, both one and the other went to rest.
With regard to the affairs of Buda, it seems that the besieging
army outside is entrenching itself for defence against the Turks,
should they come, rather than intending to give them battle; but
they keep the town blockaded, so that it may not receive any
106
1541.
1541.
June 27.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 3.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
succour.*
Here these Princes assemble daily to determine about
the assistance to be given to that kingdom; the Catholics would
fain give them becoming aid forthwith, without farther conditions ;
the Protestants are willing to give greater assistance, but with the
condition that liberty of conscience be guaranteed them [the Hun-
garians], and that no one wage war on them. The business will
be settled between today and tomorrow.
I enclose some confutations about the matter "De justificatione.
I have seen a letter dated Antwerp, the 13th instant, written by
a person there to his friend here, telling of disturbances in the north
of England, sundry individuals having been hanged, it being also
said that the mother of Cardinal Pole has been beheaded; which,
if true, will have been announced to you by your faithful Secretary
Zuccato.
Ratisbon, 22nd June 1541.
[Italian.]
""
266. FRANCESCO CONTARINI and FRANCESCO SANUTO, Venetian
Ambassadors with the Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
On the day before yesterday the Emperor assembled the Diet of
all the Princes and Prelates, whereupon the King of the Romans
with his own lips demanded assistance, demonstrating the danger
of all Germany should the Turk conquer Hungary. This morning
they determined to give his Majesty money for 12,000 foot and
2,000 horse for three months, and more should he require it.
Ratisbon, 27th June 1541.
[Italian.]
267. The SAME to the SAME.
Yesterday, in the Diet, they made a Captain General of the troops
furnished by the Empire to act against the Turks. They will
amount but to 10,000 foot and 2,000 horse, and the commander
elected was Count Frederick the Palatine; but as by reason of his
age and infirmities he is expected to decline the office, they ap-
pointed in his stead, in the event of refusal, the Duke Lewis of
Bavaria, subject however to the Emperor's approval.
Concerning the matter of religion, they resolved after much
debate that the Emperor, the King of the Romans, and the Right
Reverend Legate Contarini were first of all to state their opinion,
and that the Diet would then consider what should be done. It
is reported that the business will at length be referred to the
Council.
We contrived to see one of these books of the acts of the con-
ference (colloquio) together with the additions and articles of the
Protestants; we had it transcribed immediately by your Serenity's
secretaries, and send the copy herewith, to show what has been
treated hitherto both in the Diet and in the conference (colloquio).
* The commander-in-chief in Buda for Queen Elizabeth, the widow of King Zapolski,
was the Bishop of Varadino. The besieging troops of the King of the Romans were
beaten, and Solyman entered Buda on the 30th July 1541. (See L'Art de Verifier les
Dates.)
1541.
107
1541.
July 22.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
July 26.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Letters from England confirm the death of the mother of
Cardinal Pole. The King has given leave to the Bishop of Win-
chester to return to his Majesty, and he will depart in 10 or 12
days.
July 7.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Although the Lutherans held several Diets, they have determined
Contarini in not to contribute to the Imperial aid (ausilio) of 10,000 infantry
St. Mark's
Library.
against the Turks, unless they have peace, and are certain of being
able to live in their own fashion. The amount of assistance will
thus be diminished. The enemy is understood to be advancing
and will soon be under Buda; but from the advices received by him,
the King of the Romans hopes to obtain the place.
Ratisbon, 7th July 1541.
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
268. FRANCESCO CONTARINI and FRANCESCO SANUTO, Venetian
Ambassadors with the Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
269. The SAME to the SAME.
On the day before yesterday it was heard from Hungary that the
Turkish army was within three leagues of Buda, and that the
vanguard (which was said to number 15,000 horse) had encamped
at a distance of one league from the forces of the King of the
Romans.
Ratisbon, 22nd July 1541.
[Italian.]
The Protestants likewise have determined to contribute to the
promised aid against the Turks, namely 10,000 foot and 3,000
horse, without making any condition; and Count Frederick de
Fustemburg has been appointed Captain-General of this force; the
Count Palatine Frederick and Duke Lewis of Bavaria having
declined the office.
It is said that the Emperor will depart for Italy on the 26th
instant. The time of departure of the King of the Romans is not
yet known, but he told me (Sanuto) that it would not be long
delayed.
270. The SAME to the SAME.
The Emperor was to have departed for Italy today, but the
Princes having besought him to wait until tomorrow, they with
great difficulty obtained their request. The whole of the stable
department (tutta la cavallarezza) and the greater part of the
entire Court have departed, so that his Majesty has but to mount on
horseback, and will come [into Italy] with all speed and without
stopping anywhere. The Cardinal of Mantua will meet him at Trent,
and the Duke of Florence, and perhaps the Duke of Ferrara like-
wise, will do the like at Peschiera. Should the Pope have quitted
Rome and be gone to Piacenza, the Emperor will take that road;
if not, his Majesty will proceed straight on his way [to Genoa].
It is heard from Buda that the entire Turkish army having lately
108
1541.
1541.
July 29.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
August 1.
MS. St. Mark's
CC
:C
arrived under that city, part halted in front of King Ferdinand's
forces, and the rest beneath the walls, the Turks going in and out
daily, but in small numbers. King Ferdinand, told me (Sanuto)
that the Turks demanded of Queen Elizabeth that she should let
them all enter the town, which she refused to do until the arrival
of Sultan Solyman in person.
We enclose a declaration (declaration) made by the Cardinal Legate
Contarini, touching the reply given by him concerning the affairs
of the religion; and also the Emperor's resolution "de recessu,"
some words of which have, however, been modified by the Princes,
but nothing of much importance, and it will be published on the
"recess" of the Diet, whether his Majesty be present or absent.
With regard to the perpetual subsidy to be given annually by the
Princes as aid against the Turks, it has been fixed (when needed)
at 20,000 foot, and 4,000 horse, but the Protestants insist on certain
explanations.
Ratisbon, 26th July 1541.
[Italian.]
271. FRANCESCO CONTARINI and FRANCESCO SANUTO, Venetian
Ambassadors with the Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
This morning, all the Princes and the King of the Romans having
been summoned to the Diet, the Emperor proclaimed the "recess,
the session having lasted from 12 till 3 p.m. The "recess." being
long, and in German, I have as yet been unable to obtain it, but it is
in accordance, for the most part, with what we wrote on the 26th.
""
272. CARDINAL POLE to JUAN ALVAREZ DE TOLEDO, Cardinal
Archbishop of Burgos.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
The less consolation can be hoped from nature, the more it may be
Without date. expected from God. Has experienced this truth on the death of his
Printed in v. iii. mother,† who perished, not by the law of nature, but by a violent
pp. 35-37.
Epistolarum death, inflicted on her by one from whom it was the last due, as he
Reginaldi Poli." was her cousin, and by reason of her piety she had been hitherto
Dated as above. received by him as a parent. With regard to the form of death, to
few it will appear ignominious, and to none of those who even by
report were acquainted with the tenour of her life, so that they
will attribute all the ignominy to him, who on so virtuous a person
inflicted such a death. To suffer as Christ, his Apostles, and so
many martyrs and virgins suffered, is not ignominious, though most
The Emperor departed at this hour-4 p.m.-and is travelling
with all speed, to make up for the three additional days during
which he remained here against his will.
Ratisbon, 29th July 1541.
[Italian.]
* Elizabeth daughter of Sigismund, King of Poland, and widow of John Zapolski, King
of Hungary, who died A.D. 1540, leaving her pregnant. She gave birth to John
Sigismund, in whose name Hungary and Transylvania were ceded to King Ferdinand
A.D. 1551.
† Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, was beheaded in the Tower, by order of
Henry VIII., on the 27th May 1541.
1541.
109
1541.
Aug. 6.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
ignominious to act after the manner of Herod, Nero, and Caligula ;
but their cruelty is far surpassed by the iniquity of this man, who,
with much less semblance of justice, put to death a most inno-
cent woman, who was of his own kin, of advanced age, and who
had grown old with a reputation for virtue. Considers this form
of death an exceptional honour, as henceforth he will not hesitate
to style himself the son of a martyr, which is certainly grander
than to be born of any royal race. These reflections comfort him,
and they are very strongly confirmed by the letter of the Cardinal
of Burgos.
Capranica, 1st August? 1541.
[Latin, 35 lines.]
August?
273. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MARCELLO [CERVINI].*
MS. St. Mark's Is comforted by the Cardinal's great affection demonstrated
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.towards him in his grievous distress. With regard to the Cardinal's
Library,
No date. advice that he should pray God for the conversion of the doer
Printed in v. iii. of such nefarious iniquity; the counsel is worthy of the Grand
pp. 74-76.
Epistolarum Penitentiary (the office held by his right reverend lordship), but
Reginaldi Poli," hopes that this man's sins are not such as to deny their perpe-
Date Capranica. trator the benefit of prayer, according to St. John; they having
been accumulated against the Church for so many years, always
increasing in iniquity. Does not reject the Penitentiary's admo-
nition, and to complete the measure of this man's iniquity should
it merely be necessary to shed his (Pole's) blood, and if he would
then be converted, desires nothing more than that the deed be done
forthwith, and that God ordain what may be most for the glory of
his name.
·
A few days ago at Bagnarea saw the Marchioness of Pescara, in
whom God has resuscitated the spirit of his departed mother.
Capranica, August? 1541.
[Latin, 54 lines.]
274. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
I have arrived here at Inspruck.
The Emperor stayed a day a Munich and two days here, having
understood that the 6,000 infantry had not marched forward
because they were not ready, and had not got their pikes.
His Majesty means to depart tomorrow, and at any rate, if
possible, purposes being at Milan on the day of the Assumption,
though I scarcely think he can get to Trent by that time.
Inspruck, 6th August.
[Italian.]
* Cardella (vol. iv. p. 226) writes that Marcello Cervini was created cardinal on the
12th December 1539, with the title of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, and this is confirmed
by Panvinio in his life of Pope Marcello II., but I believe that the person to whom Cardinal
Pole addressed this letter was Marcello Cervini.
110
1541.
1541.
Aug. 11.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Aug. 12.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
Aug. 13.
Original
Letter Book
of Francesco
Contarini in
St. Mark's
Library.
275. FRANCESCO CONTARINI, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the SIGNORY.
The Emperor arrived here last evening having been met, first
by his son-in-law, the Signor Ottaviano,* and then by the Bishop
of this city, both one and the other being accompanied by very
handsome retinues.
The Emperor will depart tomorrow, and persists in saying that
he will at any rate embark in the course of the present month,
being firmly resolved to command the attack on Algiers in person.
Should he see the Pope, it will be at Spezia or Lerici, but on no
account will he lose time, and had the infantry been ready sooner,
he likewise would have been farther on his way.
Trent, 11th August 1541.
[Italian.]
276. The SAME to the SAME.
The Emperor will not move today as he intended, because all the
foot soldiers have not yet arrived, and the pikes and some ammunition
waggons are yet farther off; nor will he depart even tomorrow.
Trent, 12th August 1541.
[Italian.]
276. The SAME to the SAME.
Although the infantry has not arrived here, the Emperor deter-
mined to depart to day and will be at Roveredo this evening, and
then go to Dolce and Peschiera, and the infantry will follow him.
His Majesty comes as tranquilly through your Serenity's territory,
as if it were his own, and is sending Don Diego to acquaint you
with his good will towards the Republic.†
Trent, 13th August 1541.
[Italian.]
August 15.
278. CARDINAL POLE to VITTORIA COLONNA, MARCHIONESS of
PESCARA.
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date.
Amongst the few consolations received by him at present was
the Marchioness's letter, not because elegantly written, but because
Printed in v. ii. dictated throughout by the consoling Spirit. If he labours to the
pp. 181-188.
Epistolarum utmost in the cause of Christ, the difficulties which he encounters
Reginaldi Poli." on the part of man require him to take comfort in Christ, who has
Dated more care of the souls, for whom he (Pole) exerts himself, than man
15th August,
1539. has for himself. Of this he is reminded by the Marchioness's letter,
and is grateful for her promised prayers and those of the nuns, her
companions. If any hope remains to him of avoiding the plots
laid against him by Pharaoh, it is assuredly placed in those sacred
cohorts, whose prayers in many places constitute his defence against
the enemies of God. In conclusion, therefore, it merely remains for
* Octavian Farnese, son of Pier Luigi, and Duke of Parma, married Margaret of Austria
(the natural daughter of Charles V. and widow of Alessandro de Medici) in the year 1538.
† After quitting Trent, the Emperor was met on the confines of the Veronese by four
Venetian Ambassadors, who remained with him for two days, until he left Peschiera for
Mantua and Porto Venere, where he embarked on his expedition against Algiers.
1541.
111
1541.
him to beseech her Excellency and her nuns to watch over his
safety, as it becomes her to do so, he having always revered her
ever since he knew that she was endowed with those virtues which
are God's choicest gifts; and then recently, when the rage of Pharaoh
(Pharaonis furor) severed him from his mother, he adopted the
Marchioness in her stead, not after the manner of Moses, who subse-
quently denied being her son because she was Pharaoh's daughter.
Trusts she will now undertake his protection, for without her, he
would be no less destitute than Moses in infancy, exposed not
only to the dangers of the river as he was, but to those of land
and sea, and more than all, of false brethren; and therefore he is
not less worthy to be adopted by the daughter of a great King,
and of that King who overthrew Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the
midst of the sea, especially as he suffers on account of Pharaoh's
wrath, and for the cause of that same great King.
1541.
[Latin, 77 lines.]
1541.
279. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF [LAVAUR?] (Episcopo
Vaurensi).
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Is acquainted with the Bishop's wish to relinquish the political
No date of time. business intrusted to him, and to return to his diocese for the per-
Printed in v. iii.formance of his pastoral duties. Is much gratified by the proof of
"Epistolarum his affection, and also by the ardour of his piety towards God and
Reginaldi Poli.” the Church. His diocesans wish for him, and Pole's prayers are in
With the mere unison with theirs, provided the Bishop be not charged with some
more important commission, which may benefit the Mother Church.
pp. 80-84,
date of Rome.
With regard to the projects for the release of his mother, as also
concerning that friend of theirs who laboured to effect this and was
subsequently imprisoned, owing to the outrageously impudent letters
of the enemy making this demand-although the Bishop says he was
subsequently set at liberty—he re-opens deep wounds, which he (Pole)
would were merely his, rather than those of the commonwealth,
or to speak more plainly, of the Church; which, so far as he knows,
can suffer nothing more grievous than that such heinous impiety
should not only remain so long unpunished but reign so authori-
tatively, that from those whom it ought to fear as avengers, it dares
demand opportunity for the exercise of its impiety and cruelty. The
Bishop perceives the object of that demand, which implies that the
scarcity of victims at home made him seek whom he might exter-
minate abroad. The times are iniquitous, but the Church recovered
from greater tribulations, which finally redounded to her honour, and
with this recollection consoles himself for public and private sorrows.
Although nature cannot but grieve for so violent a separation from
parents, brothers, and friends, yet he rejoices in their death as God
considered them worthy-in imitation of his Son--to inscribe with
their blood the divine will for the preservation of the unity of his
Church. This is written in the books of their adversaries vitupe-
rating them, as their difference of opinion in religious matters was
the first cause of hatred given to the spoilers of the Church for their
extermination. They are therefore not subject to the dominion
112
1541-1542.
1541.
1542.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x
No date.
Printed in v. iii.
pp. 73, 74.
Epistolarum
Jan. 2.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 17.
Reginaldi Poli," [Latin, 24 lines.]
without any date.
March 15.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xv. p. 6.
of death, but having tasted death (sed post mortem gustatam)
have life eternal, and reign with Him who destroyed death; being
now more joined in love with him (Pole), and less separated from
him than when they lived with him in the flesh. This is his
firm belief. What greater comfort can there be with regard to
those so ardently loved by him, than to know that by death they
have been transported to a better life, and added to the company of
that kingdom where there is no more toil nor sorrow. They now
advocate his cause more than ever with the King of Kings, in whose
favour they live in security, and by vows and prayers strive to
render him the partaker of their bliss; this being his firm con-
viction, what sorrow would it not allay? Has also the consolation
of loving those whom he loved in the flesh, parents, brothers, and
friends, gained through Christ (because for the cause of Christ they
were torn from him), with a greater love than he felt for them
through the mere ties of nature. What cause has nature to com-
plain of this? (Quid hic natura queri potest ?).
As Pole places the Bishop amongst his chief friends he has
perhaps prolonged his letter unbecomingly, but knows he will be
readily pardoned.
Rome, 1541 ?
[Latin, 135 lines.]
A.D. 1542.
280. Cardinal POLE to CARDINAL MARCELLO [CERVINI].
Complimentary letter, thanking him for his congratulations on
his (Pole's) appointment as Legate, and for his favourable opinion
of his writings.*
281. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIROLAMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
As they have some idea of sending a squadron (una muda) of
merchant galleys on the Flanders voyage, desire him to endeavour
to ascertain, adroitly and amicably, whether this would or would
not be, to the satisfaction of his Majesty without showing that he
(Zuccato) had any order from them about this matter, but acting
throughout, as of his own accord; and he is to give them imme-
diate notice by letter of what he shall hear.
Ayes, 17. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
282. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to the Magnifico Dom. Sigismund Harvel, ambassador from
the most serene King of England, there be conceded a license for the
13 under-written individuals, his servants, to wear weapons, the
* In the year 1542 Pope Paul III. appointed Cardinal Pole legate at the Council of
Trent. (See Life, p. 369.)
I
1542.
113
1542.
June 17.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxii. p. 40.
Aug. 4.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. XV. p. 50.
Oct. 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxii. p. 67,
tergo.
secretary making oath that they all reside in his house and at his
cost; there being included in this list the four to whom the arms'
license was conceded heretofore, so that they be 13 in all.
Ayes, 10. Noes, 4. Neutral, 1.
Names of the English Ambassadors' familiars (familiari):
Raphael Vith [White ?], Englishman.
John Deni [Denny ?]; Englishman.
John Hobbi [Hoby ?], Englishman.
Baldisara Attieri, Secretary.
Agustino Strata, of Turin.
Prascildo Robbolino, of Pesaro.
Giovanni of Venice.
Lorenzo of Modena.
Richard, an Englishman.
Bortholamio of Pavia.
Francesco of Uderzo.
Domenego of Asolo.
Giovanni of Uderzo.
[Italian.]
283. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the Venetian
Secretary in England.
By many letters from their most faithful secretary, Hieronimo
Zuccato, who has resided in England during the last 12 years, the
Senate is informed of the exorbitant costs which it behoves him to
incur, by reason of the great scarcity over there, and for the honour
and dignity of the Signory; wherefore as it is fitting to grant his
just demand;
It will be put to the ballot, that to the monthly salary of 60
golden ducats received by said secretary, there be added ten golden
ducats per month for his said expenses, so long as he shall remain in
the Signory's service there.
Ayes, 144. Noes, 27.
[Italian.]
Neutrals, 6.
284. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the Duke of Norfolk's nephew,* Mr. Charles Howard, an
Englishman, with five servants, who live in his house and at his
cost, so long as they remain in this city, be allowed to wear lawful
weapons (arme honeste) during the usual hours; he being bound
to give a list of the names of the servants at the office of the Lords
of the night watch.
Ayes, 10. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
285. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO" at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have heard lately by advices from England that the King has
declared war against Scotland, both armies being in readiness and
* In Collins' Peerage (vol. 1, pp. 80-100) there is no mention of any Charles Howard,
amongst the kinsfolk of the Duke of Norfolk in 1542.
5.
H
114
1542.
1542.
having a great number of troops. The English number 140,000
men in various places, and 25 ships in good trim; the Scots being
50,000 men in two armies. These advices the "Bailo" is to com-
municate to the Magnificoes the Bashaws, in proof of the Signory's
goodwill towards the Sublime Porte (quella excelsa porta).
Ayes, 162. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
286. HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian Secretary in England, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Oct. 21.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
On the 2nd instant, received their letters of the 24th August,
Archives. through the Signory's ambassador in France, who also sent him copies
of other papers relating to the strange outrages (novità) perpetrated
at Venice, and the abominable acts of treason discovered there.*
On the morrow, communicated the whole to the King, who at
that very moment, besides the first advices from Venice, had
received precisely the same account from his ambassador in France,
to whom it was given by the Venetian ambassador there.
As mentioned in despatch of the 23rd September, the King had
already discussed these events with many other persons, so [he †
merely added that the French ambassador in Venice, having behaved
so ill, was but too well treated by the Signory, and said smiling,
"To whom did these traitors of yours reveal the Signory's secrets?"
Replied that this was not written in his despatch, but that the
King might easily guess the truth (lo poteva ben saper). He
rejoined, "I know it but too well; but see what great things we
hear of the French this year! It might indeed be said--as I am
assured by my agents in every quarter--that owing to them,
Napoli and Romania are in the hands of the Turks;" and ex-
pressing surprise both by gesture and language, he continued-
"See also what reason they have now to wage so great a war, and
cause so much disturbance in Christendom: but they will perhaps
repent them; and I understand that they have already retreated
more than a league from Perpignan.'
""
As the King's discourse showed that he was so unusually irritated
against the French, Zuccato, that he might unbosom himself
farther, replied, that he attributed all this turmoil to Milan, and
that perhaps the French, perceiving their inability to make any
progress in the direction of Spain, many of their designs elsewhere
being frustrated, would now possibly not be averse to make some
fresh peace or truce with the Emperor, as urged by the Pope.
The King rejoined, that if Milan was really the cause of so much
mischief, he still did not think that the Emperor would ever cede
it, and that therefore those two Princes can never be well agreed.
* Namely, the treasonable practices of two Venetian Secretaries in the pay of France,
who revealed the secrets of the state to Pellicier, the French ambassador in Venice, by
whom they were transmitted to the Porte, and caused the loss of Napoli-di-Romania and
of Malvasia. On the 19th August 1542 the Council of Ten issued an order for the
arrest of the traitors, amongst whom was one Abondio, who took refuge in the French
embassy; Pellicier refused to surrender him, so the Ten sent an armed force of 600 men,
who effected the capture without further negotiation. (See Romanin, Venetian History,
vol. 6, p. 59, and following. Ed. Venezia, 1857.)
In cipher between the brackets.
1542.
115
•
1542.
In fact, so far as Zuccato can learn from several quarters, and
from what he could elicit from certain phrases used by his
Majesty, the King seems firmly to believe, or else astutely and with
great skill pretends to believe, that no other means can ever be
devised for making a good peace between the Emperor and the
most Christian King, save by renouncing the Milanese to the
French, which on the other hand (as already stated) the King
cannot believe will ever come to pass, but that on the contrary
the Emperor would rather renounce one half of the rest of his
dominions. The secretary then said, "Sire, speaking with due
submission, it might therefore be argued, that these two princes
could thus more easily come to terms, as the most Christian King,
being acquainted with this the Emperor's firm resolve, and seeing
how powerful he is, might perhaps find some other and surer mode
of agreement with him."] To this argument the King made no
further rejoinder, save by nodding his head, and remained very
thoughtful, as he was when Zuccato entered his presence. At
length he said, "We will wait and see;" and he then dismissed the
secretary, who was unable to learn anything else more worthy of
being communicated to the Chiefs.
London, 21st October.
Endorsed,-
Oct. 30.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxii. p. 71.
Dec. 16.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
21 Octobris 1541. R. 14 Novembris.
Secretarius in Anglia scribit communicasse illi Sermo Regi suc-
cessum revelationis secretorum per secretarios damnatos, et quæ
Mtas eius dixit in eo proposito.
Lectæ Consiglio X.
[Italian]
287. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO” at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
cum additione. .
Have heard nothing more of the occurrences between England
and Scotland, than what they wrote to him in their last.
It is also understood that the marriage of the English King's
daughter to the Emperor advances; and concerning the affairs of
Flanders, it is confirmed that the troops of Queen Maria [Dowager
of Hungary, Governess of the Low Countries], have recovered the
places taken from her by the French. To acquaint the Magnificoes
the Bashaws with these advices, in such becoming mode and form
as to convince them of the goodwill which the Republic bears the
Sublime Porte.
Ayes, 173. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
288. HIRONIMO ZUCCATO, Venetian Secretary in England, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Has been told, under promise of great secrecy, by a person
who obtains very early intelligence, that Lord Maxwell (quel
Signor Mariel), commander of the Scots, mentioned by him in his
other letters, being of the new Lutheran and heretical sect, and
disagreeing with Cardinal Beaton, who at present (as has been
the case for many years) rules the King and realin of Scotland.
in his own fashion, was the sole cause of this rout of the Scots,
H 2
116
1542.
1.542.
Dec. 18.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.
v. xv. p. 89.
and of his own capture and that of the others, because being
in the vanguard, on perceiving the English, he immediately
called some other noblemen, with whom he galloped to the rear,
for the purpose, he said, of warning and encouraging the troops
and placing them in order of battle. The rear-guard, who could
also distinguish the enemy, on seeing Maxwell and the others
make their retreat, attributing it to fear, ran away; whereupon, to
make a part of them rally and face the English, or possibly for the
better concealment of his deceit and treachery, he with his own
hand killed three or four of the fugitives, and immediately advanced
with his few followers, as already stated."
*
At any rate, be this as it may, his turning back and galloping
to the rear, in such a way, and at such a moment, should it not
be attributed to malice (malizia) or treachery, cannot but cause
persons skilled in military matters to consider him a very inex-
perienced and inefficient commander (uno mal prattico et un molto
da poco capitaneo).
As this business may serve as a warning to others, and is
momentous (perchè è et di essemplo et di momento), will not fail
to give the Chiefs a detailed account should he learn anything
farther about it.
London, 16th December 1542.†
[Original despatch in cipher, with contemporary decipher,
Italian.]
289. ENGLISH LOAN CONTRACTORS.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta, by the chiefs of
the Ten, Stefano Tiepolo and Francesco Venier.
The Signory having been informed that certain Englishmen
would fain lend the Signory 50,000 ducats, on the following terms;
That during thirty consecutive years, five thousand ducats be
paid them annually, and that on the expiration of the thirty years
it be understood that both capital and interest are thus repaid,
the Signory not remaining debtor for anything. As it is desirable
that the State should make use of this sum, most especially as
it is derived from aliens, it will be put to the ballot, that to those
who made this offer it be answered that the State is willing
to accept it, but with this condition, that they will give them
annually 4,000 ducats; and whereas the demand is for thirty years,
the Signory will pay them the annuity during 37 years, so that
they will obtain the sum asked by them, but in rather a longer
period.
Ayes, 14 15
Noes, 11 - 11 Pendet 3
4
1
Neutrals 2
[Italian.]
-
-
ww
* Query: In the letters to the Senate, which no longer exist.
† Mary Stuart was born on the 5th December 1542, and her father James V. died on
the 8th, which events were probably recorded by Zuccato in his despatches to the Senate;
but, as already mentioned, they no longer exist, having probably perished in the fires of
the 16th century.
1543.
117
1543.
Jan. 26.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxii. p. 107,
tergo.
Jan. 26.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 17.
May 4.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 17,
tergo.
June 14.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 36.
A.D. 1543.
290. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Are advised from England that the English have routed some
of the Scottish troops, and subsequent letters state that the King
of Scotland has died a natural death.
Ayes, 163. Noes, 12. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
""
On the 11th instant, received his letters of the 16th ult. informing
them that the English troops had routed the Scottish army, capturing
its commander [Lord Maxwell] and many other noblemen, who
were to be taken to England in proof of the victory. His Majesty's
agent [Sigismund Harvel] came to them subsequently and gave the
same account in detail; and although from the very commencement
of those dissensions they were of opinion that by reason of the
power and valour of the English forces, the result would be such
as it has been, they nevertheless, owing to the ancient and perpetual
friendship and goodwill which have constantly prevailed between
his Majesty and the Republic, rejoiced greatly that not only will
the King's enemies, who had crossed his borders intending to
molest him, have seen the vanity of their thoughts and designs, but,
being thus checked and repulsed, their loss and defeat will cause
hesitation to such as may at any time attempt anything prejudicial
to his Majesty, whom he is therefore to congratulate in their name
on this victory and his successes.
Neutral, 1.
Ayes, 17. No, 1.
[Italian.]
at
291. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIROLAMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
292. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have heard lately of the departure from Genoa of the Emperor's
fleet under the command of Prince Doria, his Majesty having ordered
him to Barcelona, from which city their ambassador wrote to them
on the 12th April, that the Emperor arrived there on the 10th, and
was expected to come into Italy with his fleet. He also writes
(and they have moreover heard it through another channel) that a
league has been concluded between his Imperial Majesty and the
King of England, but as yet they know no particulars.
Ayes, 185. Noes, S. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
.،
"
BAILO" at
293. The SAME to the VENETIAN SECRETARY (ZUCCATO) in
ENGLAND.
Have remarked in his letters of the 19th ultimo that the
mission to Scotland by the Pope of the reverend Patriarch of
118
1543.
1543.
July 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 44,
tergo.
Aug. 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 17.
Aquileia*, may possibly be interpreted in such wise as to prejudice
our subjects and affairs. Tell him in reply that they knew nothing
whatever of the Patriarch's coming, nor was there even the slightest
understanding with them about sending him; but the Pope, to whom,
and not to our Signory, prelates render obedience, makes use of
them to suit his purpose, as in the present instance, the Patriarch
Grimani being at the Court with his Holiness. Have chosen to tell
him this for his instruction, so that if spoken to on the subject, or
should he think fit to say anything about it, he may be able to do
so in confirmation of the truth. It is their intention to proceed in
such a manner that no one, and most especially crowned heads, may
have this cause to complain of them.
Ayes, 142. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
294. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
""
The Emperor went to Trent, where he did not remain, but pro-
ceeded towards Spires, and according to the advices received by
us he is going to Flanders to join his army in those parts. It is
said that the King of England has made an agreement with him,
and that some English troops have already crossed the Channel to
unite with the Imperial forces against the King of France; and by
letters from our ambassador at the French Court, dated the 26th
ultimo, we understand that his most Christian Majesty and his two
sons, with his army, are towards Picardy, on their march against the
Emperor's territories.+
Ayes, 176. Noes, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
295. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIROLAMO ZUCCATO, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Having heard by his last letters, dated the 13th and 14th ultimo,
and by the statement made to them by the Magnifico the King's
ambassador [Sigismund Harvel], that his royal Majesty has con-
tracted marriage and espoused that most illustrious Madam (quella
Illma Madama), creating her Queen, they rejoiced as became their
ancient, good, and natural friendship, and the goodwill which the
Republic bears his Majesty. To congratulate the King in such
acceptable form as to convince him they share his Majesty's joy and
satisfaction.
He is subsequently to do the like by the most Serene Queen, and
by such of the nobility as shall seem fit to him, so that their goodwill
towards his Majesty may be manifest; and should he not think fit
to perform this congratulatory office, for the reason written by him,
that it might displease the King, they leave its breach or observance
optional with him as he shall deem opportune.‡
* Marco Grimani, a Venetian nobleman. For the date of his arrival in Scotland, see
Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, vol. i. p. 44.
† In the Senate's Register, the foregoing paragraph is bracketed, thus indicating that
it was to be put into cipher when transmitted to the "Bailo.”
The portion, bracketed in the draft, commencing with the words, “and should he not,”
and ending "deem opportune," was ciphered in the letter.
1543.
119
1543.
Aug. 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 49,
tergo.
Sept. 24.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. xv. p. 204,
tergo.
In his preceding letter he inquired about an order for requesting
of the King a fresh [export] permit for wool, the term of the one
granted them having expired; so, being well satisfied with his care
for the Republic's interests, they charge him diligently to solicit the
wool permit, speaking about it to the King if necessary, and with
such persons as he shall think fitting, so that it may be conceded for
as long a period as possible; and he is to acquaint them with the
execution of this order.
Ayes, 19. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
Sept. 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 55,
tergo.
296. DOGE PIETRO LANDO to SULTAN SOLYMAN (Serenissimo
Turcarum Imperatori).
The King of France with his army is on the borders of Flanders,
where he has taken a place called Landrecy, and the Dauphin
having attempted to take another town was repulsed with some loss.
King Francis was intent on providing funds, and on fortifying and
garrisoning his frontiers, the English having already crossed over to
Calais to wage war on him, according to the confederacy made by
the King of England with the Emperor, who at the end of June
went over to Germany on his way to Flanders. On the 20th of
last month he was at Ulm, with the intention of departing on the
21st, and encamping outside Spires with his army in the course of
July, when he would march in such direction as should seem most
advantageous for him.
Ayes, 176. Noes, 11. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
297. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO" at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Are certain that the Turkish ministry will have heard of the
success of the Grand Signor's army [in Hungary against Ferdinand
King of the Romans]; will therefore merely mention the last news
received by them of the conquest of Strido (Strigonia), which town,
after being severely battered, and having resisted two assaults,
surrendered to his Imperial Majesty [Sultan Solyman], who was
going with the army to besiege Stuhk Weissenburg (Alba regal).
To congratulate the ministry on. these successes, telling them also
that according to the Signory's last advices, the Emperor had made
a league with the King of England, and is proceeding with his army
in Flanders against the Duke of Cleves.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 10.
[Italian.]
298. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to gratify the ambassador of the most Serene King of
England, license to wear weapons in Venice and throughout the
Signory's towns and places be conceded to Mr. William Cobham
[William Brooke, eldest son of George Lord Cobham ?] and Mr. John
120
1543.
1543.
Oct. 9.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xv. p. 214.
Oct. 12.
Lettere Capi,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 39.
Oct. 24.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xv. p. 217.
Schiere [John Squyer?], with their English servants, John Pasqual
and Martin.
Ayes
Noes
Nov. 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 75.
8 7
8 - 9 Negatived.
Neutrals - 0 - 0
[Italian.]
299. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the Governors of Padua be written to, to reply about the
petition now read from the Magnifico the English ambassador, in
favour of the son of Lord Cobham, one of the chief personages of
England, that he, with another gentleman and two servants, may
have a license to wear weapons in Padua, whither he went to
study.
The Governors to give their opinion under oath, according to the
statute.
Ayes, 12. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
300. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN GOVERNORS
of PADUA.
Grant of arms-license to Mr. William Cobham, one of the chief
personages in England, come thence to study at Padua, together
with D. John Schier.
Vigore partis captæ, in Conso X., die 9 Octobris 1543.
[Italian.]
301. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to Mr. William Cobham [Brooke?] and to Dom. John
Schier [Squyer ?], license be conceded to wear weapons in Venice,
and in the Signory's towns and places, and to two servants for
each of them, as by their petition. The license to be valid for the
next two years, with this condition, that they notify the names
of the said servants both to the office of the lords of the night-
watch in this city, and also to the public offices (cancellarie) of the
other cities where they may choose to reside.
Ayes, 13. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
302. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO” at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have heard from France that the French and Imperial cavalry
encountered each other near Guise, a French town on the frontiers.
Some were killed on both sides, but the French had the advantage,
and captured several Imperialists, including Don Francesco da Este,
brother of the Duke of Ferrara, and the Signor Alessandro Gonzaga,
kinsman of the Duke of Mantua. The French and Imperial armies
were both very powerful, and distant some thirty Italian miles from
each other in the direction of Landrecy, a place which belonged at
first to the Emperor and was taken by the French, who kept and
1543-1544.
121
1543.
1544.
April 8.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. lxiii. p. 22,
tergo.
May 7.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. lxiii. p. 28,
tergo.
May 12.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. lxiii. p. 28.
June 4.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 141,
tergo.
fortified it, siege being laid by the troops of the Emperor and the
King of England. The Signory's letters from Flanders, dated the
1st instant, now state that the Imperialists have raised the siege of
Landrecy, in order to unite their whole army, so that the King of
France is at liberty to victual and re-enforce the place; and the
hostile armies were within six miles of each other, and a battle was
expected.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
Ayes
Noes
Neutrals -
[Italian.]
A.D. 1544.
303. MAPHIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
That the sales made by the proveditors of the salt office, of the
property of Ser Maphio Bernardo, be suspended for one month,
during which interval he and the proveditors to be heard in the
College in the presence of the chiefs of this Council.
Ayes, 20. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
304. MAPHIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
Put to the ballot, that the nobleman Maphio Bernardo repay
the 1,500 ducats received by him for the building of a ship (to
replace one which was burnt) within the next six years by yearly
instalments.
3
17 18
-
1 - 0
pendet primo.
7- 7 (Exierunt affines et interessati.)
305. REPETITION of the foregoing MOTION.
Ayes, 22. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
Expulsis affinibus, et illis qui se expellunt a Capello cum Provisor-
ibus Salis.
[Italian.]
306. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO" at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Emperor was to leave Spires between the 8th and 12th
instant, on the way to his army. It is also confirmed that the
King of England is sending a large army, which will soon cross the
Channel, and join the Imperial forces against France. The English
King accompanies his army in person, and will have an interview
with the Emperor.
122
1544.
1544.
June 14.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxiii. p. 94.
To communicate these news to the Bashaws in confirmation of
the Signory's goodwill towards the sublime Porte.
Ayes, 185. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
June 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 141,
tergo.
307. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have letters from Spires, dated the 30th ult., informing them that
the French were concentrating their forces towards Luxemburg,
and the Emperor's army was daily receiving re-enforcements of horse
and foot. It is doubted whether the town of Luxemburg can be held
by the French, as it is insufficiently furnished.
It is also understood by these letters that 5,000 Spanish infantry,
for whom the Emperor sent from Spain, have crossed in 16 ships,
and landed at Calais, a place in France belonging to the King of
England.
At Spires the Emperor received a secretary sent by the King of
England, in whose name he announced that the English troops
had gained a victory in Scotland, and confirmed the news of the
passage of a powerful English army, and of the King in person, to
invade France.
June 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 155.
""
The letters also corroborate the departure of the Emperor from
Spires, between the 10th and 15th, on his way to his army; and the
King of the Romans was to quit Spires on the 9th instant.
To communicate these advices to the Bashaws.
Ayes, 150. Noes, 21. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
308. The SAME to the GOVERNORS of BRESCIA.
The ambassador from the King of England has requested the
Signory in his Majesty's name, to allow an agent of his at Brescia
to export 1,500 harquebuses of various sorts, and 1,050 suits of
armour, part for foot soldiers and part for cavalry; so the Doge and
Senate charge them should any person present himself with the
present letter to allow him to export the said amount of harquebuses
and suits of armour from Brescia and the Brescian territory, paying
the usual duties and fees; the governors however taking due care
that the city and territory remain well provided.
Ayes, 124. Noes, 7. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
309. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR and "BAILO "
at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Letters received by the Signory from England, dated the 26th ult.,
state that the English troops sent against Scotland, after entering
Edinburgh, which they found empty of troops and valuables, burned
and plundered it, doing the like by some other Scottish towns, and
having met with no opposition returned to England, the greater
part of them being destined to cross over to France. Rejoicings
were made in England for this victory, the warlike preparations
1544.
123
1544.
June 27.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
June 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 155.
July 7.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 17.
continuing; and in the middle of next month the English will cross
the Channel to invade France. It is not yet known for certain
whether the King of England will go in person.
[Italian.]
310. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA con-
cerning Despatches received from the Secretary ZUCCATO in
England.
That there be communicated to the Council of the Senate the
letters written to the Chiefs of the Council on the 11th and 26th
May last by the Secretary Zuccato from England, with the usual
injunction to secrecy.*
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
311. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
and "BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Letters from England, dated the 8th instant, inform us that the
captain of the vanguard of the English army was already on the
march with 15,000 men, and was to cross the sea in six days, and
to be followed by the rear-guard a week later; the entire force
mustering at Calais to go against France with sundry great warlike
preparations (diversi grandi apparati bellici). With regard to the
passage of the King of England, although it continued to be delayed
and was not considered certain, he is nevertheless expected to cross
about the 10th of July, with an additional 15,000 men for the
attack on France. This to be communicated to the Magnificoes
the Bashaws.
Ayes, 193. Noes, 10. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
312. NEWS-LETTER from ENGLAND transmitted by the DOGE
and COLLEGE, on the 26th July 1544, to the VENETIAN
AMBASSADOR in Rome, for communication to the POPE.
On the 24th of June the Lord Privy Seal [John Lord Russell],
having mustered his troops on this side the Channel, joined the Duke
of Norfolk [at Calais], and the forces of these two commanders, the
one of the van-guard, the other of the rear-guard, already amounted
to 20,000 infantry, with some few horse. They were not understood
to have done anything of importance, merely scattering themselves
at some little distance from Calais, and in their own places, to give
more convenient quarters for the other 15,000 men mustered by the
King or by his lieutenant the Duke of Suffolk, who commands the
main body of the army, and who with well nigh all the rest of
the appointed leaders (signori deputati), and these 15,000 men, have
already for the most part quitted London on their march towards
Dover and Calais, with such great diligence that to complete the
expedition little else remains for departure save the King in person,
with some noblemen and his body guard. On the 10th or 12th
of July his Majesty was to depart for Greenwich, and at the end of
* These letters, which probably gave details of the circumstance alluded to in the foot-
note at p. 12, no longer exist.
124
1544.
1544.
Aug. 2.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. 63, p. 161,
tergo.
the month to be at Dover, which place many persons think he will
not quit until he hear of some victory gained by the English and
Imperial forces.
The two German captains from Mastricht, who were on the other
side of the Channel, have been taken into the King's service, together
with their troops, amounting to 4,000 foot and 2,000 horse; and
there having been some difference, the Emperor agreed to engage
on his own account such part of these troops as are rejected by the
King. These forces, together with others, including cavalry from
Friesland and Spain under the Count de Buren, are supposed to
have already joined the English army, which numbers 35,000 men,
very fine troops, in good order and very richly clad (bellissima
gente et ben ad ordine et adornata molto ricamente).*
*
It is said that they purpose leaving garrisons in the French
fortresses, and proceeding straight to Paris, and endeavouring to
take it (at which the Emperor is reported to aspire), marching
through Champagne.
Off Falmouth harbour, four French ships excellently armed are
said to have attacked eleven Spanish, Flemish, and Portuguese
vessels, loaded with wine, sugar, and other merchandise; and after
fighting for many hours, the French were at length victorious, many
men being killed on both sides. The value of the prizes is said to
exceed 200,000 crowns. And subsequently, three other French ships
in those seas took two English merchantmen, and it is feared that
they have also captured two men-of-war.
His Majesty has taken 80,000 golden ducats on loan from the
city of London (dalla camera di Londra), giving landed security
to that amount at the rate of 5 per cent. interest. He has also
asked certain Florentine, Genoese, and Lucchese merchants to draw
bills on Antwerp, and to open credits for him in several other places.
to the amount of 200,000 crowns, promising to repay, with interest
and costs, within six months, the sum being destined (according to
report) for the pay of the German and Friesland troops; but all
the merchants decline assuming this charge.
[Italian.]
313. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
and “BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Signory's ambassador writes from France, in date of the 17th
and 23rd ult., that the Emperor's army, having obtained Ligni by
capitulation, went under Saint Dizier, and after battering it
briskly, made two assaults, which those inside repulsed; upwards
of 2,000 of the Imperialists, including the Prince of Orange, having
been killed.
The besieged lost a valiant captain and many others; the Im-
perialists purposed battering the town from another quarter, and
the Emperor in person had removed to a distance of six miles from
the town.
S
"Also, on the King's advance to Boulogne, he" [the Duke of Norfolk] "led the
vanguard of his army, which was clad in blue coats guarded with 1el, having cape and
hose parti-coloured and suitable." (See Stow's Annals, p. 587.)
1544.
125
1544.
Aug. 10-13.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
Aug. 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. 63, p. 170,
tergo.
The English have divided their army, leaving one half, numbering
from 16,000 to 18,000 men, under Montreuil, and sending the other
half to besiege Boulogne. The King of France is re-enforcing his
army, and hastening the march of the Switzers, of whom thirty-
six companies have reached Dijon; and he is doing the like by the
troops on their way from Italy, under the command of the Count
of San Secondo, instead of which there will remain in Piedmont
Dom Pietro Strozzi, with the 10,000 infantry which he is now
raising at La Mirandola. Besides these forces, his most Christian
Majesty is mustering a good number of Gascons, and men from
other parts of France, besides some 8,000 or 10,000 picked cavalry.
Ayes, 110. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
314. BERNARDO NAVAGERO, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Last evening, after supping with the most illustrious De Gran-
velle,* had a long conversation apart with his son the Bishop of
Arras,† who is very well acquainted with the secrets of the Impe-
rial Court. He said the King of France would find himself in
a bad way, having lost so much this year, and expecting to lose
yet more; adding that neither could he hope for much from
Turkish assistance. Observed that the King might adjust all his
difficulties by a peace, but the Bishop rejoined that the Emperor
does not see how he could rely on it, and that whatever the King
might negotiate, would be for the purpose of deceiving them,
according to his invariable custom.
[Had on that day conferred with the English ambassador, who,
after telling him that he had no news from his King, added,
(C
Yesterday the Emperor sent one of his gentlemen to my master,
but I do not know for what purpose, or I would tell you freely."
Thinks it right to acquaint the Signory with this, as it was
perhaps for the purpose of giving account of the surrender of
St. Dizier. The gentleman sent by the Emperor is "Gentilhomo
della bocca" of his Majesty, and the same who went heretofore to
meet the Duke of Lorraine when he came to speak to his Majesty
at Valenciennes.]§
From the Imperial army under St. Dizier, 10th-13th August.
[Italian.]
315. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
and "BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from the Signory's secretary [Zuccato] in England,
dated the 22nd ult., understand that on the 16th July the King
crossed over to Calais, accompanied by some hundred sail, with the
rest of his army, and went straight to Montreuil to the besieging
* Nicole Perrenot, Seigneur de Granvelle, Imperial Chancellor and Prime Minister of
Charles V.
† Antoine Perrenot, son of the Chancellor (and whom he succeeded in the post of
Prime Minister), obtained the Bishopric of Arras in 1538, and was created Cardinal on the
26th February 1561. (See Cardella, vol. v. p. 28.)
Boulogne was taken by Henry VIII. on the 14th September 1544.
Cipher between the brackets.
126
1544.
1544.
Aug. 29.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. 63, p. 171,
tergo.
force, which after having battered the town briskly, and made two
assaults, was repulsed with considerable loss.
Ayes, 132. Noes, 24. Neutrals, 22.
[Italian.]
316. COMMISSION from DOGE PIETRO LANDO to the circumspect
Secretary GIACOMO ZAMBON, on his way to the Most Serene
King of England.
Having long kept as secretary with the most Serene King of
England, Hieronymo Zuccato, lately determined to recall him, and
elected Jacomo Zambon as successor to the secretary aforesaid.*
To proceed immediately to England, and on his way should he
meet any prince or personage whom he may think fit to visit in
the Signory's name, to perform such discreet and suitable office as
indicative of the love and affection borne by them towards the
most excellent or right reverend person in question.
If in passing through any place it be possible for him so to do,
is to visit and pay his respects to the most Serene Queen Maria,
sister of the Emperor and the King of the Romans, presenting
credentials from the Doge, and assuring her of his reverence for
the aforesaid most Serene Emperor and King of the Romans, her
brothers, and of his observance towards her Majesty by reason of
the good peace and friendship subsisting between them; adding
such things as may seem fit to him according to the course of
events, so that the office may be agreeable and acceptable to her.
On arriving in England, should the King have come back from
the army, or immediately on his return, after demanding audience, is
to present himself to his Majesty, giving him the Doge's credentials,
in virtue of which, is to state that his predecessor is recalled most
especially for the satisfaction of his Serenity (maxime in sattis-
fattione di sua Serenità), with whom it being the Doge's firm
intention to continue in his natural and ancient good friendship,
he has appointed Zambon to reside with his Serenity, for the daily
performance of such mutual good offices as afforded by circum-
stances, in accordance with his Majesty's great goodwill towards
the State and the Signory's affairs, which they hold in very great
account. To congratulate the King on his personal prosperity,
which is as dear to the Doge as his own, addressing him generally
in such loving and impressive terms as usual in similibus, and
according to the events of the army, as he (Zambon) may think
calculated to win his Majesty.
Should the King not have returned from the army, Zambon is to
remain in London, or where he may think most fitting, for the per-
formance of this office on his Majesty's return.
To visit in the Signory's name the lords and personages [of the
Court], paying them suitable compliments according to their
quality, to convince them of the esteem in which their lordships
Sig
* In State Papers, vol. ix., part v. continued, pp. 665, 696, date London, 25th April,
and Venice, 8th June, 1544, it is stated that Zuccato was recalled for having offended
the King, "using indiscrete language of his Majeste and his counsaillours ;" but I am
unable to find any notice of this in the Venetian archives.
1544.
127
1544.
Sept. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
C
are held by the Doge, so that he may find them ready to do what
may be for the honour and convenience of the State.
All his actions are to have for object to confirm the King's good
disposition towards the Signory, and from time to time he is to
keep them advised, with all caution and assiduity, of such matters
as he shall deem worthy of their knowledge; nor will they fail
letting him know, in like manner, their intentions, and what he is
to do.
After his first audience of the King, he is to visit the most Serene
Queen,* and the most illustrious Princess [Mary], the King's
daughter, presenting the Doge's letters of credence, and acquainting
them in such general and loving terms as he shall think fit with the
Signory's observance and affection for the King and their Serenities
(soe Serenità).
Is constantly to favour, as becoming, the interests of the Signory's
merchants and subjects, in such form as he shall think suitable,
always with due regard for the post held by him, and as he shall
consider becoming the honour and dignity of the State. As the
term of the export permit for the wools is (the Doge understands)
about to expire, he will in due course endeavour to obtain the
prorogation of the permit, as conceded from time to time to the
Signory, and about which the Venetian merchants will give him
particulars.
For his expenses, sixty ducats per month have been assigned him,
at the rate of 6 livres and 4 soldi per ducat, of which he is not
bound to show any account to the Signory, and they have caused
him to receive the subsidy of four months la soventione de mesi
quatro, four months salary in advance); also 60 ducats for the
purchase of four horses, namely, one for himself at the cost of 30
ducats; and three for the servants at 10 ducats each, he being
bound to keep four servants. Twenty ducats are also given him
for trunks and coverings, and twenty ducats for a courier; and
that he may have the means of clothing and putting himself in
order to serve the Signory well, they give him a gratuity of 60
ducats.
Ayes, 167. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
317. COMMISSION from the CHIEFS OF THE TEN to JACOMO
ZAMBON, Secretary appointed to reside at the Court of the
Most Serene King of England.
* Katharine Parr..
After we caused the arrest of Hieronymo Bucchia, of Cataro, we
thought fit, on account of certain letters of recommendation which
he brought to us heretofore from the Dukes of Bavaria, to write
to their Excellencies about this arrest, and to acquaint them
with its causes. Enclose a copy of their letter. The Dukes, in
reply, demanded account of Bucchia's crime, and the Ten wrote
back that they should be acquainted with it by the secretary whom
the State was sending to the Most Serene King of England.
128
1544.
1544.
Sept. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Sept. 12.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. xvi. p. 65.
The Council of Ten and Junta therefore charge him (Zambon) to
go first into Bavaria to the Dukes William and Ludovic, and
especially to William; and after presenting the Signory's credentials,
to tell them he was ordered to deviate from his straight road for
the purpose of visiting them in the Republic's name, and that the
Ten having seen by their letters that they wished for particulars of
Bucchia's crimes, he was to inform them, that besides the letters
written by Bucchia to Gio. Alvise da Parma, certain other papers
were found which Bucchia confessed to having written with his own
hand, whereby he evinced the worst possible will towards the Ten,
endeavouring by many calumnies and indirect means to alienate the
Emperor from them. All these operations proceeded from Bucchia
himself without any connexion whatever with Parma, as may be
seen by his own writings, the summary of which they give him
that he may read it in secret to their Excellencies, requesting them
to impart it to no one. Not to leave this summary or any copy of
it with their Excellencies or anyone else by any means; nor is he
to keep it in his own possession, but to burn it after having
negotiated the matter.
To take leave of their Excellencies, acquainting the Chiefs of the
Ten with the offices performed by him, and with the Dukes' reply.
Then to continue his journey as commissioned by the Senate.
But should the Dukes remain dissatisfied, he will not depart from
Bavaria, but remain, and give advice to the Chiefs by the courier
who accompanies him, awaiting further orders.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
318. SUMMARY of BUCCHIA'S writings addressed to the
EMPEROR.
[Italian.]
319. MOTION made in the COUNCIL of Ten.
That from the monies destined for the ambassadors, there be
given to their secretary Giacomo Zambon, appointed to the King of
England, 240 ducats, at the rate of six livres and four soldi per
ducat, for four months salary, at the rate of 60 ducats per month.
Also 60 ducats for trunks and coverings, 20 ducats for a courier
to accompany him, and 60 ducats as a gift for his outfit (per
vestirsi), in execution of the commission given him by the Senate
on the 29th ult., and of the mandate carried in the College on the
last of said month.
Moreover be the present treasurer of this Council and his successor
desired, out of the reserved fund appointed for the ambassadors, to
give said secretary's agents, on the expiration of three months after
his departure hence, 120 ducats for two months; so that he may
have money in hand for his expenses; this advance to be continued
from time to time.
Neutrals, 0.
Ayes, 26. No, 1.
[Italian.]
1544.
129
1544.
Sept. 27.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 178,
tergo.
Oct. 18.
Deilberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 185,
tergo.
320. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
This morning, immediately after receiving letters from our
ambassador in Paris, dated the 14th and 17th, announcing the
conclusion of the peace between the Emperor and the most Christian
King, his Majesty's Rev. ambassador Dom Alessandro Rosseto came
with letters from the King, dated the 19th. He departs this
evening on his way to the Pope, and by order of his most Christian
Majesty acquainted us with the following particulars. The Emperor
is at liberty to give his daughter in marriage to the Duke of Orleans,
her dower being Flanders and the States adjoining the Low Countries,
now held by his Imperial Majesty; who, should he not give the
Duke his daughter, will give him his niece, the daughter of the
King of the Romans, with the Milanese for dower. This peace had
been made without including the King of England. These details he
will certainly communicate to his Holiness. Understand from their
own ambassador that the most Christian King is to restore the
whole of Savoy on both sides the Alps, and to marry his niece (the
daughter of his sister, the Princess of Navarre,) to the son of the
Duke of Savoy. He also writes to the State, that news had been
received in Paris of the English having taken Boulogne, for which
reason the most Christian King was sending his army into those
parts against them; and that the Emperor had recalled his troops
who were with the King of England, and gave his army leave to
enter the service of the most Christian King, and to receive pay
from him.
To communicate what is aforesaid to the Pope.
Ayes, 186. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
(Papalists expelled.) ·
[Italian.]
321. The SAME to the AMBASSADOR and BAILO at CON-
STANTINOPLE.
The Emperor and the King of France have made peace, the
conditions of which are as follow. That they will attend to the
affairs of the Religion, to find a suitable form for it (Che si attenderà
alle cose della Religione per ritrovar in quella, forma conveniente).
That they will make a marriage between the Emperor's daughter,
or his niece, the daughter of the King of the Romans, and the Duke
of Orleans, the most Christian King's son; and to decide within
the term of four months. Should the Emperor give his daughter,
the Duke is to have Flanders as dower, the Emperor remaining
in possession of it during his life. Should he give his niece, her
dower is to be the Milanese, which will be consigned to her
one month after consummation of the marriage. After the cele-
bration of one of these two marriages, the King of France will
restore to the Duke of Savoy the territory taken from him in
war on either side of the Alps, the King being at liberty to raze
the fortresses erected by him in the State of Savoy. That both
sides will restore immediately the conquests made by them since
5.
I
7
130
1544.
1544.
the ten years truce stipulated at Nice. That they are to meet
together on next St. Martin's day at Cambrai to quiet all possible
disputes between France and the Low Countries. That Madame
de Vendôme is to have the county St. Pol, and the Duke of
Lorraine Estenai [Stenay?], and the King of France will retain
the fortress of Hesdin until a suitable mode be found for restoring
it. That they have specified as the friends of both sides, the Pope,
the Kings of the Romans and of Portugal, the Signory of Venice,
and the other potentates of Italy, and have excluded the Neapolitan
emigrants (fuorusciti). The Emperor on his part has comprised
the King of England, with the condition stipulated on the part of
the King of France, that should King Francis and King Henry not
agree together, the Emperor is to adjust their disputes. That the
King of France will assist Germany and the Emperor with 600
spears and 10,000 infantry, or by payment of troops to that amount,
for the affairs of the King of the Romans.
The Signory's ambassador with the King of the Romans informs
them, that during the negotiations for peace, the King of England
laid siege to Boulogne and obtained it by capitulation, and that the
French troops were marching in that direction, it being said that the
Emperor would therefore mediate, to reconcile France and England.
This likewise is to be communicated to the Bashaws.
Ayes, 154. Noes, 10. Neutrals, 7.
[Italian.]
Nov. 12.
322. DOGE PIETRO LANDO to KING FRANCIS I.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
His most Christian Majesty's fleet has seized two Venetian ships
v. lxiii. p. 188, 'on their voyage to England with Malmsies, which are their own
tergo. merchandise, without which, Venetian vessels never make that
voyage. On their departure the Signory gave the owners assurance,
in virtue of the promise made at Rheims (Rens) by the Cardinal
de Tournon and the Vice-Chancellor, in the King's name, when he
published his edict (la pragmatica soa), to the Doge's ambassador
Venier, that provided the Doge's subjects did not embark their
effects on board the ships of the enemies of his most Christian
Majesty, or of persons suspected by him, they might make their
usual voyages in safety. Has therefore with extreme regret heard
of the aforesaid seizure, as although the vessels belong to his private
noblemen and citizens, he holds them in more account than if they
were the Signory's. Requests the King to take to himself the
judgment of this matter, and to order the free release of the vessels
and their crews, and their entire cargoes. Trusts he will do so, by
reason of the love always evinced by him for the Signory; they
likewise, on their part, having at all time shown all friendship, and
had all possible regard for the ships and subjects of his most
Christian Majesty, as becoming the Republic's natural observance
towards him, which they cannot but hope is graciously recipro-
cated.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 5.
[Original draft, Italian.]
1544.
131
1544.
Nov. 13.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxiii. p. 147.
•
Nov. 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta)
v. lxiii. p. 192,
tergo.
323. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in FRANCE, about the release of Venetian Merchantmen
bound to England.
Have heard with great regret from the owners and merchants of
the Venetian ships "Contarina and Regazzona," Philippo Mauricio,
master, and "Foscarina," Manoli da Paris, master, that both those
vessels, having been sent by them on the voyage to England with
malmsies from Candia, after leaving Hampton for Margate, were
fallen in with by his Majesty's fleet, which captured and took
them into Havre de Grace, with the entire cargoes and crews.
The ambassador will comprehend how much the Signory has
been disturbed by this, being constantly on the watch, above all
other things, to defend the interests of their nobles and citizens.
Not knowing therefore from what accident this capture arose, as
these ships on two former occasions when making this same voyage
met the French fleet (the first encounter being with the galleys of
Majorca, and the other with the gallions at the Gut of Cadiz), and
were always treated in a friendly manner, and allowed to pass.
Have therefore chosen to give him immediate orders to present
himself to his most Christian Majesty, and tell him how much they
are troubled by the detention of the said ships, which, although (as
above mentioned) the property of their noblemen and citizens, and
freighted solely with property belonging to the subjects of the
Signory, which is so devoted to his Majesty, and although bound on
private business to England and for no other purpose, nevertheless
for their greater security, in consequence of the hostilities in those
seas, had also a patent with them from the Reverend French am-
bassador resident in Venice.
To request the King to order their immediate release, and that
of the crews and cargoes, as also compensation, in case they have
incurred loss.
To perform every possible office to this effect, with the Dauphin
and the Dauphiness [Catherine de' Medici], the Admiral, and the
other Lords of the Council.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
324. The SAME to the AMBASSADOR at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The King of England has taken Boulogne by capitulation, and
the most Christian King sent his army to recover it, but found the
place furnished with troops, ammunition, and victuals, so they
blockaded it by land and by sea. The King of England, having
thus garrisoned Bulogne and his other places beyond sea, returned
home with the rest of his forces. At Calais, peace is being negotiated
between the Kings of France and England, and the Emperor is said
to favour it.
•
To communicate these advices to the Bashaws.
Ayes, 137. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
I 2
132
1545.
1545.
Jan. 23.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
vol. Ixiii. p. 208.
Feb. ?
MS. St. Mark's
No date.
Printed in v. iv.
pp. 33-34.
Epistolarum
tr
The Commissioners by whom peace was being negotiated at
Calais between the Kings of France and England, had departed
the English not having chosen to consent to the restitution of
Boulogne, which they keep so well garrisoned and provisioned that
the French troops who went to recapture it were compelled to
withdraw from the town.
Feb. 3.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
A.D. 1545.
326. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
The Cardinal of Mantua [Ercole Gonzaga] received him most
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. kindly on his passage through that city, and now performs the same
Library,
good offices in favour of the Pope's Legate at Trent.
Trent? February? 1545.
[Latin, 18 lines.]
Reginaldi Poli.”
No date of time
or place.
325. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at CONSTANTINOPLE.
.
King Henry's fleet lately captured some thirty Flemish ships
laden with salt fish, on their way to France, they were taken up
the Thames near to London. The Scots, who are allied with the
French, continue the war with the English, and the Scottish troops
lately retreated somewhat (alquanto), and both Scots and English
are negotiating with the King of Denmark to have him on their
side.
Ayes, 175. Noes, 7. Neutrals, 6.
[Italian.]
327. MARINO CAVALLI, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
This declaration of war against England was made from shame
rather than for any other reason, it seeming to them that they
could not allow Boulogne to remain to their face (in fazza sua) in
the hands of the English, now that France is no longer molested
by the Emperor. The Queen of Navarre and Madame d'Etampes
would not agree to it by any means, while the Dauphin and the
others countenanced it; at length Madame d'Etampes, knowing
that the whole burthen will rest on the shoulders of the Admiral
[d'Annebaut], whom she wishes to crush completely, likewise con-
curred with them, hoping, through the many difficulties and obstacles
to which the undertaking is liable, to effect his ruin.
All this he heard through a good channel, so the Signory may
judge the motives whereby French statesmen (questi cervelli) are
induced to favour or declare either war or peace.
Melun, 3rd February 1545.
[Italian. In cipher, with contemporary decipher.]
1545.
133
1545.
Feb. 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 210,
tergo.
March 13.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v.lxiv. p. 9.
April 8.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
April 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 20.
328. The DOGE and SENATE to their AMBASSADOR with the
EMPEROR of the OTTOMANS.
(Ad Seren. Imperat. Othoman.)
The most Christian King is intent on making preparations for
the war against the King of England, the English doing the like
on their side; and it is said that King Henry consents to release
all the ships and effects of the Emperor's subjects seized by the
English, as notified to him in their last.
To communicate what is aforesaid to the Bashaws.
Ayes, 133.
[Italian.]
329. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR with the LORD
TURK.
According to letters from England and France the preparations
for war continue, both sides arming at sea. By advices from
Milan, ships are being fitted out at Genoa in the name of the
most Christian King, and are to pass into the ocean against the
King of England. Contracts have been already made for six large
vessels, the French agents continuing to give money for the outfit
of as many as they can get. It is also understood that the King
of England on his side has 100 armed ships, which cruise to and
fro conveying provisions into Boulogne; and they have lately taken
some French ships.
The most Christian King was in good health, and going to Blois.
The Legates destined by the Pope to attend the Council have
quitted Rome on their way to Trent.
No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
Ayes, 208.
[Italian.]
330. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN concerning the
Correspondence of the VENETIAN SECRETARY in ENGLAND.
That the letters of the secretary Zambon, in England, be read in
our Council of the Senate.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
331. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR of the TURKS.
The hostile preparations of France against the English continue,
the like being done on the part of the King of England. 7,000
infantry and 500 horse of the English army in Scotland having
advanced into the interior to ravage the country, the Scots killed
and captured them. Although France and England continue at
war, peace is nevertheless being negotiated between them.
To communicate all these advices as usual.
Ayes, 194. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
134
1545.
1545.
April 18.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 23,
tergo.
May 5.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
332. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the most serene EMPEROR of the OTTOMANS.
May 1.
333. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
The negotiations for peace between the Kings of France and
v. Ixiv. p. 30. 'England continue, although the preparations for the war likewise
continue on both sides, and the French are intent on reinforcing
their troops in Picardy for the purpose of again besieging Boulogne.
Letters from England, dated the 6th ultimo, state that as the
whole difficulty about reconciling the Kings of England and France
consists in Boulogne, which King Henry chooses to keep, whilst
King Francis insists on its surrender, the Emperor advises the
King of England to place Boulogne in his hands, in order that
after hearing the claims of either side, he may consign it to whom
he shall think it in justice belongs.
To communicate these advices to the Bashaws as usual.
Ayes, 162. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
The most Christian King has received the Emperor's decision about
the marriage, thus, that his Imperial Majesty will give his niece for
wife to the Duke of Orleans, with the Milanese for dower; and
King Francis has sent one of his secretaries to inform the Emperor
that he accepts this resolution. The secretary is also ordered to
speak about having the Emperor's daughter, in lieu of his niece,
but always with the Milanese, and his most Christian Majesty has
hopes of obtaining her, though he would be satisfied even with the
niece. The Duke of Orleans, on hearing the decision, quitted
France in great glee (molto allegro) to go to the Emperor.
There were hopes in France that peace would be made between
his most Christian Majesty and the King of England, especially
because it was said the Emperor offered to conclude at least a truce,
if not peace.
To communicate what is aforesaid to the Bashaws as usual.
Ayes, 118.
[Italian.]
334. FRANCESCO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
A few days ago Cardinal Ardinghelli* sent word that he wished
to see me, and said, in his Holiness's name, that it being understood
that the King of England kept a number of persons in his pay in
divers places, for some purpose, which could not but be considered
sinister, his character being such as it is, and that amongst them is
Lodovico da l'Armi,† domiciled at Venice; it seemed to his Holiness
that this was not in accordance with the good understanding between
him and the Signory, nor for the respect and honour of the Apostolic
* From 1545, until his death in 1547, Cardinal Ardinghelli conducted all the secret
affairs of the Papal Government. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 269.)
†The first mention of Da l'Armi and his comrades in the service of Henry VIII. is
dated 30th March and 20th April 1545. (See State Papers, vol. x. pp. 399–401.)
1545.
135
1545.
May 8.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
See ought it to be tolerated. He therefore requested me to write to
the Signory not to allow said Lodovico to reside at Venice, nor in
other places of the Venetian territory, but to dismiss him imme-
diately, lest it appear that he enjoys your Serenity's favour.
Answered I would willingly write, but must tell him that as the
Signory has many subjects in England, you are compelled to pro-
ceed somewhat moderately with that King. The Cardinal rejoined,
"His Holiness does not require the Signory to do as he would do,
could he get hold of Da l'Armi, who is his rebel, and has committed
so many crimes; but demands his dismissal, lest through the
Signory's protection, and by remaining in Venice or in the
Republic's territory, he may find an opportunity for perpetrating
some enormous outrage (qualche enorme inconveniente)." In
truth, here at this Court, they complain greatly of this Lodovico's
sojourn at Venice, and fear that he is plotting some mischief,
and that amongst other things he has some treacherous design
against Cardinal Pole, who is now at Trent (et tra gli altri che'l
non insidij alla persona del Revmo. Cardinal Polo.)* It is said
that Da l'Armi has a monthly pension of 50 crowns in time of peace
and 200 in time of war, and that he has eight captains, each of
whom receive 25 crowns; and that some others also have stipends
in like manner, amongst whom is a Veronese, one of the Counts of
S. Bonifacio, he also having four captains.† The King of England,
by detaining them in Italy without obtaining any immediate profit
thence, induces a suspicion of some mischievous design. Cardinal
Ardinghelli also said to me, repeating it several times, that besides
the Pope's wish to know that you had formed some good resolve, he
is also anxious for a speedy reply.
Rome, 5th May 1545.
[Italian.]
335. FRANCESCO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Yesterday when I went to the Pope he discussed the matter of
Lodovico da l'Armi, speaking to me at great length, and strongly
showing that he had it much at heart, repeating what had been
told me in his name by Ardinghelli, that this Da l'Armi and his
accomplices were to make all possible preparation, but not to stir
until the arrival of a gentleman of the King's chamber despatched
to Da l'Armi with the commission to be executed by him. His
Holiness then said, "We see this villain near at hand; he is our
* In Gratiano's biography of Cardinal Pole (De Casibus Virorum Illustrium. Lutetiæ
Parisiorum, 1680, p. 215), this is confirmed by the following paragraph,
Et
Bononiensis quidam, insignis sicarius, quanquam perhonestâ familiâ natus, qui Venetiis
ob spoliatum apud Ravennam, cæsumque Venetum civem patricii generis, supplicio est
affectus, in quæstione confessus est, diu se Tridenti, ubi Polus cum duobus collegis Concilio
præsidebat, eum ut ex insidiis adoriretur observasse, pecuniamque ob eam rem a Rege
accepisse." Cardella in his Lives of the Cardinals (vol. iv. p. 191), supposes this passage
to signify that Da l'Armi confessed to having been sent by Henry VIII. to Trent, for the
purpose of murdering Cardinal Pole, “ ad oggetto di togliere la vita al Cardinale Polo.”
†That the Court of Rome had good information about the dealings of Henry VIII.
with Italian mercenaries at this period, is proved by documents in vol. x. State Papers,
dated 29th March 1545 (p. 368), 30th March 1545 (p. 399), 3rd May 1545 (p. 414), &c.
136
1545.
1545.
3
rebel, and on many accounts would deserve a thousand deaths; we
perceive that the King of England, who is a heretic, has no other
enmity in Italy than ours, and he has also that of France, and in
several quarters he is plotting I know not what mischief. This
fellow (costui) is in Venice, as also that Count of Bonafacio, a
Veronese,* and other captains. An agent of the King of England
resident with the Signory supplies them with considerable sums of
money.† We also hear that at Vercelli and in other places of
Piedmont and Savoy, angels (angellotti), which are a sort of English
coin, have commenced circulating. Everything threatens mischief in
those parts, and if possible it would be well to avert the causes.
Should any disturbance arise it would in truth be unfitting for it to
have originated in Venice; those fellows (costoro) reside there, they
make their bargains there, and there the money is paid them. It
would be a great satisfaction to me if the Signory would take pre-
cautions at least by sending them away. We have written to our
Nuncio not to await the ordinary post, but to send us the reply
express. Answered that by reason of your devotion to his Holi-
ness whatever disquieted him was most irksome to the State; that
you forbad the Strozzis to reside in Venice or your territory
because they busied themselves with raising troops, and State
affairs; still less would you tolerate such acts on the part of this
man. The Pope rejoined, "We who have these evil conjectures
(male conjetture) about him, cause his proceedings to be watched.
We were desirous that for the preservation of Italy an understand-
ing should be formed between you and us, and should be manifest.
This heretical King is now the enemy of the Apostolic See, and we
tell you for certain that he has already concluded an agreement with
the Lutherans. The Council is sitting [at Trent]; we know not what
direction his thoughts may take. There is the incident (il particolar)
of Cardinal Pole, whom these ruffians may have been ordered to
entrap (che questi scelerati potriano havere ordine de insidie contra
lui). It is well that the Signory should show us their goodwill.
By tolerating an outrage out of respect for the King of England it
does not follow that the Signory will gain with him, as were he to
succeed he would boast of his own address (industria), and such it
would certainly have been; for where he to ask favour of the Signory
to enable him to execute his evil designs, we know the goodness of
the State to be such that they would not grant it him; but to per-
mit the act is tantamount to concession, without gaining the merit.
of an obligation with anyone. It also occurs to us that, now that
the King of France has withdrawn his fleet and other defences from
Provence, the King of England may purpose making a diversion
در
* In date 30th March 1545, the King's Council authorised Harvel to engage Count
Bernard de San Bonifacio of Verona. (See State Papers, vol. x. p. 399, footnote.)
In a letter dated Venice, 20th April 1545, Harvel wrote to Henry VIII. that he had
received letters of exchange for 4,138 Italian crowns, and "that it was passing comfortable
to Lodovico da l'Armi and to the other captains which wer in like expectacion and nede
to percayve the most gracious liberalite of your Majeste." (See State Papers, vol. x. p.
400.)
In May 1545 the Ambassadors of the Protestant Princes proposed a league with
England to resist the Council. (See letter from Bucler and Mont to Henry VIII., date
Worms, 6th May. State Papers, vol. x. p. 420.)
1545.
137
1545.
May 15.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
and invading that territory with the troops which are apparently
destined for Piedmont; and it has come to our knowledge that he has
also certain negotiations on foot with the Duke of Savoy, though we
do not comprehend quo spiritu the Duke can entertain them, he
being a ruined man (essendo le cose sua per concie). The Signory
will greatly oblige us by making such demonstration, at least by
expelling this fellow and the others, his accomplices, as to prove that
they will not tolerate these proceedings."
May 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 37.
·
I said I would willingly write, and that I knew the respect borne
by your Sublimity towards his Holiness, and also how much you
disapproved of misdeeds.
Rome, 8th May 1545.
Postscript.-Cardinal Ardinghelli inquired of me whether I had
written to your Excellencies about Lodovico da l'Armi. I said I was
transmitting a full account of all that he and his Holiness had said
to me, and he returned thanks, adding, "Do so, for our Lord con-
stantly receives fresh intelligence on the subject. By letters of the
23rd [April], he heard that the King was sending that gentleman of
his chamber, and now through an authentic channel this is confirmed
by a letter dated the 2nd [May], and he is expected at Venice
within twelve days at the latest."
I rejoined that I would notify the whole.
[Italian.]
336. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the most serene EMPEROR of the OTTOMANS.
By their last letters from France, the negotiations for peace with
the English had rather cooled, and both sides were making pre-
parations for war. It is said that the English fleet lately captured
a number of French vessels which were conveying victuals and
ammunition to the French fleet now fitting out in Normandy.
By letters dated the 25th, their ambassador, Navaier, writes to
them that the Emperor arrived at Antwerp on the 20th, and the
Duke of Orleans on the 24th, many personages having been sent
to meet him, and he was greatly honoured by the Emperor. It
was said that after a few days the Duke would return to France, it
being also said that the will remain? (si firmerà) with the Emperor.
Ayes, 134.
[Italian.]
337. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the GOVERNORS of VERONA.
Understand that in Verona there is a certain Bernardo da Sa
Bonifacio,* and one Angelo Mariano, and perhaps other commanders,
engaged by Ludovico da l'Armi, they having men with them, and
endeavouring to raise troops. This intelligence is displeasing to
them; so with the Council of Ten and Junta, charge the governors to
use all possible diligence to ascertain whether any of the aforesaid
or other commanders are in Verona for this purpose.
Should they
find any alien amongst them, to dismiss him the Signory's territory
* In the year 1547, Bernardo da S. Bonifacio was the pensioner of Edward VI. (See
Camden Publication, Trevelyan Papers, p. 196.)
138
1545.
1545.
May 15.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
immediately under such heavy penalties as they shall think fit;
and if there be any Venetian subject [concerned in this matter]
they are to admonish him becomingly, and command him in the
name of this Council, not to dare to make any levy of troops, under
pain of said Council's indignation.
They are also to use diligence in prohibiting similar musters, and
to keep well on the watch to learn whether any stir be made,
punishing those who disobey the orders of the Ten, and giving
immediate and detailed notice of the fact to them, the Chiefs.
Similar letter to Vicenza, and such other places as requisite.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
338. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADORS
at ROME.
Have understood by their letters, dated the 5th and 8th instant,
addressed to the Chiefs of the Council of Ten, what his Holiness
announced by Cardinal Ardinghelli, and said subsequently himself,
about the affair of Ludovico da l'Armi. The like office was also
performed here this morning with great warmth by the Papal
Nuncio. So having heard lately that said Ludovico was engaging
certain military commanders (intertenindo certi capi), a summons
was issued for him to appear before the Chiefs of this Council; and
he was not found, but in his stead the secretary of the English
ambassador (dell' ambasciator d'Inghilterra) came.
*
He told us
that said Ludovico had departed to do certain business for his King,
and that when he returned, he [the secretary] would send him to
the Chiefs. The Nuncio told them this morning he understood
Da l'Armi was gone to Trent, and intends to pass through that city,
and go perhaps to the Diet.† Hearing from the Nuncio that some of
his said military commanders are at Verona and Vicenza, have
written to the Signory's governors in those towns, should they find
any aliens there, to dismiss them, and if Venetian subjects, to be
admonished, and desired not to raise any levies in the Venetian
territory, under very heavy penalties.
Did this in compliance with the Pope's request, although they
have not had notice [from their governors?] that such levies were
being made; and will do the like for the future, should any stir be
announced to them.
To announce this to the Pope, that he may know the reverence
and devotion which they bear him, and their wish to do what is
agreeable to him, by reason of the paternal good will which he bears
their Republic.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* The so-called English Ambassador, was Edmund alias Sigismund Harvel; and Andrea
Morosini (vol. ii. p. 163), gives his Secretary the name of Baldassare Alcherio, query
Balthasar Alterius. He was still at Venice (according to Mr. Turnbull's calendar) on
the 11th and 26th August 1548. In the Deliberazioni Senato, 7th August 1546, the name
is written Baldissera Alchieri.
† Then being held at Worms.
(See Sarpi, Council of Trent; and Mosheim.)
1545.
139
1545.
May 23.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
June 17.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xvii. p. 37.
July 29.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
By the letter addressed to them on the 15th by the Council of
Ten and Junta, understood what they were to tell the Pope about
Lodovico da l'Armi and the others. Yesterday at audience, they
made the communication accordingly, and as his Holiness has the
matter much at heart, he repeated his earnest wish for the Signory
to act in such wise that nothing sinister may befall either him or
Cardinal Pole, and he also alluded to the interests of the most
Christian King.
June 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 50.
339. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Knight, and FRANCESCO
VENIER, Venetian Ambassadors at Rome, to the CHIEFS OF
THE TEN.
Assured the Pope that independently of any regret felt on hear-
ing things of this sort, the Signory will certainly not tolerate them,
for the sake especially of doing what is agreeable to his Holiness,
with whom the State will always remain most closely allied.
July 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 51,
tergo.
The Pope evinced extreme pleasure at this, and said he promised
himself much from their Excellencies' goodwill.
Rome, 23rd May 1545.
[Italian.]
340. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the armoury-halls of this Council, and the jewels of our
Sanctuary, be shown to the son of Lord Cobham, Governor of Calais,
together with 15 English gentlemen, his companions, and to the
Spanish Doctor of Laws who is come on his way to the Council of
Trent.
Ayes, 14. Unanimous.
[Italian.]
341. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Touching France and England, the preparations for war on both
sides are continued briskly both by sea and land.
To communicate these advices to the Bashaws as usual.
Ayes, 169. Noes, 5. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
342. The SAME to the SAME.
We hear from France and England that the war continues as
usual. The French commander, Monsr. de Lorges, has gone to
Scotland, and the English Admiral is at sea with a powerful fleet.
Ayes, 118. Noes, 12. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian]
343. LODOVICO DA MONTE to JERONIMO MARTELOSSO in
Murano.
The ambassador of the King of England [Sigismund Harvel]
has negotiated with the Lord Alovise di Gonzaga to become
general of all his Majesty's Italian troops; and the King's colonel,
140
1545.
1545.
Aug. 8.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 82
tergo.
Lodovico da l'Armi,* was to have come hither between the 20th and
the 24th, but he has not yet arrived. Does not know the cause of
the delay, but should the business be concluded, will give imme-
diate notice to Martelosso.
So far as he can judge, and from a few words uttered by the
English at Verona, they purpose making an agreement with the
Duke of Savoy [Charles III.], and sending him to recover his ter-
ritory of Piedmont, the King giving him 10,000 foot and 600 horse.
They are treating for the Signor Alovise [Luigi Gonzaga] to be
general of these forces (de la qual gente si maneggia che'l Sig.
Alovise sia Generalle), but he is acting very cautiously (va multo
circhunspecto), and until the arrival of Da l'Armi nothing more
can be known, although letters pass to and fro.
No good can be done if the expedition have not the Em-
peror's consent, the force being insufficient, and the Duke of Savoy
a bankrupt, without the means for paying troops.
The King's
assistance is, moreover, too remote; for in warfare circumstances
occur requiring immediate remedy, and when the opportunity is
lost, everything goes to ruin. It remains to be seen what will take
place, but the King has certainly some design in Italy, for eighty
“homeni bravi" have been sent to England, and not one of the
colonels went. These men were sent by Da l'Armi, but he would
not send him (Da Monte), nor Da Monte's brother, nor any of his
other captains, saying that he wished to have them in Italy.
As he (Da Monte) wishes to be free, requests Martelosso to obtain
permission from the Signory for him to go wherever opportunity
may offer,† as he will not fail to give faithful account of all that
happens from day to day to the Signory.
Your Lordship's as a brother,
(Signed) Lodovico da Monte.
Verona, 29th July 1545.
Addressed without-
To the very magnificent (Al multo magco),
Messer Jeronimo Martelosso,
My very revered Lord,
In Venice, at Murano.
[Italian.]
344. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten.
The captains of this Council and their companies forthwith to
surround the house entered by the armed men, who last night
assaulted Zuan dalla Moneda, captain of the boats of this Council.
To enter the house and arrest all persons found there, both men
* Mention is made of Da l'Armi's being in the service of Henry VIII. in March 1545,
by the English envoys, Paget, Wotton, and Harvel. (See State Papers, vol. x. pp. 368–
374.)
From this paragraph, and what follows, it appears that Martelosso was one of the
secret agents in the service of the Chiefs of the Ten, who on the present occasion employed
him to detect the machinations of Da l'Aimi and his accomplices. In 1542, this same
Martelosso was the person who detected the treasonable practices of the Cavazzas and
Abondio, concerning which see entry dated 21st October 1542.
1545.
141
1545.
Aug. 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 82,
tergo.
Aug. 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 83.
and women, and should they find Lodovico da l'Armi, to summon
him to present himself to-morrow morning to the Chiefs of this
Council.*
Ayes, 10. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
345. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Whereas Lodovico da l'Armi is accused of disobedience and inso-
lence towards Zuan dalla Moneda, captain of the boats of this Council,
drawing weapons and wounding one.of said captain's men;
also of having sent Francesco Mancino, Domenego of Naples, alias
Moreto, and another, name hitherto unknown, to murder Curio
Bua, at Treviso; and Mancino is accused of having, with Domenego
and another person unknown, on receiving such mandate, proceeded
to Treviso, in which city, after conversing twice or thrice with said
Curio, they on the evening of another day again went to Curio,
and Francesco, whilst talking with him, inflicted three or four
wounds on him with a naked weapon, the aforesaid Moreto and the
other accomplice standing by; after which, they scaled the city
walls, and made their escape on horses posted by them at a hostel
about a mile from Treviso.†
Put to the ballot, that these persons be arrested, and that Dome-
nego Moreto, already arrested, remain in custody; that they be
examined by the ordinary committee (collegio), even at the rack
(cum tortura), if necessary; they [the committee] to announce the
result to this Council, and justice to be done. If impossible to
apprehend the individuals sought for, they are to be summoned from
the edict steps at Rialto, to present themselves in person at the
prisons within the next eight days, to defend themselves against the
aforesaid charge; on the expiration of which term, should they not
appear, be they proceeded against, although absent.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
Proclaimed from the edict steps on the 12th.
[Latin.]
346. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
As Bartolomeo Bardolino, knight, of Bologna; Count Hironimo
della Noce, a Bolognese; Count Hanibal Delz (sic), a Sienese;
Giovanni Battista Politi, of Bologna; Raphael de' Scarlati, a
Florentine; Francesco from Modena; Alexander from Mirandola ;
Antonio Bolognese; Jacomo from San Felice; Alexander of
* An account of this assault and its sequel was given by Harvel to Henry VIII. in a
letter dated Venice, 13th August 1545. (See State Papers, vol. x. pp. 563-565.)
† On the 28th September 1545, the Privy Council wrote to Harvel that, as for hurting
of the man in Treviso, albeit his Majeste cowde nott altogeder allow thatt doing, yet his
Highnes was credibly informid that the man, which is hurt, hadd made promise to
Lodovico to sarve his Majeste, and receyved money for the same purpose, and after the
recept thereof dyd both refuse to sarve and doo that he hadd promesed, and also use
certain onfitting language towardes his Majeste, who trusted thatt the sayd state wold some-
what temper thexecution of any extreme justice, un to such time as His Highnes may
eftsones be more fully informed of thes maters." (See State Papers, vol. x. p. 604.)
142
1545.
1545.
Aug. 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 83.
Ferrara; Nicolo of Modena; Daniel of Portogruer; Perino, a
Florentine; and Sigismund of San Felice, who usually reside and
assemble in the house of Lodovico da l'Armi, have been accused of
disobedience and insolence towards Zuan dalla Moneda, captain of
the boats of this Council, against whom they drew their weapons,
and wounded one of his men, committing these acts contrary to
the dignity of this Council; by its authority, therefore, all the
aforesaid to be arrested, and examined by the usual committee
(collegio), even at the rack (etiam cum tortura) if necessary, &c.,*
[as in the foregoing proclamation]; and as some of the aforesaid are
under charge and custody (reperiuntur custoditi et sequestrati) of
the Signory's officials in the Churches of St. Nicholas at Lido, and
of St. Helena, the said officials to be relieved from their custody.
Ayes, 22. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
Proclaimed on the 12th as above.
[Latin.]
347. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Don Bertoldo, Chaplain of the Church of St. John at Rialto ;
Daniel de Friul, cook; Antonio de Modena; Nicolo da Venetia,
boatman; Jacomo Cesaruol; Piero da Ferrara; and Baptista
Neapolitan, arrested in the house of Lodovico da l'Armi, be released
from prison; and as an individual, name unknown, has been arrested
at Mestre, after examination by the Chiefs of this Council, he is to
be released by them, if not guilty.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
348. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Aug. 13.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 4.
.
Many months ago a Bolognese gentleman, outlawed from Bologna
[Ludovico da l'Armi], came to this city, and to other towns of our
territory. He has engaged (tenuto) captains and soldiers, contrary
to the custom of our Republic, where we have never suffered
musters (adunanze) nor stir (moto) to be made. Having been told
by the aforesaid Ludovico, whose statement was confirmed by the
English ambassador, that he was here for the service of his King, for
whom he had engaged those commanders, the Signory, although
they have not suffered such things within their jurisdiction, remem-
bering the ancient friendship which the Republic maintains with
England and his Majesty, was content that the men should remain.
in the Venetian territory under promise of living quietly; and
Ludovico was particularly admonished by the Council of Ten to act
with becoming decorum, and as he knew was also the will of the
most Serene King. He promised to do so, and therefore has been
hitherto well looked on in this city.
* By the letter from the Privy Council already quoted, it is seen that the King was of
opinion that Da l'Armi and his men might justly draw their swords in self-defence; and
"His Highnes trustyth the state will nether banish Da l'Armi, nor non of his gentlemen,
nor yet use the extremite against hym whom they now deteyne in prison; for that the
same may touche his Majestes honour for diverse respectes."
1545.
143
1545.
But lately the captains of the Council of Ten, when patrolling the
city by night, encountered eight or ten men wearing offensive and
defensive arms, amongst whom was the aforesaid Ludovico. The
captain asked who they were, demanding their weapons in the
name of the said Council. They not only would neither surrender
them nor say who they were, but assailed the captain and the
guard, shouting "Arms! arms!" for which disobedience the laws of
Venice have enacted the penalty of death. After fighting some
time the guard compelled them to retreat into a house, one of
the Signory's officials remaining wounded. On hearing of this,
with such displeasure as may be imagined, they sent next evening
to the house of said Ludovico to arrest such men as should be
found there, and to desire him to come to the Chiefs on the following
morning.
The culprits were not found in the house, but when said Ludovico
came to the Chiefs he was desired to use all diligence for their dis-
covery and surrender; and although he confessed to having come to
blows with the captain of the guard, they nevertheless, allowed him to
depart out of respect for his Majesty. But on the morning before
last, fresh intelligence arrived from Treviso that three armed men
entered that city and treacherously, in the evening, inflicted mortal
wounds on Count Curio Bua, who was near his own house, after
which they scaled the city wall and escaped. The Chiefs caused such
diligence to be used that one of the three has been found in Venice,
in the house of said Ludovico, and has confessed that he and his
comrades were sent by said Ludovico to commit this outrage
(eccesso). On hearing this the Signory could not in justice both
as an example to others, and for the safety and quiet of their
subjects, omit proceeding according to law in the ordinary form, and
issued the order to arrest said Ludovico and the others who were
with him; not having found them, they this morning had them
proclaimed [outlaws], as customary in similar cases.
The Chiefs and Council of Ten charge the secretary to acquaint
the King with these things in the best way he can, giving him to
understand that so long as said Ludovico was at Venice on his
Majesty's service without committing misdemeanours against the
Signory and their subjects, not only was he permitted to remain
without any remark (senza alcun rispetto), but was also well treated
by everybody; but when he chose to act in this manner against
their officials, perpetrating such treasonable offences, and causing
the walls of their cities to be scaled, they could not fail doing
what every Sovereign ought for the maintenance of justice and
of his honour. Are certain that the like would have been done by
his Majesty, who will much regret it, and, should they be unable
to capture said Ludovico, and he arrive in England, will make
such demonstration against him that the world shall know that
what he has done was against the will of his Majesty, who chooses
to maintain the ancient friendship which has always subsisted
between him and the Republic, they on their part doing the like to
their utmost, as the King may have already known, and will always
know by the facts themselves.
144
1545.
1545.
Aug. 20.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 83,
tergo.
Aug. 18.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 61,
tergo.
Aug. 25.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 84.
Having communicated the whole to the English ambassador
[Sigismund Harvel], he replied that it would greatly displease his
Majesty, and that the Signory could not proceed otherwise. Ans-
wered that the King's friendship could not suffer hurt (pater lesione)
from the misdemeanours of such scoundrels (simil tristi), and that
he [Harvel] and his Majesty's other ministers would always be
treated by the Signory as hitherto.
Chiefs of the Ten.
Jacomo Bragadin
Alvise Contarini
Francesco Barbaro
[Italian.]
349. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The French fleet is at sea in great force, bound to Dover, Calais,
and Boulogne to prevent the passage of the English into Picardy;
and the English fleet is at Portsmouth awaiting a fair wind to
engage that of France.
To communicate this intelligence as usual to the Sublime Porte.
Ayes, 163. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
350. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Lodovico da l'Armi having petitioned that, as he wishes to come
and present himself at the prisons, the term assigned, according to
the proclamation against him, may be prolonged. Put to the ballot,
that the period for his presenting himself, which expires this day,
be prolonged in his favour until the close of the present month.
Ayes, 4.
Amendment.
That the prorogation be extended until the 10th of September
next.
9
- 11
2
- 13
- 12
2
- 12 - 121
G
- 13
1
- 13
1
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
351. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
The motion pending on the 20th instant was made yesterday for
the prorogation, until the 10th of September, of the proclamation
and term [assigned] to Lodovico da l'Armi for presenting himself.
-
10.
16.
1.
Pendet.
1545.
145
1545.
Aug. 26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 84.
Aug. 26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 84,
tergo.
Aug. 26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 84,
tergo.
Aug. 26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 85.
352. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Whether it seems fit to you, by reason of what has been said and
read, to proceed against the Bolognese Lodovico da l'Armi, absent,
but legally summoned?
Ayes, 22. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Latin.]
353. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the aforesaid Lodovico be banished (bannitus) for ever from
Venice and all the towns and places of the Signory, and from vessels,
armed and unarmed; and should he at any time hereafter be captured,
be placed "in carcere clauso," with a reward of 2,000 livres for his
captor; and should he escape from prison and be taken, his captor
to receive the above written reward (taleam), he [Da l'Armi] having
his head severed from his shoulders between the two columns on a
lofty scaffold, and proclamation to be made, etc.
- 12 - 12 - 12.
Amendment.
Sentence as above-written, but should he disobey the sentence of
banishment, and be captured, to be forthwith beheaded between the
columns as aforesaid.
12 - 12.
2 2.
-R
As nothing was carried, and the movers being at liberty to change
their motion, the three Councillors above written not choosing to
do so, repeated their motion ut supra, and the ballots were,
11 - 11.
www
But two Councillors, the Chiefs, and the State Attornies, changed
their motion solely with regard to the reward for the captors,
increasing it from 2,000 livres to 3,000.
13 - 14.
2
1.
-
•
Is the Council of opinion that for the things said and read
proceedings be instituted against the Bolognese Francesco Mancino,
usually domiciled in the house of Lodovico da l'Armi, absent but
legitimately summoned?
Ayes, 23. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
The Council decrees that said Francesco Mancino be condemned
to the same sentence as Lodovico, save that the reward for his
captor be 2,000 livres.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 2.
Is the Council of opinion that for the things said and read
proceedings be instituted against Domenego Moreto?
Ayes, 23. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
The Council decrees that said Domenego do end his days (finire
habeat vitam) in a dungeon, from which should he escape and be
5.
K
146
1545.
$
.f
1545.
Aug.26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 85.
Aug. 26.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vi. p. 85.
captured, he is to be beheaded between the columns, etc., his captor
receiving 2,000 livres.
10 - 13 - 13.
1st. Amendment.
That he be sent under good custody to Treviso, and beheaded
there next Tuesday morning, on the market place.
9 - 8 - 9.
2nd Amendment.
That he be sent as above to Treviso, and that next Tuesday
morning, on the artillery ground there which he crossed when
making his escape, both his eyes be taken out, so that he remain
deprived of their sight (sic quod privatus lumine eorum remaneat);
and be he then banished Venice and the district, and from all towns
and places of the Signory, and from their ships, armed and unarmed;
and should he at any time break bounds (contrafecerit banno) and
be captured, to be beheaded between the columns, etc., his captor
receiving a reward of 2,000 livres.
4.
3
- 5
4.
The neutrals were not counted.
Is the Council of opinion that proceedings be instituted against
Count Hironimo della Nuce, Hironimo de' Scarlati, Florentine,
Francesco of Modena, Alessandro from Mirandola, Antonio Bolognese,
Jacomo from San Felice, Alessandro Ferrarese, Nicolo of Modena,
Paulo of Reggio, Daniel of Portogruer, and Perino, Florentine, who
usually reside and assemble in the house of Lodovico da l'Armi, they
being absent, but legitimately summoned?
Ayes, 17. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 5.
The Council decrees that for four years they be banished Venice
and from all towns and places of the Signory, and from its ships,
armed and unarmed; and should any one of them at any time be
captured, he to remain in close confinement for six months, and then
return to his banishment, which is then to re-commence, and this
toties quoties, with 1,000 livres reward for his captor.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 5.
Is the Council of opinion that proceedings be instituted against
Bartolomeo Bardolino of Bologna, Count Hanibal Delz, Sienese,
Giovanni Battista Politi of Bologna, Hironimo Venuci, and Sigis-
mund of San Felice?
The Council decrees that, considering the promise of immunity
given them by the Signory's officials, they are to be set at liberty,
and during the whole of tomorrow they may go in safety where
they please, and then have three days time for presenting them-
selves; and should they not present themselves they are to be again
proclaimed, with the term of eight days, on the expiration of which
term, should they not appear, they will be proceeded against notwith-
standing their absence.
Neutrals, 0.
Ayes, 17. Noes, 1.
[Latin and Italian.]
1545.
147
1545.
Aug. 29.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxiv. p. 62.
Aug. 31.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 4.
Dom. Sigismund Harvel, ambassador from the King of England,
has been a long while in this city, during part of which time he
negotiated as a private individual, being subsequently commissioned
to act in a public capacity. Whilst in his former situation the
taxers imposed taxes on him, which were duly paid, and are still
inscribed in his name. As he is compelled to pay them, the super-
visors noting him as debtor, he insists that since he commenced
negotiating with the Signory in the name of the most Serene King
he ought not to be compelled to pay any tax, according to universal
law. His Majesty aforesaid also has written strongly on the subject,
and it being just to satisfy him :
Put to the ballot,-
354. MOTION made in the SENATE to exempt the English Am-
bassador from Taxation.
That from the time when the said Dom. Sigismund commenced
negotiating with the Signory for his most Serene King as a public
person, and so long as he shall remain in this office, he be not com-
pelled to pay any tax; any debt contracted by him on this account
since the above written period to be cancelled, most especially as he
paid his taxes in full whilst in a private capacity.
Ayes, 151. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
Sept. 1.
Miscellaneous
Letters, Venetian
Archives.
355. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
In case it be necessary to speak about Ludovico da l'Armi with
his Majesty and the Ministry, to assure them that the Signory greatly
regretted the necessity for punishing him; and that whenever it
may be in their power to do what is agreeable to the King and
his government (et alli sui), they will not fail to act in accordance
with their ancient friendship and respect for his Majesty, who will
know they could not act otherwise than they have done in this
matter.
Before the condemnation of Ludovico, the King's ambassador
[Harvel] requested them to prolong the term assigned to said
Ludovico for presenting himself, which expired on the 20th instant,
until the 10th September. To this they could not assent by reason of
the laws. Should he be spoken to on this point, to declare that this
prolongation could not be made, especially as said Ludovico has had
a sufficient term, and because it is known that on the morning of
the day when they determined to arrest him he was in Venice, and
had notice of the seizure of one of those who went to Treviso to
commit the outrage. To advise the Chiefs of what he does, and of
what happens in this matter.
[Italian.]
356. BERNARDO NAVAGERO, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Lodovico da l'Armi arrived in this city yesterday, having ridden
post. At the second hour of the night he came to my house, and
when alone with me commenced a long and circumstantial account
K 2
148
1545.
1545.
of the two cases on account of which he had incurred the displeasure
(essere incorso incontumacia) of your Excellencies, the one, that he
had not obeyed your Excellencies' officials, having fought and
wounded one of them; the other, the scar inflicted by his order on
the son of Count Mercurio Bua,* and the flight of his followers by
letting themselves down from the walls of Treviso. In conclusion
he stated he had written to the English ambassador at Venice to
have the period for his presenting himself postponed until the 10th
instant, but that subsequently fresh commands from his King (dil
Re suo) compelled him to go to England, where he might possibly
find that powerful King, who has always been the Republic's friend,
offended by reason of the wrong done to him [Da l'Armi], who was
at Venice on his service, and although he had no letters of credence,
the utmost credence might have been given him on account of his
writings (scritture) and the business negotiated by him at Venice.
He said he would use his good offices with the King to augment
the good understanding between the Signory and England, and if
unsuccessful in this matter would never make mischief, adding, that
being unable to tell your Excellencies what he had intended, he
would tell your representative. Answered that the Doge in his
city enforces nothing more severely than obedience [to the law?]
and obedience to the officials in the service of the greatest and most
important magistracy of the Republic; that many noblemen of their
own blood had been seriously punished for a much slighter cause
than the one narrated to him by Da l'Armi; that in the next place
the State detests nothing more than the taking revenge, either with
or without cause, by thus sending hired ruffians to a place on purpose
to effect it, and that the Signory had also to take into consideration
the fact of their escape by the walls of Treviso, an outrage well nigh
tantamount to violation of that fortress, for which the State has the
most jealous care; being of opinion that both these cases were very
serious, and had greatly offended the public majesty of Venice;
nor would the Doge ever believe that the King of England, when
acquainted with the truth, could for this cause swerve in the least
from his friendship, but rather increase his love for a Republic
whom he saw so intent on the quiet and security of everybody.
Da l'Armi rejoined, that the first case of Canaregio, with regard
to himself individually, ought not to be deemed important, because
having many enemies and very powerful ones, and mistaking the
Signory's officials for them, he could not do otherwise than he did;
and on hearing that they were public officials, he retreated, nor was
it possible to show any greater mark of respect, so that if any
disorder occurred, it was owing to the night. With regard to the
second offence, he said that a person who had taken money to
* In the 15th century at Venice, the crime of "face scarring," (as a mark of infamy)
was very prevalent, and long continued to be so, as was probably the case all over Europe.
Amongst the criminal statutes of Venice is one dated 29th June 1443, headed thus: "Della
pena delli Percussori nella faccia," and commencing thus: "Cum nobilior pars corporis
hominis sit species (quoniam ornat totum corpus, et habet in se omnem speciem honestatis,)
et ea facie devastata, totum corpus est deformatum, et quidam mali homines per propriam
malignitatem, et vindictam iræ, et odii sui, cœperunt in hac nostra civitate percutere
homines super facie, quod est in vilipendium totius civitatis habere cives cum vultibus
incisis," etc.
1545.
1545.
come and serve the King of England, and then failed to do so,
deserved greater punishment than what he had received, and
that for this, the Signory ought not to evince resentment, both
out of respect for the King, and for the Doge himself, who being
a sovereign, should dissemble this case, to prove how much it
displeased him that Princes should be wronged by private indi-
viduals.
Sept. 2.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 67.
149
Navagero answered briefly, that the Signory sought solely to
preserve obedience, tranquillity, peace, and security in their
dominions; and Da l'Armi then took leave, saying he should
depart early on the following morning for England, and requesting
Navagero to write the whole of this conversation to the Signory.
Da l'Armi is accompanied by a gentleman of the Tresseno family,
who introduced himself to Navagero when he quitted his chamber,
saying he was the brother of another Tresseno here at the Imperial
Court, in the service of the Signor Sforza Palavicino.
Brussels, 1st September 1545.
[Italian.]
Sept. 17.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxiv. p. 71,
tergo.
357. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Advices from England, and by the last letters from France down
to the 19th August, state that the two hostile fleets were so near
each other on two occasions that all expected a sea fight, but as the
weather was calm, each endeavouring to get to windward, the English
went into port at Hampton, and the French at Havre-de-Grace,
where it will remain some days to ship provisions. An agreement
is being negotiated between Scotland and England, it having been
proposed to marry the daughter of the Queen of Scotland to the son
of the King of England. The adjustment about Boulogne is con-
sidered difficult without the Emperor's mediation, as the place is well
garrisoned and victualled, the French army being under the walls,
and the enemy going out to skirmish with them daily.
Ayes, 190. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
358. IMPORTATION of ENGLISH LEATHER.
The shoemakers of this city have petitioned the Signory, (as
the hides from the slaughter-houses, which are tanned at the
"Zudecha," do not suffice for the numerous population of Venice,
and for their trade,) to obtain a sufficient supply of tanned hides
for the use of this population; and the Signory having heard this
matter debated by the shoemakers and the tanners, and perceiving
that in fact, as there is a scarcity of said hides, it is necessary to
adopt such measures as may possibly regulate this matter bene-
ficially for the city:
Put to the ballot, that henceforth tanned hides be imported into
this city from abroad, namely, those tanned in England and in
Turkey, which are understood to be of the best sort tanned abroad;
said tanned hides to pay the usual duties and city dues, and to be
sold in the public warehouse at Rialto, where those tanned in Venice
150
1545.
1545.
Sept. 18.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxiv. p. 73,
tergo.
are sold, with this condition, that the shoemakers be bound first
of all, to take from our slaughterhouses all such hides as are well
tanned according to our orders; and so long as there shall be hides
of this sort in the warehouse, those tanned abroad may not be
purchased, nor any other sort. The English hides are to be sold for
one "soldo" less per lb., and the Turkish hides two "soldi" less
per lb., than those tanned here.
Ayes, 114. Noes, 51. Neutrals, 25.
[Italian.]
Sept. 18.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 73,
tergo.
359. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in FRANCE.
Maritime Rights.
It is reported here, that certain smacks (scute) and other English
vessels, bound lately to Flanders with the goods of various persons,
and amongst the rest of Venetian noblemen, citizens, and others,
have been captured by the French fleet. This matter being one of
much importance to their subjects, charge him, in case he have
any information, or if any Venetians be interested in the cargoes of
these smacks, to make an application to the most Christian King,
to the Admiral, or any other commander or justiciary in his
Majesty's service, for recovery of their plundered property; he is
not to fail giving them all possible assistance, so that they may
recover what may have been taken. Hope that by reason of the
good friendship and peace between his most Christian Majesty and
the Signory, and because of the respect which they have, and
always have had, for all his subjects and affairs in the Venetian
territory, there will be no difficulty as to this restitution, which,
therefore, the ambassador's diligent and strenuous endeavours, and
the many arguments which he can adduce to this purpose, will,
they believe, be assuredly effected, and their merchants receive com-
pensation for their losses.
Ayes, 176. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
360. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
Nothing has taken place between the French and English fleets.
Ayes, 176. Noes, 14. Neutrals, 13.
P.S.—After writing as above, received letters from their ambas-
sador in France, dated Amiens the 12th, confirming the news of the
death by plague of the Duke of Orleans. The disease seized him
on the 4th, and he died on the 9th. To communicate this in like
manner to the Magnificoes the Bashaws.
[Italian.]
Oct. 10.
361. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
The King of England is raising infantry in the territory of the
v. lxiv. p. 76. Landgrave of Hesse, to succour Boulogne, which was besieged by
1545.
151
1545.
Nov. 21.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 84,
tergo.
Dec. 4.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Dec. 4.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
the French, whose army, having been long before the place, at length
retired, leaving a strong force in a fortress raised by them near
Boulogne, and it is said that this garrison will give battle to the
Hessians on their march to succour the English.
Ayes, 155. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
362. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have letters from their ambassador in France, dated Troyes, the
2nd instant, stating that on the preceding day, the most Christian
King sent the Admiral, the Lord Chancellor, and Mons. Bayard to the
Emperor with a very honourable retinue to negotiate truce or peace
with the King of England by means of his Imperial Majesty, to
whom King Henry was also sending the Bishop of Winchester, who
arrived at Calais some days ago.
Ayes, 171. Noes, 7.
Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
363. MOTION made and lost in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA
for a safe-conduct demanded by HENRY VIII.
That at the suit made by the King of England, both by letter,
and also through his ambassador, a safe-conduct be conceded to
Ludovico da l'Armi for five years, during which he may come into
this city, and into our territory, notwithstanding the sentence passed
against him; and his Majesty's ambassador be told, that notwith-
standing the enormity of his crimes, and the strictness of our laws,
we have chosen to do this for his Majesty's gratification by reason
of our ancient friendship with him.
And that our secretary in England be written to in accordance
with the present decree.
Noes, 21.
[Italian.]
364. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA for a
letter to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian Secretary in England.
By his letter of the 3rd October learn the conversation held with
him by the Lord Chancellor in the matter of Ludovico da l'Armi.
To thank the Chancellor for his goodwill towards the Republic,
making him understand that the offices performed by him with the
King have been most agreeable to them; they will always hold
them in excellent account, and request him to continue them in
like manner for the future, both in this present matter and on other
occasions.
Ayes, 6. No, 1.
Neutrals, 2.
Nothing carried, as a majority of is required.
Reballoted
22
6
2
"
""
[Italian.]
I
22
6
2 & pendet.
152
1545.
1545.
Dec. 4.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
365. MOTION made by the Councillor FRANCESCO VENIER in
the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA, concerning the reply to be
given to the ENGLISH AMBASSADOR [Sigismund Harvel]
assigning the reasons for refusing the safe-conduct demanded
by HENRY VIII.
That in such form of speech as shall seem fit to his Sublimity, the
Doge do answer the ambassador from England, that the crimes
perpretated by Ludovico da l'Armi have been enormous, as he both
assaulted the Republic's nightwatch and wounded the officials, and
moreover sent men on purpose to Treviso, treacherously to murder
Count Curio Bua, scaling the walls of the city; and that although
the wish of the Signory is to gratify his Majesty, yet the State
is compelled to have regard for justice, and for the peace of the
inhabitants of Venice and of their other subjects, and to avoid
disturbing the quiet of their towns.
And that our Secretary in England be written to as follows:-
To the Secretary in England.
They lately received letters from his Majesty [of England], dated
28th September, urging them to release Ludovico da l'Armi, and
others, arrested and condemned with him. They have also received
those written by the Secretary himself on the 3rd, 10th, and 19th of
said month, and finally what he wrote to the Chiefs of the Ten on
the 29th, whereby and by those of the 3rd, are acquainted with the
offices performed by him in this matter with the Chancellor [Thomas
Lord Wriothesley.] Commend him greatly. To negotiate further
with the Lord Chancellor, and request his Excellency to use his
influence with the King, who will understand that the misconduct
of said Ludovico compelled the Signory to proceed against him
according to law.
Then to demand audience of the King, to whom, after presenting
the aforesaid credentials, he is to say that from the desire of the
Signory to do what is agreeable to his Majesty, they have at all
times graciously admitted into their territory his Majesty's agents
and servants, and particularly Ludovico da l'Armi, who, so long as
he attended to the King's service, was conceded every possible
facility, which the State would have continued, but as he assaulted
the Repub ic's nightwatch, and wounded one of their officials, and
shortly afterwards sent armed men to Treviso to kill Count Curio
Bua, scaling the city walls, the Signory was unable to do otherwise
than prosecute him.
To assure the King that they do not fail to continue in their good
friendship with his Majesty, which is dear to them.
To perform this office in the best and most agreeable form of
language he can, and with every demonstration of the observance
and goodwill which they bear his Majesty; informing the Chiefs how
he has negotiated in this matter.
[Italian.]
1545.
153
1545.
Dec. 9.
Parti Secrete,
Register.
v. v. p. 152.
Dec. 10.
Lettere Sécrete,
CapiConsiglioX.
File, no. 4.
366. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA, con-
cerning the safe-conduct for LUDOVICO DA L'ARMI.
The Chiefs of the Ten repeat the motion made on the 4th December,
for the grant of a safe-conduct for Ludovico da l'Armi.
Noes, 22.
Amendment proposed by the Councillor Francesco Venier.
That as a person is expected here from England on this account,
as heard this morning by letters from our Secretary, the grant of
the safe-conduct be delayed.
Ayes, 7. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
Nothing having been carried; as the first motion required three-
fourths of the ballots, the first motion alone for granting the safe-
conduct was re-balloted, and the ballots were-
Ayes, 23. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
Dec. 10.
Lettere Secrete,
CapiConsiglioX.
File no. 4.
367. DOGE FRANCESCO DONATO to KING HENRY VIII.
Has received his Majesty's letter urging him (the Doge) to recall
Ludovico da l'Armi from exile, concerning which matter the King's
ambassador discoursed very prudently. Would have certainly
answered the missive earlier had not the death of the most Serene
Prince, his predecessor, and the Republic's meetings (nostraque
comitia), delayed his decree; but at length, out of regard for his
Majesty, he permits said Ludovico to return to Venice, and remain
there and in other cities of his dominions, for five years.
*
Has desired his secretary, Giacomo Zambon, to acquaint the King
with some particulars in this matter, and to assure his Majesty, first
of all, that it is the constant wish of the Republic, not only that
their ancient and mutual friendship, and their extreme observance
towards his Majesty should be maintained, but also that the same
may increase.
Requests the King, therefore, to give the same credence to his
Secretary's words, as he would to his own.
Hieronimus Priulus, C.C.X.
Marco Antonio Venier, D.C.X.
Francesco Mauroceno, C.C. X.
Lectæ Clarissimis D. Sap. utr. manus.†
[Original draft.
Latin.]
368. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Some days ago, letters were delivered to them from his Majesty
[of England], making urgent demand for the release (liberatione) of
Ludovico da l'Armi, and they also received those written by him
(Zambon) on the 1st, 3rd, 10th, 19th, and 31st October, addressed
to the Chiefs of the Ten, whereby perceive the offices performed by
him in this matter with the Lord Chancellor [Thomas Lord
Wriothesley], and what was said to him by Secretary Paget [Sir
Meetings of the Grand Council for the scrutiny of the new Doge.
Read to the most noble Lords the Sages [seated] on either hand of the Doge.
154
1545.
And
1545.
Dec. 14?
MS. St. Mark's
William Paget, Knt.] Commend him for what he did with the
Chancellor, and for his reply to the Secretary. Having with the
Council of Ten and Junta, resolved yesterday, for the gratification of
his Majesty, to approve a safe-conduct for the aforesaid Ludovico
for five years, they send this despatch with a letter addressed to
the King, which he is to present. After apologizing for the delay
of the reply, which was caused by the death of the Doge's predecessor,
and his own occupations owing to his election, to inform his Majesty
that the Signory, by reason of their ancient friendship with his
Majesty, and from their great respect for him, although the
misdemeanours of said Ludovico were grievous, and their laws
very strict in this matter, have nevertheless granted the said
safe-conduct for him for five years, authorising him to reside in
Venice and their other towns, notwithstanding the sentence passed
against him. To perform the same office with the Lord Chancellor,
and to thank him for the affection which he bears the State.
In case his Majesty or the others should tell him (Zambon) that
the term of five years is too short, he is to reply that by the
Republic's laws, similar safe-conducts cannot be granted for a longer
period, especially with regard to offenders sentenced by the Council
of Ten.
Dec. 16.
Lettere Secrete,
CapiConsiglioX.
File no. 4.
Hieronimus Priulus, C.C.X.
Marco Antonio Venier, D.C.X.
Franciscus Mauroceno, C.C.X.
[Original draft. Latin.]
369. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
Congratulates the Pope privately on his having at length opened
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.the Council,* a door whereby he hopes the sterility of the Church
Library,
No date. will be removed, and prove as fruitful of comfort as the womb of
Printed in v. iv. Rachel.
pp. 34-35.
"Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli.”
No date of time
or place.
Lectæ Clarissimis D. Sap. utr. manus.
Trent, 14th December? 1545.
[Latin, 19 lines.]
370. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
The King of England having most earnestly requested the
Signory by letter, as also through his ambassador and their Secretary
resident with him, for his especial satisfaction to release (liberar).
Ludovico da l'Armi from his sentence of banishment from their
towns and places, did not think they could decline granting the
demand in part, and, with the Council of Ten and Junta, have made
a safe-conduct for said Ludovico for five years.
Of this they give the ambassador notice for his instruction, and
that should he be spoken to on the subject by his Holiness or any
other personage, he may assure them that this was done for the
gratification of his Majesty, and because the Republic has always
* The Council was opened on the 13th December 1545. (See Sarpi.)
1545-1546.
155
1545.
1546.
Feb. 16.
Mantuan
Archives.
Dec. 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 89,
tergo.
(anticamente) had good friendship with him on account of trade,
and also because at present many of their subjects are in those parts
with considerable capital (con grosso cavedale), and well treated by
his Majesty, to whom they did not think fit to refuse this mutual
office of reciprocity (questo officio di corrispondenza) and demon-
stration of goodwill. But should nothing more be said to him, he is
not to perform any office about it.
Hieronimus Priulus, C.C.X.
Marco Antonio Venier, D.C.X.
Franciscus Mauroceno, C.C.X.
Lectæ Clarmis. D. Sap. utr. manus.
[Original draft. Italian.]
371. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN “
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Their ambassador with the Emperor wrote to them from Antwerp
in date of the 1st and 2nd, that the French ambassadors, the
Admiral, the Lord Chancellor, and Secretary Bayard, who went to
his Imperial Majesty to negotiate through him an agreement with
the King of England, had gone back to France without any conclu-
sion, and the Emperor was to depart for Ratisbon.
By letters from France, dated the 26th ultimo, are informed that
the most Christian King has in like manner sent other ambassadors
to Calais, to treat an adjustment with England by means of certain
ambassadors from the German Princes who are in that city.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1546.
BAILO" at
372. HENRY VIII. to FRANCESCO GONZAGA, DUKE of MANTUA.*
Having had frequent proof heretofore of the good will and friend-
ship borne him by all the Duke's ancestors, and how cordially they
sought on all occasions to do what was agreeable to him, and
trusting that the Duke is equally well disposed towards him, will
not lose the opportunity for amicably saluting his Excellency, and
declaring in like manner his affection for him and all his generous
and illustrious family by the present letter, and by means of his
noble and beloved familiar Lodovico da l'Armi,† whom he is now
sending into Italy on business, and earnestly requests the Duke to
assist him with his favour, patronage, and authority, in such matters
as will be treated by him there in the King's name, granting him
* Francesco Gonzaga born A.D. 1533, succeeded to the Duchy of Mantua on the
28th June 1540, and during sixteen years, his uncle, the Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, was
Regent of Mantua. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 87.)
Ac per nobilem et dilectum familiarem nostrum Ludovicum ab Armis.
156
1546.
1546.
such aid as the Duke will understand is required by him, which will
be most agreeable and acceptable to the King.
Ex Regia nostra Westmonasterii die XVI. Februarij 1546.
Signed: Vester Bonus Amicus,
HENRICUS.
Countersigned: Petrus Vannes.
Feb. 20.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiv. p. 96.
[Latin. Original.]
373. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN “BAILO" at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from the Imperial Court, dated the 29th ultimo, under-
stand that the Emperor, having recovered from a slight attack of
gout, was in good health, and purposed going to the Diet of Ratisbon
towards the end of March. He has much intercourse with the
English, and seems also to wish to maintain the peace with the most
Christian King, notwithstanding which it is reported that he said he
purposed inspecting and adjusting his frontiers in that direction.
Letters from France, written in like manner last month, inform
them that on the French attempting to succour their fortress of
(sic) [near?] Boulogne, the English gave them battle with a strong
force, and although superior in number were nevertheless routed
with a loss of some 1,500 men, including killed and drowned, and
the French succeeded in putting succour into their fort. The nego-
tiations at Calais for an agreement between France and England
came to an end without the stipulation of either peace or truce.
By another set of letters received this morning, dated the 2nd and
5th instant, receive news that between the Emperor and the King
of England a fresh agreement has been formed and concluded, the
particulars of which are not yet known, so that the most Christian
King is more intent than ever on making preparations for the war
against the English both by land and sea, and has determined on
sending the Prince of Melphi (sic) [Amalfi?] into Piedmont with
military commanders, and orders to do what may seem to him
necessary.
Ayes, 137. Noes, 10. Neutrals, 7.
[Italian.]
March?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. X.
374. CARDINAL POLE to STANISLAS OSIO.*
Letter of recommendation of Vincenzo Bansio.
Rome? March, 1546 ?
No date.
Printed in v. iv.
[Latin, 23 lines.]
p. 17, “Epistolarum Reginaldi Poli," without date of time or place.
April 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 10,
tergo.
375. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTI-
and
NOPLE.
In date of Paris the 17th ultimo, their ambassador writes to them
that the most Christian King was intent on making powerful pre-
parations for the recovery of Boulogne, and to fortify himself against
the English. Captain Polin, after putting succour into his fortress
* Stanislas Osio was the Chancellor of King Sigismund of Poland, and in 1561 (26
February) was created Cardinal by Pope Pius IV.
1546.
157
1546.
April 14.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
April 15.
Mantuan
Archives.
opposite Boulogne, went with some twenty ships towards the "Pas
de Calais," where he captured seven vessels laden with grain, am-
munition, spades, and other things destined by the English for
Boulogne.
-
King Francis is raising funds, and has sent into Italy as his
lieutenant the Prince of Melphi [Amalfi ?], who will inspect and
repair the fortresses in Piedmont, and for the present has left his
company north of the Alps. The most Christian King's commander,
Mons. de Lorges, who was in Scotland, has returned to France with
the French troops, accompanied by a Scottish ambassador, to demand
pecuniary assistance against England.
Mons. d'Enghien, heretofore his most Christian Majesty's lieu-
tenant in Italy, died lately in France, and on the 30th ultimo the
Marquis del Guasto, late Governor in Milan, also died.
By letters from England, dated the 7th ultimo, it is stated that
the King was collecting money and preparing a large number of
troops for Picardy, and purposed sending the Earl of Hertford as
their commander.
Ayes, 171. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
376. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the GOVERNORS of BRESCIA.
Understands that Ludovico da l'Armi has arrived at Castel
Goffredo,* or in those environs, to raise troops for the service of the
most Serene King of England; so, with the Council of Ten and
Junta, charge them to use diligence to ascertain in detail, adroitly
and secretly, all his proceedings, giving notice of the whole to the
chiefs of this Council, and executing the orders contained in their
other letters about prohibiting the Republic's subjects from entering
the service of foreign powers.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.†
[Italian.]
377. CARDINAL ERCOLE GONZAGA, REGENT of MANTUA, to
MONSIGNOR CAMILLO CAPILUPO, Mantuan Envoy with the
Emperor.‡
Lodovico da l'Armi has come into these parts, as he (Capilupo)
may have heard; and according to report, of which there is some
confirmation, he is ordered to raise troops for England, some say
to march them to Boulogne against France, others, that he is going
to Piedmont, to undertake an expedition there, in the name of
the Prince of Savoy, which last opinion is the most general. Has
been unable hitherto to ascertain the truth; but at any rate this stir
disturbs him, both on account of the Mantuan territory, and of that
* In the Mantuan territory, 5 leagues N.W. of Mantua.
† At this period the Protestant League, headed by the Duke of Saxony and the
Landgrave of Hesse, was raising troops and holding a Diet at Ulm; and their forces at
Donavert numbered 80,000 infantry and 10,000 horse. (See Andrea Morosini, vol. ii.
p. 62.)
+ Camillo Capilupo combined authorship with diplomacy, and wrote an account of the
massacre of St. Bartholomew, which was printed at Rome in the year 1571.
158
1546.
1546.
of Montferrat, where Da l'Armi resides, at Castelgiffredo (come del
Monferrato, di questo essendo il luogo di Castelgiffredo), saying that
he is in the service of England), that place being in the Duchy of
Mantua and connected with it; whilst in the opposite direction there
is La Mirandola, which in this case, could not but make a similar
movement on behalf of France, to impede the intended levies at
Castelgiffredo. The Mantuan territory would thus be in the midst.
of the disturbance, and they would subsequently be in yet greater
trouble with regard to the affairs of Montferrat, should these troops
be marched to Piedmont, as besides the inconvenience and damage
caused by their passage through that State-already so exhausted-
the Government of Mantua could not allow them to go freely
through the territory, nor act by them as by the Imperialists. It
would be dangerous for the interests of the Duke his nephew
[Francesco Gonzaga], and for his own, that these troops should
remain in the Montferrat territory on their way to undertake an
expedition in the name of Savoy, by reason of the claims on
Montferrat of that Duke, who, although he has been excluded by
right, has not acceded to his Majesty's sentence, and on the
contrary, made an appeal, which, although he did not prosecute,
he did his utmost to enforce. In addition, is of opinion, that when
the Emperor's service is not concerned, it is undesirable for Mantua
to evince hostility to France by harbouring in the Mantuan territory
troops destined to act against that country, which is now at peace
with the Emperor.*
In order to know how to act, sends this express, desiring him to
request the most illustrious Monsr. de Granvelle [Nicole Perrenot,
Seigneur de Granvelle, Imperial Chancellor], in the Cardinal's name,
to give him advice with regard to the course to be pursued, as he
thinks it necessary to be cautious on account of the Emperor's
service, because being so devoted to his Majesty, as known to
France, any demonstration made by him in favour of England
against King Francis might easily be attributed, if not to an order
from the Emperor, at least to the conviction that he would approve
it. Should the matter rest between England and France alone,
and if there be no other consideration, he might act in such wise
with the French agents as not to offend King Francis, and should
those of England make demands, which he anticipates (from a letter
addressed to him by Da l'Armi and which he encloses), he might
let them know that as the interests of the Emperor his Lord are
not concerned, Mantua would not lean more towards France than
towards England. Least of all could the Cardinal favour England,
by reason of the enmity professed by King Henry for the Apostolic
See; on which account, last year, when the Signor Luigi [Gonzaga]
was about to enter the service of England, the Pope wrote to the
Cardinal of Mantua to prevent this, and not to allow troops on
that service to pass through his territory.
To acquaint the most illustrious De Granvelle with these par-
ticulars, and ascertain his opinion on the subject, sending the reply
* Peace was made between the Emperor and France on the 17th September 1544. · (See
L'Art de vérifier les Dates.)
·
1546.
159
•
1546.
April 15.
Mantuan
Archives.
April 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
April 17.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
by express, as should Da l'Armi and his comrades (costoro) do any-
thing, it may be supposed that they will not long delay. To
beware, above all, of speaking in such a way as to have it suspected
that he wishes to hear anything about this most important political
business (questo importantissimo negotio politico),* as the Cardinal
has no such desire, and merely cares to know what can affect
the common weal; and should he be unable to obtain a single
word, as the Cardinal foresees, he will do the best he can, bearing
always in mind the Emperor's service. Is not to allow anything
to escape him about the possibility of a demand from France to
have an agent (ci ricercasse uno) at Castel Giffredo (in order still
better to inconvenience his Imperial Majesty), nor of his inability
to refuse; nor yet of La Mirandola's being much inclined to arm
and cross the Po; as it would seem as if-being unable to with-
stand such turmoil-the Cardinal were asking for assistance.
Is to send information on this subject with all possible speed,
and not to omit giving his own opinion.
Mantua, 15th April.
[Italian. Original draft.]
378. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI to ERCOLE GONZAGA, CARDINAL
REGENT of MANTUA.
Having commissions and letters of credence for the Duke of
Mantua, &c., from the King of England, my master, I acquaint your
Lordship with the fact, in order to know whether it be your plea-
sure I should execute his Majesty's commission.
From Castello Giuffredo, 14th April 1546.
Your most illustrious and most esteemed Lordship's
Very obedient servant,
(Signed:) Lodovico da l'Armi.†
[Original. Italian.]
379. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Enclose summary of advices for communication to the King and
Ministers as usual.
[Italian.]
380. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That the proclamation sent for publication to the Signory's cities,
prohibiting our subjects from entering the service of foreign powers,
be also published from the "Edict Steps" at St. Mark's and
Rialto.
Ayes, 10. Noes, 16. Neutrals, 3.
Carried in the negative.
[Italian.]
* The League between the Emperor and the Pope against the Protestants was still a
secret, and the ratification is dated 26th June 1546.
†This signature being spelled as above, I print the name thus throughout, although in
the letter from Venice, dated 30th April, it is written " Dalle Armi.”
¡
160
1546.
I
1
1546.
April 20.
Mantuan
Archives.
381. CAMILLO CAPILUPO, Mantuan Envoy with the Emperor,
to ERCOLE GONZAGA, CARDINAL REGENT of MANTUA.
in
Having deciphered the letter relating to Lodovico da l'Armi, went
at 3 p.m. to Mons. de Granvelle, and after having read to him Da
l'Armi's letter to your Lordship, expressed my apprehensions about
him. His Excellency interrupted me, and well nigh laughing, said,
"Do you not know Da l'Armi? He is a frivolous man (egli è vano).
I will tell you something, but do not talk or write about it, save to
the Cardinal. It will all end in smoke. What means have they for
harassing France?" He then added, "I had already heard of this
affair and complained greatly about it; nothing will be done." I
continued, "Should my master be asked for facilities by England,
what can they reply, for the Cardinal, being a churchman, would be
loth to consent?" Granvelle rejoined, " He must not allow Lodovico
to speak to him, but send an excuse saying that the Duke is a minor,
and that he, the Regent, being a Cardinal, cannot lawfully listen to
him, nor could he do so without offending the Pope; and let him
issue an edict forbidding anyone to enter into the pay (che vadi
al soldo) of other governments." Rejoined," Should the French,
order more surely to prevent the English from making this stir,
demand some fortress (luogo) [in the Mantuan territory], what is to
be done then?" He [Granvelle] replied,
He [Granvelle] replied, "Give them the answer
made to the English, and say that the Duke is a minor." I then
said that there were places which could not be defended, and that it
would perhaps be better policy to cede what could not be kept,
rather than let it be taken; whereupon Granvelle, being irritated,
answered, “If they do not choose to be neutral, it is another affair."
I rejoined that you had sent an express solely from fear of doing
what might displease the Emperor, and therefore asked counsel of
his Excellency. Granvelle replied that his Majesty would not inter-
fere in this business; that he wished to be friends with all parties,
and that the Emperor would say nothing more to me. I continued
that I had no commission to speak to anybody but his Excellency,
as they intended abiding by his advice; and as at that moment
the Secretary Rios entered, and as Mons. de Granvelle was talking
loud, I closed the conversation by saying that I would write
what his Excellency had said to me, but that the best remedy
would be not to give the General Luigi [Gonzaga]* permission to.
engage himself to England, as without a license he would not be
allowed to raise levies. I said this, because the General sent me
the enclosed memorial † for the Emperor, which I had first received.
at Spires from the Cardinal of Trent, but would not deliver it, as it
was not couched in its present form; and I wrote to the Cardinal
of Trent that General Luigi had better send an envoy of his own,
but subsequently he returned the document modified (honestato), as
it stands. I had also urged Mons. de Granvelle to have the General
taken into the Imperial service, and he said he would speak about
it to the Emperor, and gave fair hopes either of refusing the license
* The title of "General" of the Italian forces of Henry VIII., as expected by Luigi
Gonzaga, is mentioned in the letter dated Verona, 29th July 1545.
† Not found.
1546.
161
1546.
April 21.
Mantuan
Archives.
April 24.
Mantuan
Archives.
April 30.
Mantuan
Archives.
or of engaging him. Therefore I now reminded Mons. de Granvelle
of this, and the answer was that the license would not be given,
and that [General] Gonzaga would be told that the Emperor does not
interfere in the matter. I will, however, endeavour to do better,
should a fair opportunity present itself. So your Excellencies [the
Cardinal and the Duchess of Mantua, co-regents] may be certain
that as yet nothing is concluded.
Ratisbon? 20th April 1546.
[Original. Italian.]
382. CAMILLO CAPILUPO, Mantuan Envoy with the Emperor,
to ERCOLE GONZAGA, CARDINAL REGENT of MANTUA.
In the foregoing did not reply to the last paragraph in the
Cardinal's ciphered letter of the 15th concerning England, whereby
their Excellencies [the Cardinal and the Duchess] desire him to
write them his opinion either apart or together with that of Gran-
velle. Had not time to do so, nor did it seem necessary to him,
as Granvelle spoke very plainly. At present, out of obedience to
their Excellencies rather than from presuming to accept so great a
favour, informs him that he thinks it would be well, in conformity
with what Granvelle said, to issue a general order [against enlist-
ment], but to give the French agents tacitly to understand that this
has not been done with reference to his most Christian Majesty, to
whom he also thinks that, as it would not injure the Emperor (da
chè non ci ha il desservitio dello Imperatore), it would be well to
make many concessions, and give what cannot be sold, as besides
obliging the French, the places would be better treated than if they
were taken by force,--endeavouring to obtain a promise that they
shall not be fortified. Should England complain of the favours
granted to the French rather than to her, which would be undeniable,
the Cardinal might apologize on account of his ecclesiastical grade,
as England cannot injure him.
Ratisbon? 21st April 1546.
[Original. Italian.]
383. The SAME to the SAME.
The General Luigi [Gonzaga] has no decision (risolutione) either
from England or the Emperor; Granvelle assures me that no expe-
dition will be made in Piedmont, and thinks the whole affair will
vanish into smoke. Granvelle recommends the Cardinal to apologize
for not giving audience to Da l'Armi, on account of his [the Čar-
dinal's] ecclesiastical grade, and that Mantua should remain neutral.
Ratisbon? 24th April 1546.
[Original. Italian.]
384. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI to ERCOLE GONZAGA, CARDINAL
REGENT of MANTUA.
Understanding that from personal considerations it does not please
you I should come to Mantua, and as it is not my office to argue what
is "comodo " or honourable for your Excellency, I merely say that
for your satisfaction, and knowing that the King, my Lord, desires the
'
5.
L
162
1546.
:
1546.
utmost welfare of all the illustrious family of Gonzaga, I have sent
you his Majesty's letters accrediting me, and also a paper containing
part of my commissions from the King for his Excellency the Duke,
by the hands of the Vicentine Christiano Dressino,* my gentleman,
referring myself for the rest to what will be told you by said Marquis
Christiano, to whom your Lordship will vouchsafe to give such cre-
dence as you would to myself in virtue of his Majesty's credentials.
Therefore I say that his Majesty determined some weeks ago to
send me to Italy for the performance of various commissions, and
after detaining me many days in England, at length despatched me
at the end of March. Amongst the chief commissions given me, one
was to visit the Duke, and to remind him of the goodwill which had
subsisted between his Majesty's predecessors and those of his Ex-
cellency, and of that which had prevailed between his Majesty and
the Duke's predecessor. The King also wishes that not only may
the same last between himself and his Excellency, but increase and
augment, and continue with their posterity; offering him his favour,
authority, and all his forces, the importance of which may well be
comprehended, considering that the power of England is not inferior
to that of any other King in Christendom. His immense wealth
is much greater than that of many other princes, and the valour
and dignity of his well proportioned frame (et il valor, et dignità
della persona sua proporzionata) may vie with any other sovereign.
In addition to this, the perfect understanding and brotherhood at
present existing between him and the Emperor has also bound to
his service "quell' altro Signore d'Italia tra state et verno, più che
mediocre” [Charles III., Duke of Savoy], through whom for the
future he will have much more power and opportunity for obliging
and profiting his friends and harassing and injuring his enemies, a
thing to be beld in very great account. Therefore, as a person most
attached to his Excellency, and obliged to your Lordship, and being
his Majesty's most faithful servant, I would wish your Lordship and
his Excellency to reply to my offers and demands made in the King's
name, by addressing such a letter to me as would enable me, for the
benefit of his Excellency, not only to maintain the King in his high
opinion (honorata opinione) and goodwill with regard to the Duke
and all the Gonzaga family, but to increase it, so that his Excellency
may on all occasions avail himself of the various and abundant re-
scources of England, and of his Majesty's forces and inestimable
treasure, for the conservation and exaltation of his territory and
person, and also of those ranks of which your Lordship is truly
worthy. So together with your letter to the King, you should send
a copy, that I may know what report to make to his Majesty of
the Duke's mind, besides the testimony of your letter.
Most affectionate servant,
(Signed) Lodovico da l'Armi.
Venice, last day of April 1546.
[Original. Italian.]
* The name of this Vicentine family is generally written Trissino.
1546.
163
1546.
May 1.
Mantuan
Archives.
May ?
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
May 4.
Mantuan
Archives.
385. CARDINAL ERCOLE GONZAGA, REGENT of MANTUA, to
MONSIGNOR SIGISMONDO FANZ (sic).
Will have heard of the arrival of Lodovico da l'Armi, who wrote
from Castel-goffredo of the order given him to come to Mantua.
The answer purported that if he had any statement to make there
was no occasion for him to come in person. Wishing to know the
Emperor's opinion, wrote to Camillo Capilupo, and received an
answer as by enclosed copies. It may be hoped that the stir of
this Da l'Armi will end in smoke; the Emperor has no hand in
it, so it seems well to convince the French agents of this. Therefore
sends Dominico dalla Concordia to Turin, to speak to the Prince and
to Monsignor Hermes, as he (Fanz) will perceive by the instruction
which he is to show to his Excellency. On the arrival of Dominico
at Casale, is to give him the instruction, together with the letter of
Lodovico da l'Armi, as the Cardinal thinks it advisable to send
the packet by the post to Casale, where Dominico will receive it,
instead of taking it with him [from Mantua ?].
Mantua, 1st May 1546.
[Original draft. Italian.]
386. CARDINAL POLE, in his own name, and that of his fellow-
Legates [Cardinal del Monte, and Cardinal Cervino], to
KING FRANCIS I.
pp. 30-32.
No date of time. Expressing their gratitude, and that of the whole Council, for the
Printed in vol. 4.letters, both public and private, received from his Majesty. All
"Epistolarum Christendom acknowledges the King's piety, perceiving his efforts
Reginaldi Poli." to convert remote nations to Christianity (dum longe a nobis dis-
No date of time..
jectas nationes, ac pene toto orbe separatas, Christiana Religione
instituendas curat).
Trent, May? 1546.
[Latin, 38 lines.]
387. CAMILLO CAPILUPO, Mantuan Envoy with the Emperor,
to ERCOLE GONZAGA, CARDINAL REGENT of Mantua.
The Emperor is urging Duke William of Bavaria to come to
Ratisbon.
The Spaniards are causing the Emperor to suspect that the
Prince Don Fernando,* is endeavouring to make himself Duke of
Milan, with the assistance of Mantua, Montferrat, Ferrara, and
other kinsfolk.
The messenger of the General Luigi [Gonzaga] has had the
following reply from Mons. de Granvelle about taking service with
England, that he is to do as he pleases, but that no potentate what-
ever is making an expedition for the Emperor in Piedmont. Does
not know whether England is his [Savoy's?] friend, but is not
sorry that he [the Duke of Savoy ?] should be assisted. Touching
the other matters, such as stipend and agreements, he was told that
* Query, Don Ferrante Gonzaga.
L 2
164
1546.
1546.
May 6.
Mantuan
Archives.
May 6.
Mantuan
Archives.
at present that they cannot be attended to, but that when possible,
the Emperor will show him that his obsequiousness is held in
account.
Ratisbon, 4th May, at noon.
[Ciphered letter with contemporary decipher.
Italian.]
388. MONSIGNOR THOMASO SANDRINO to ERCOLE GONZAGA,
CARDINAL REGENT of MANTUA.
Yesterday morning arrived from Ferrara. The Cardinal of
Ferrara [Ippolito d'Este] was informed that the Bolognese, Lodovico
da l'Armi, and the General Luigi [Gonzaga] of Castelgoffredo, were
raising troops for England at Castelgoffredo, the General Luigi, the
master of that place (priore di esso luogo), being Captain General
(Capo Generale) of this expedition. This intelligence disturbed the
Cardinal of Ferrara. By preventing these proceedings, the Cardinal
of Mantua will not only retain the good opinion of the King of
France (which he has always sought), but conciliate him greatly.
Should the news be true, the Cardinal of Ferrara is of opinion that
the Cardinal of Mantua ought not to fail doing everything to pre-
vent this undertaking, both because he did the like heretofore, and
also to persevere in the affection demonstrated by him for the King
of France ever since the time of the late Duke of Ferrara, and
moreover to prevent his whole family and adherents from giving such
great offence, not only to the most Christian King, but to the Pope
likewise, on account of so unimportant a stir (un movimento di si
poco momento), made by a private individual, and the more as peace
is expected shortly, so that the undertaking cannot succeed. Should
there be no remedy, the Cardinal of Ferrara requests the Cardinal
of Mantua to give him notice in self-justification, and on the other
hand, should he have acted as hoped, the Cardinal of Ferrara will
have the great satisfaction of thanking him for a most signal service,
his sole motive for speaking being his regard for the Cardinal of
Mantua, to whom he recommends himself, &c. &c.
Milan, 6th May 1546.
[Original. Italian.]
389. FRANCESCO, DUKE of MANTUA, to HENRY VIII.
Was very much pleased to learn by his Majesty's most gracious
letter, that he bears him and his family the same goodwill as that
for which his ancestors were so grateful, nor can he but do his best
to imitate them.
Is extremely glad that the King remembered this, and returns
him hearty thanks for it, as also for having acknowledged him for
his humble servant, and for having so benignly offered him his
favour, than which nothing can be more dear to him, as was
distinctly stated to the bearer of the King's commands. Having
in a long discourse manifested his extreme observance, it is un-
necessary to write more on the subject, and it only remains for him
to beseech of his goodness that he will show him the same favour as
to his other servants.
1546.
165
1546.
May 6.
Mantuan
Archives.
Recommends himself humbly to the King, praying the Almighty
long to keep his Majesty safe and prosperous.
Mantua, 6 May 1546.
Humilis et Devotiss. Servitor.
May 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 14.
[Latin. Original draft.]
390. REPLY of the DUCHESS of MANTUA, [Margherita Paleologa,
daughter and heir of William, Marquis of Montferrat,] to the
demand made in virtue of the Credentials of Lodovico da
l'Armi.
Madam the Duchess having seen what the Duke her son caused
to be written to the most serene King, and what the ambassador
Signor Lodovico da l'Armi requests in virtue of the letter of
credence, her council replied-
That she thanks his Majesty as humbly as she can for his recol-
lection of the devotion (servitù) towards him of the Duke, her son,
and of the Gonzaga family, and for the loving office of the visit
(et dell' amorevol ufficio della visita), as also for the courteous offers,
which she accepts with the intention of availing herself of them
according to opportunities.
With regard to the demand made of the Duke, in virtue of the
letter of credence, the Duchess does not purpose (non metta conto)
drawing on herself the enmity of any of the Christian Powers, but
must have respect and reverence for each of them as for her father.*
On this account, proclamations were issued of late years for-
bidding any of her subjects to enter the service of others, which
proclamations are from time to time renewed and enforced, as will
be done for the future, especially as the times are so troublous that
she cannot tell whether they may not be required for the defence of
her son's territories.
With this exception, and with that of the respect due from her
to his Holiness and the Apostolic See, she together with the Duke
will not fail, so far as possible, to continue that devotion (servitu)
which the Gonzaga family professes and always has professed.
[Original draft. No date. Italian.]
391. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
Have heard lately from their ambassador in France and from the
secretary [Giacomo Zambon] in England, that their nobleman
Francesco Bernardo (nephew of Ser Maphio Bernardo), who was
in England on mercantile business, had been sent to the Court of
France to negotiate a certain agreement between the two Crowns,
of the particulars of which the Signory's ministers have heard
nothing more than what was publicly reported at the respective
Courts. But the secretary Zambon writes besides that the Imperial
ambassadors in England have said that this negotiation was being
treated by Bernardo through the medium of the Signory's ambas-
sador in France; and although the secretary did not fail to tell
* Ma che debba a cadauno portar rispetto et reverenza come a suo padre.
166
1546.
1546.
them the truth, namely, that Bernardo quitted England both the
first and second time without communicating anything whatever
to him, and that the Venetian ambassador in France did not inter-
fere in this matter in any way, assuring them that neither the
Signory nor their ministers had any share in it, so that the Imperial
ambassadors remained satisfied; the Doge and Senate have never-
theless chosen to write the whole account to him [the ambassador
with the Emperor], and desire that he do notify it to his Majesty,
assuring him in their name that they knew nothing of this journey
of Bernardo's, nor was any communication whatever made to them
about the treaty, the like having happened to their ministers, who
since the fact, heard what was reported and wrote to them as afore-
said. To assure his Majesty that they acquaint him with all
sincerity and truth with what has occurred in this matter, as becom-
ing their good friendship and the reverence they bear him. To
perform the like office with Mons. de Granvelle, and with such
other personages as may seem fit to him.
Ayes, 183. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
May 11.
392. MOTION made in the SENATE.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
That the summary from Constantinople be sent to the Signory's
v. lxv. p. 14, ambassadors, and to the Secretary [Zambon] in England, and that
tergo.
May 27.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
it be communicated here to the reverend Imperial ambassador, to
the Magnifico the ambassadors from England [Sigismund Harvel]
and from Florence, and to the secretary from France, as usual.
Ayes, 167. Noes, 9. Neutral, 1.
Summary in the file.
[Italian.]
May 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 14,
tergo.
393. The DOGE and SENATE to the " BAILO " at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
By letters of the 30th ult. from their ambassador in France, and
from the secretary in England, dated the 20th and 27th, understand
that a negotiation is being treated between King Henry and King
Francis, and that the Admiral of the King of England [Dudley
Lord Lisle], together with the secretary, Paget, were staying in
Calais, where the French Admiral and ambassadors are to confer
with them, and negotiate the aforesaid agreement; notwithstanding
which, both one side and the other continue to re-enforce their
fleets and armies, the English having taken 4,000 Germans into
their service, in order that should the adjustment not take place,
they may be able to continue their undertakings; and both sides in
sundry recent engagements and skirmishes, suffered loss reciprocally,
but not of much importance.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 11. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
394. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That the statement made to-day by the English Secretary [Bal-
thaṣar Alterius, see Turnbull's Calendar, Edward VI., pp. 25, 26], in
1546.
167
1546.
May 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
May 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
June 4.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
June 5.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
our College, in the presence of the chiefs of this Council, be commu-
nicated to the Senate for such reply to be made as shall be thought
fit.
3.
[Italian.]
395. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
The Doge to answer the English Secretary in such words as shall
seem fit to his wisdom, that the Signory listens willingly (grata-
mente), to such as enter their presence; and that with regard to
the statement made by him to them they have nothing farther to
say, leaving him at liberty to do as he pleases.
Ayes, 14.
[Italian.]
396. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
The Doge to answer the English Secretary [Balthasar Alterius ?]
that the Signory most highly values the friendship of those Princes,
but that as the affairs of the world are in the disturbed state
manifest to everyone, the Republic is compelled to have some con-
sideration respecting this matter, apologizing in such form as the
Doge, of his wisdom, shall think fit, and requesting the secretary
to assure the said Princes that the State is excellently disposed
towards their most excellent Lordships, and bears them extreme
affection, to which effect he is to make every attestation, and per-
form every good office, as they are sure he will do.
Ayes, 10. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
397. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That the statements made by the English Secretary [Balthasar
Alterius ?], in the name of the Protestant Princes, together with
the statement in this matter of the Rev. Papal Nuncio, and the
letters of the Signory's ambassadors with the Emperor, dated the
25th ult., be communicated to the Senate, for the adoption of such
resolutions as that Council shall think fit.
Ayes, 10. Noes, 12. Neutrals, 14.
[Italian.]
398. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
A few days ago the Secretary of the Ambassador of the King of
England [Balthasar Alterius?] came into the presence of the
Signory and of the Chiefs of the Ten, and told us he had a letter
of credence from the Protestant Princes,* whereby they appointed
him their agent, with orders to present it without remark, but
ì
* John Frederick, Duke of Saxony,'Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, the Duke of Wurtemberg
the Count Palatine, the Cities of Augsburg, Strasburg, Ulm, Frankfort, and Nuremberg.
(See Andrea Morosini, vol. ii. p. 162.)
།
169
1546.
1546.
June 5.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
subsequently, when asked, he replied that he had nothing what-
ever to negotiate. After this, the Papal Nuncio stated that he
had heard of this affair, and urged that we should not receive this
person; and this morning his Lordship told us he understood we
had admitted this secretary as resident agent in this city for the
Protestant Princes, alleging that this was a thing of much con-
sideration, and would cause great displeasure to his Holiness, and
requesting us to inform him whether we had decided thus, that
he might write to the Pope; and should the decision not have been
made, he prayed us to consider it well. Replied as above, touch-
ing the presentation of the letter, adding that it would seem dis-
courteous not to receive a letter presented by any person, but that
nothing whatever was done; that this secretary was not admitted
(admesso) [acknowledged ?], neither was any place assigned him,
nor has he negotiated anything; that our proceedings had always
been worthy of a Christian power, we having often during many
consecutive years sustained great wars against the Turks, with loss
and peril for the defence of Christendom, on whose security and
preservation our Republic was and is so intent, as clearly to
show the world what our disposition was towards the affairs of
religion, and how anxious we were for the advantage (augumento)
of Christendom, in such wise that his Holiness might remain well
satisfied.
The Chiefs of the Ten, with the Council and Junta, have given
the ambassador detailed account of these matters for him to notify
them, that the Pope may know what they said to his Nuncio.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 3. Neutrals 2.
[Italian].
399. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA, con-
cerning the reply to be given to the ENGLISH SECRETARY
(Balthasar Alterius ?).
That the most serene Prince do answer the English secretary,
that we have seen the letter which he presented to us, and have
heard his statement, and as he says he has nothing particular to
negotiate with us and the affairs of the world being in their present
disturbed state, we are compelled to hesitate (haver rispetto) as to
his now residing in this city as agent, especially as we wish to be
friends with all parties, apologizing in such terms as the Doge shall
of his wisdom think fit; and telling him to assure the Princes that
the Republic holds their friendship very dear, and is excellently dis-
posed towards them, bearing then extreme affection; the secretary
giving every assurance of this, and performing every good office,
as we are sure he will do.
Letters concerning this matter to be written to the Signory's
ambassadors with the Pope, with the Emperor, and with the King
of the Romans.
Ayes, 12. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian]
1546.
169
1546.
June 7.
Commemoriali,
v. xxii. p. 82.
June 8.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 16,
tergo.
June 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 19,
tergo.
June 17.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
400. ENGLAND and FRANCE.
Copy of the treaty of peace between England and France at the
camp between Ardres and Guines. [Printed by Dumont, vol. iv.
part ii. p. 305–308. Edition, Amstersdam, 1726.]
[Latin, 9 pages.]
""
June 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 24.
401. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the English Se-
cretary's message from the Protestant Princes of Germany.
[Same as the motion made in the Council of Ten, 5th June.]
Ayes, 88 767
52
60 Pendet.
79
84
">
-
The Doge to answer the English secretary that they have seen
the letter presented by him and have heard his statement, and
[that as he says he has nothing to negotiate with us] the affairs
of the world being in their present disturbed state, the Republic,
wishing to be friends with all parties, is compelled to hesitate
(haver rispetto) about his residing in this city, &c.*
Ayes, 92-93.
[Italian.]
402. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the Embassy
from the Protestant Princes of Germany.
-
Amendment.
To reply as above, the words within [ ] being cancelled.
90
104
6
Pendet.
24
[Italian.]
S
13
403. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send him summaries of letters received from Constantinople
down to the 12th ult., for communication to the King and ministry
as usual.
[Italian.]
404. The DOGE and SENATE to the Venetian "BAILO " at CON-
STANTINOPLE.
B
Have heard from their ambassador at Ratisbon that the Emperor
is determined to wage war against the Lutherans, and has already
commenced despatching captains to raise infantry and cavalry; he
has also sent the Cardinal of Trent to Rome to decide with the
* In a communication made on the 7th September 1546, by the Council in London to
the Council with the King, it is stated that the Emperor's Ambassador said " that whereas
by interception of letters of the Duke of Saxe to Venice, yt appeareth, howe the Secretary
of his Highnes' Ambassadour at Venice desired to be Ambassadour to that Seignory for
the said Duke of Saxe. And yet he said he knewe that the sollicitation of that matter
proceded not from His Heighnes." (State Papers, vol. i., King Henry VIII., part I.—II.
p. 859.)
170
1546.
1546.
June 25.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 26.
June 25.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
June 26.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Pope about the assistance promised by his Holiness for this under-
taking, both in troops and money. In addition to this, it was heard
that the agents of the most Christian King and of the most Serene
King of England, who met to make peace between their Majesties,
had agreed together, so that peace between them is considered certain.
Have not received any further notice of this from their ministers resi-
dent with the two kings, but any news they may receive shall be
communicated by them, together with the terms, for communication
to the Sublime Porte, and the "Bailo" is to do the like with the
contents of this present letter.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 34. Neutrals, 11.
[Italian.]
405. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
[ZAMBON] in England.
Their ambassador in France wrote to them on the 10th, that
the Rev. Montluc has at length returned to the most Christian King
with the ratification of the peace, and this morning the French
Secretary resident with them announced it to the Signory in his
Majesty's name; so as they are now ordering their ambassador to
congratulate his most Christian Majesty on this event, and although
there has not yet been time for them to receive the advice from
England, charge him to do the like, in the name of the Doge and
Senate, by the most Serene King, telling his Majesty that in like
manner as they most deeply regretted seeing two such powerful
Princes, and so friendly to the Venetian Republic, at strife, to the
detriment of Christendom and of their own personal interests, so
they now rejoice to hear of their reconciliation.
Ayes, 199. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
406. The DOGE and COLLEGE with the CHIEFS OF THE TEN to
the Venetian "BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Letters from their ambassador in France, dated Melun, the 10th
instant, inform them that the peace between the two Crowns had
been concluded, the term of eight years being allowed to the most
Christian King for payment of a certain sum of money to the King
of England, who, on receiving it, is to surrender Boulogne.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
407. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
The Pope, with the consent of the Consistory, has stipulated
(conclusa) the League with the Emperor against the Lutherans, the
Pope binding himself to give his Majesty 22,000 infantry and 700
horse, and also pecuniary assistance. Both the contracting parties.
are making preparations for this war, and the Pope will send his
nephews, Cardinal Farnese as Legate, and the Signor Ottavio as
Captain General.
1546.
171
1546.
Aug. 25.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 47,
tergo.
Oct. 4.
MS. St. Mark's
Today the Signory has heard from the Imperial Court of the con-
firmation of the peace between his most Christian Majesty and the
most Serene King of England.
[Italian.]
408. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTI-
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
NOPLE.
By letters from France, dated the 1st instant, are advised of the
arrival at that Court of the most illustrious the Admiral of England
[John Dudley, Viscount L'Isle] for the purpose of administering to
the most Christian King the oath to observe the recently contracted
peace, for which same purpose the most illustrious the Admiral of
France is also going to England.
[Italian.]
409. CARDINAL POLE to VITTORIA COLONNA, MARCHIONESS of
PESCARA.
Most Illustrious Lady, and most reverend mother.
d
Immediately on the arrival here of our Lilio (il nostro Lilio), he
exerted himself to the utmost by dint of words at our first conver-
sation, to make me understand how much hearty goodwill your
Excellency bears me, and as if this were new to me, and hitherto
unknown. I let him say what he would for a very long while,
awaiting the inference to be drawn by him thence, which, had it
been such as was deserved, namely a comparison between my
behaviour, and love more than maternal, taxing me with ingratitude
for having made no sign, either by deed or word, of responding to
the slightest particle of so much love, making rather a contrary
demonstration, as might easily have been proved, I should certainly
have taken much pleasure in so just a reproof, administered with
that ingenuousness which I have always liked in him.
But as he
came to no conclusion, I myself will draw it, by so much the more
to my confusion, as I know I err greatly in this matter, and never
set myself to correct my fault, although I cannot say that I have
not tried to do what I know is my duty in the case; but finding by
experience that I do not succeed according to my wish, I let it be
(io lo lasso stare), as if God had denied me this grace of gratifying
my wish in a matter I so earnestly desire, which in truth at times
troubles me greatly. Seeking to console myself, I find no other sort
of comfort than that of convincing myself, as I said and wrote to
your Excellency heretofore, that such is the Divine will, for the sake
of giving you full compensation, as promised to all who are beneficent
where no requital is expected, as in the parable of those who bade
the poor to their banquets; and thus am I enabled to return your
courtesy proportionally as it was bestowed on me.
With this hope
I comfort myself, and pray God the more earnestly to make ample
restitution in so much as on my own part I feel myself utterly
incapable to do so, enjoying at the same time the image of the Divine
love as expressed by its great charity, which although not reciprocated
by its object, does not however weary of continuing its goodness,
but rather multiplies it the more, as your Excellency does by me. For
172
1546.
1546.
Oct. 14.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
•
this I infinitely thank the Lord who gives me this experience, asking
pardon for my infinite defects of his infinite goodness in the first
place, and then of you (di Lei).
Of my own state, there is no occasion to say anything further,as
the bearer of this is our Lelio (il nostro Lelio), who will I hope tell
your Excellency everything, and of the ease which I enjoy here in
the house of Cardinal Bembo, where in the first place I enjoy as much
security and mental ease as if it were my father's; and secondly, such
convenience that better I at present could not desire, most especially
of two things, in which I have always greatly delighted, a study
and a garden, both of which I have found in such perfection here,
that to my taste I should be unable to find more beautiful anywhere;
and in addition to this, the civility of his agents (ministri), who
treat me so cordially, that it exceeds every other pleasure. This I
write to your Excellency, as to my mother, to give you occasion,
first to thank our common Father in heaven, as he wills to be sought
by us, inviting us through the prophet Amos, " Voca me, pater meus
es tu," and to him who seeks him, he promises to be his guide in
every place, inviting us to say "Tu es dux," etc. Your Excellency
therefore will thank the first Father, and then this second, who has
been the minister of the first. Your Excellency will oblige me by
recommending me to the prayers of that holy company in which
you at present find yourself.
After writing thus far, I have heard with much greater distress
than I ever experienced from my own infirmity, that your Excellency
has been indisposed ever since the month of August, and still
continues so. First of all, I have nothing to say, save to implore
the heavenly physician to vouchsafe to be yours, for from the one
below I dare not recommend any other remedy, except advice as
to diet and air, about which I beseech you to take counsel; and to
your devout orisons I recommend myself.t
Padua, 4th October 1546.
[Italian.]
410. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA con-
cerning a communication made by the English Secretary.
That the statement made yesterday in our College, in the presence
of the Chiefs of this Council, by the English Secretary,‡ and by
the nobleman Venier who accompanied him, be communicated to the
Senate, with the strictest possible injunctions to secrecy as usually
commanded, that said Council may determine as it shall think fit.
Ayes, 24. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* Probably some convent in Rome, where Vittoria Colonna died, at the age of 58, in
February 1547.
This is the last letter extant from Cardinal Pole to Vittoria Colonna, and dates the
commencement of her last illness.
"Secretario d' Inghilterra "-Balthasar Alterius? (See Turnbull's Calendar, Ed-
ward VI., pp. 25, 26.)
1546.
173
1546.
Oct. 15.
Deliberazioni
Oct. 25.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
411. MOTION made in the SENATE.
tergo.
By the writings now read, this Council has heard the proposals
v. lxv. p. 57, 'made by the English secretary [Alterius ?] in the name of the
Protestant Princes, and what he said about the writing which he
wished to present; so be it put to the ballot, that the said writing
be accepted by our College and then read to this Council, that an
answer may be given him, and such resolution formed as to this
Council shall seem fit.
Ayes, 182. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
412. ALVISE MOCENIGO, Venetian Ambassador with the Em-
peror, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
The Signor Marsilio, the Emperor's equerry (cavalarizzo), who
professes to be the Signory's good servant, told me in secret a few
ago, that he heard it had been said in the Emperor's chamber, that
the most Christian King, the King of England, and your Serenity,
were negotiating a league with the Protestants against his Majesty,
and that the Signory had also sent an agent into Switzerland.
It was said, moreover, that at the suggestion of the Emperor
all the Italian potentates, with the exception of the Signory, had
prohibited trade with the Protestants of Germany; and when some
one remarked that it would be too great a loss for the city of
Venice to deprive itself of the German trade, the Emperor replied
that they might well do it for one or two months.
Being unable to convince myself that these things had been said
in the Emperor's chamber, I did not choose to write them to your
Serenity at the time from fear of troubling you perhaps unnecessarily;
and I said to Signor Marsilio, that it seemed to me utterly at variance
with the truth, and that I could not believe it, as I knew your
Serenity was excellently disposed towards his Majesty, and that
for certain the Signory had never interfered in that war, either on
one side or the other; and as for prohibiting the Germans to trade
with Venice, I said I had no notice of it, and should the Signory
have been unable to oblige the Emperor in this matter, I did not
think he could reasonably take it amiss, should his Majesty consider
the extreme inconvenience and infinite loss which would result to
Venice, by depriving her of so important a trade.
I then requested Signor Marsilio to ascertain whether this con-
versation had in fact really taken place, as I would not write it
to your Serenity, unless he confirmed it to me. This he promised
to do, and said he would acquaint me with the whole, but
subsequently, having been seized with a fit of the gout, he remained
in a castle near the camp, and being unable to see him again, I
delayed writing, until he corroborated his statement; but today
a friend of mine, one Messer Bernardino Pavese, who is a gentleman
in the service of the most Serene King of England, came to tell me
that he had heard for certain, and from a great personage, that
the Signor Alvise Gonzaga, of Castel Zuffrè, has written to the
Emperor, that the Kings of France and England, your Serenity and
the Switzers have formed a defensive league; said Gonzaga writing
174
1546.
1546.
Nov. 3.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 22,
tergo.
that he has this intelligence by letters from the King of England
himself.
Having received this intelligence through a fresh channel, although
differing in part from what was told me by the Signor Marsilio, I
acquaint your Excellencies with the reports now current here.
The Rev. Ambassador from Ferrara has told me in confidence
that he heard from a secretary of Don Francesco da Este, that
said Don Francesco wrote to his brother, the Duke of Ferrara, that
the Emperor has ordered one Annibal Calavrese, in whom he places
great trust, to make his escape from this camp, and go over to the
Protestants; and Don Francesco believes him to have been sent for
the purpose of trying, as of himself, adroitly to drop a word about
agreement. His Majesty has also allowed two Germans to pass into
the enemy's camp, they having offered to kill the Landgrave.
These things having reached me from such a source, I have thought
fit to represent them to your Excellencies, with this in addition, that
I subsequently ascertained that said Annibal is now in the Protestant
camp, and that on his passage he was wounded in the arm by a
harquebuse shot; a very trustworthy person assuring me also, that
within the last month, he has been frequently seen speaking in
secret with the Emperor.
25th October. From the Imperial camp, distant three leagues
from Ulm.
[Italian. In cipher, with contemporary decipher.]
413. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the nobleman, Mafio Bernardo, accused of negotiations with
the ambassador, ministers, and agents of the most Christian King,
and especially with the late Rincono (sic), his Majesty's ambassador,*
having written matters relating to the State secrets, and to the
Signory's detriment, and having also obtained letters from said most
Christian King in favour of himself and his affairs, without the
leave and knowledge of the State, contrary to their laws, be arrested
and by the ordinary council, with the intervention of the inquisitors †
and the usual committee, examined, even by torture. Should the
search for him prove vain, be he summoned from the edict steps at
Rialto, to present himself in person within the next eight days, to
defend himself from the aforesaid charge, on the expiration of which
term, should he not appear, he will be proceeded against although
absent. The committee (collegium) to have authority to arrest,
examine, torture, and summon all other persons who shall appear
implicated in the present case.
Ayes, 18. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 4.
[Latin.]
* De Rincon, French ambassador at Constantinople, assassinated 3rd July 1541.
† In the Preface to vol. i. Venetian Calendar it is shown that the first appointment of
State Inquisitors was made in the year 1539; and the following entries relating to
Bernardo and Da l'Armi contain the earliest notices I have met with of inquisitorial
jurisdiction in any matter connected with England.
1546.
175
1546.
Nov. 3.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 23.
Nov. 4.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 23.
414. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the person charged with the arrest of Ser Mafio Bernardo
do obtain his registers of letters and all other writings obtainable,
and place them in a closet* sealing it carefully, leaving two of his men
for its custody; the committee and the inquisitors, or the majority of
them, doing with the papers as they will decree hereafter.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
415. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
It not having been possible to obtain possession of the nobleman
Mafio Bernardo when they sent to arrest him, and as he is to be
summoned on the edict steps at Rialto, it is necessary to draw up
(dar forma al) the 'proclamation to be made, be it therefore
carried to summon him, thus, "That the nobleman Mafio Bernardo,
son of the late Ser Francesco, accused of divers detestable mal-
practices, perpetrated to the damage and detriment of our State, do
within eight days present himself in person at the prisons, to defend
himself against the aforesaid charge, on the expiration of which
term he will be proceeded against, notwithstanding his absence."
Ayes, 27. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
Proclaimed on the 5th instant.
[Italian.]
Nov. 5.
416. MOTION made in the SENATE.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
That the summaries from Constantinople be sent to the Signory's
v. lxv. p. 67. ambassadors at Rome, etc., to the secretary in England, etc., and
communicated here to the Papal Legate, etc., and to the English
ambassador, etc.
Ayes, 142. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
417. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
Nov. 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 67.
Concerning the coming to this city of Strozzi [Pietro Strozzi?]
they heard of his arrival and departure at the same time, as he came
privately, and with great secrecy, departing in like manner, knowing
that he could not remain here without their permission. But as his
Holiness has also asked the ambassador about Baldissera Alchieri
(sic), will repeat that he continues to perform his office of English
secretary, and occasionally acquaints them with such news and
advices as reach him according to the custom of the other secretaries.
To notify this to the Pope, telling him that from the Signory's pro-
ceedings, past and present, he may be very certain of their devotion
and respect towards the Apostolic See.
Ayes, 148. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
* "Uno studio "-an apartment appropriated to literary employment.
176
1546.
1546.
Nov. 10.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xvii. p. 201.
Nov. 10.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xvii. p. 201.
418. The COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA to GIACOMO ZAMBON,
Venetian Secretary in England.
By reason of misdeeds perpetrated to the detriment of the State
by their nobleman Maphio Bernardo, it was lately determined to
arrest him, and having been unable to effect his seizure, as he
immediately absented himself, they have outlawed him. As he may
go to England, or this circumstance be talked of there, the Council
of Ten and Junta send this present letter to him (Zambon) for his
instruction, so that if spoken to about the matter, and not other-
wise he may know how to reply. Have discovered Maphio Bernardo
to be a man who for many years has been guilty of detestable acts,
to the injury and mischief of the Republic; and as a ship of his
is in some English harbour, commanded by (patronizata da) Zuan
Maria Zucharino, they desire him (Zambon) to send to him by a
trusty messenger express, the accompanying letter, if unable on
account of distance to deliver it himself. Thereby give Zuccharino
certain commands as by the enclosed copy; if able to confer with
him, to repeat them by word of mouth, contriving that he depart
thence without the slightest delay. To keep this order a very
close secret.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
419. The COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA to ZUAN MARIA ZUCHA-
RIN, Sailing Master (Patron) of a [Venetian] ship in England.
Charge him, immediately on receipt of the present letter, without
saying a word to any one about this order, which he is to keep a
very close secret, to come away from England without any ncise,
together with the ship and the cargo already on board, without
lading whatever else may remain for shipment, under penalty
of the indignation of the Council of Ten. To depart as soon as
possible and come straight to Venice; but in case he should have
goods of Venetian subjects, or of aliens, to deliver at Leghorn, he is
to unlade them according to the bills of lading made out by him,
retaining the [freight] money.
To complete as much of the ship's cargo as may be wanting, he is
to load salt at Ivica, and proceed thence straight to Venice, as
aforesaid.
Rely on his obedience and diligence for execution of the whole,
and thus will he find favour with them. Should any difficulty be
made to him by the other officials on board the ship about this his
departure from England, he is to call them one by one separately,
the pilot (nochiero), the purser (parcenevole), and the supercargo
(paron),* and to tell them that he has received this command from
the Council of Ten, showing them the original letter, and charging
0
* As the term (C
(C
paron" or patron" is repeated twice, being applied to two distinct
persons, I believe one to have been the captain or sailing-master of the ship, and the other
its supercargo.
1546.
177
1546.
Nov. 16.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. xvii. p. 202.
Nov. 16.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 23.
Nov. 20.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 24.
•
them to keep the whole a most profound secret, and to obey in like
manner under pain of capital punishment.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
420. The COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA to GIACOMO ZAMBON,
Venetian Secretary in England.
Wrote to him on the 10th what was necessary with regard to
their nobleman Maphio Bernardo; and as after absenting himself,
as written by them, he was murdered in the territory of Ravenna,
therefore send this notice to him that he may be fully acquainted
with the circumstance, and know how to reply and speak to such
persons as may discuss it with him, but not otherwise.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
421. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
On arriving at the truth, by means of our nobleman Ser Francesco
Mocenigo, son of the late Ser Leonardo, about the accomplices of
the late Mafio Bernardo, and the revelation being of importance to
the State as acknowledged by this Council, Count Lunardo di Megi,
his [Mocenigo's] son-in-law, to be absolved.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
((
422. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
The inquisitors and the ordinary committee (collegio) together to
summon Zuanfrancesco Mocenigo, and tell him he must know that
in so great a crime as this committed by the nobleman Mafio Ber-
nardo and his accomplices, those who have knowledge of it and do
not divulge it are liable to the penalty incurred by the principals;
and therefore, as Ser Zan Francesco has every day of late told their
lordships that if the Council of Ten would promise him pardon he
would bring the individual guilty into their presence; and as the
Council of Ten has decreed that should he give such evidence that
questo mandante della morte de Maphio Bernardo" be the person
who revealed the secrets of the State, and if the truth be obtained,
his [Mocenigo's] son-in-law, Count Lunardo di Megi, shall be
absolved from his sentence of banishment, and an annuity for life
of 200 ducats from the chest of this Council shall be given to said
Ser Zan Francesco Mocenigo; should he not be moved by this offer,
and persist in his obstinacy (persevererà in star pertinace), be he
taken to the rack,* and deprived of the benefits aforesaid, and com-
pelled by torture this evening, before the Council adjourn, to reveal
the truth.
Neutrals, 2.
Ayes, 25. Noes, 0.
[Italian.]
* "Al luogo della tortura." The place of torture is still visible in the Ducal Palace, the
pulley through which the strappado cord passed being riveted in one of the highest beams
of the building.
1
A
5.
M
178
1546.
1546.
Nov. 20.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 24,
tergo.
Nov. 24.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 24.
Nov. 24.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 25.
423. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the nobleman Ser Zanfrancesco Mocenigo be dismissed with
an admonition, to be given him by the inquisitors, that under
penalty of death he is not to say anything about what was asked
of him, or what was said to him.
12
10
5
[Italian.]
13
10 Pendet primo.
4
424. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Lodovico da l'Armi, accused of having been an accomplice
and privy to the death of Ser Mafio Bernardo, be arrested and
examined by the inquisitors and usual committee, even by torture
should it seem fit to the majority.
On search being made should it not be possible to arrest him, be
he publicly summoned on the edict steps at Rialto, to present
himself in person at the prisons within eight days, to defend himself
from the aforesaid imputation, after which period, should he not
appear, he will be proceeded against, notwithstanding his absence.
10
8
8
[Italian.]
13
8 Pendet primo.
5
LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
425. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Put to the ballot that, should any person accuse any of the
murderers to the Chiefs of this Council, and the truth be ascertained,
the informer be rewarded with 2,000 livres from the chest of this
Council, and be authorised to free [from his sentence] any person
banished from any Venetian town or place, for mere homicide
(homicidio puro);* and that the revelation to be kept a profound
secret.
Should the "mandante o mandanti" of this murder be accused
by any one, the said mandante or mandanti to be rewarded with
3,000 livres, and to have two exemptions from banishment ut
supra, and his name to be kept a profound secret; and should any
of those who killed Bernardo come to reveal the case, and the truth
of it be obtained, and also of the person or persons who caused the
murder to be committed, the informer to receive the aforesaid benefit
of 3,000 livres and exemptions from banishment, and [his name]
be kept secret, he, together with his comrade or comrades who shall
have been present at the murder, being freed from any penalty
which may have been incurred by them in this case. Should it
come to light that the mandate (mandate) for the murder aforesaid
was given for a State affair (per causa di Stato), in that case the
*These pardons were marketable commodities. (See Tales of Giraldi Cinthio.)
1546.
179
1546.
Nov. 27.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 25.
Nov. 27.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 25.
Dec. 4.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 26.
accuser, besides the aforesaid benefit, may also exempt any indi-
vidual banished for whatever cause, save for peculation and re-
bellion, and shall receive an annuity of one hundred ducats from this
Council; and the same benefit may also be obtained by the second
mandator on his coming to reveal the aforesaid case.
Ayes, 18.
They again made the motion, pending on the 24th instant, for
the arrest of Lodovico da l'Armi, in omnibus ut supra.
Ayes, 5. Noes, 1. Neutrals, 2.
And as the period for presenting himself was omitted, they
moved that it be fifteen days.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
426. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Put to the ballot, that if any one shall accuse any of the mur-
derers to the Chiefs of this Council, and the truth be ascertained,
he is to gain 2,000 livres from the chest of this Council, and more-
over be allowed to release an individual banished for mere murder
(homicidio puro) from the Signory's towns and places, &c.
Ayes, 18.
[Italian.]
427. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Repetition by the inquisitors of a motion, pending on the 24th
instant, for the arrest of Lodovico da l'Armi, in omnibus ut supra.
Ayes, 5. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Latin.]
428. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That to ascertain the meaning of the words in the writing of the
late Ser Mafio Bernardo about the letters of the late Cesare Fregoso,
and that Pietro Pomaro was mediator between the ambassadorf and
the Bashaws for the cession of the two townst to the Porte; the
committee appointed for this case do send also for said Pomaro, and
question him closely about the aforesaid matters as shall seem fit to
them; and should said Pomaro not choose to tell the truth de plano,
the majority on the committee to be at liberty to arrest and detain
him, and to send immediately to his house to seize his papers, and
then come forthwith to this Council with the result of their inves-
tigation, to consult about what is to be done.
Ayes, 19. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
* French agent, murdered in Lombardy A.D. 1541. The Republic confiscated his
property on discovering that he had revealed the secrets of the State to France.
† Badoer ambassador at Constantinople A.D. 1540.
Napoli di Romania and Malvasia.
M 2
180
1546.
1546.
Dec. 4.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 26.
Dec. 4.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 4.
Dec. 7.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 26.
429. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That to ascertain what became of the letters sent hither by the
late Mafio Bernardo addressed to the most Serene Prince [Doge
Francesco Donado], the committee appointed for this case do ex-
amine de plano Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi, and such other persons.
as shall seem fit to said committee; said Dom. Lodovico to be also
examined about such other matters as shall seem fit to the majority
of said committee.
Neutrals, 0.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0.
[Italian.]
430. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the BAILIFF and CAPTAIN
at TREVISO.
A few days ago, one William, an Englishman, with four com-
panions, was at Treviso, and went round the city walls and beyond,
to inspect and sound the streams (le aque), and ascertain their sources,
and also to examine the moats of the city. Wishing to have good
information, desire him to give them particular account of all that
has reached his knowledge in this matter, that they may know
every detail as minutely as possible.
Nicolò de Prioli, C. di X.
Bernardo Soranzo, C.X.
Aloysius Contarini, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
MAFIO BERNARDO.
431. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Lodovico da l'Armi, accused of having been an accomplice
in the death of the Ser Mafio Bernardo, and also of having knowledge
of the person or persons who did evil and detestable deeds to the
injury and detriment of our State,* be arrested and examined by
the inquisitors and ordinary committee, and even by torture should
it thus seem fit to the majority of the committee; and with the
result they are to come to this Council, and justice will be done.
Should the search for him prove inefficient, be he summoned
from tlie edict steps of Rialto to present himself in person at the
prisons within eight days, to defend himself against the aforesaid
imputation, on the expiration of which term, should he not appear,
he will be proceeded against, notwithstanding his absence; and
after his arrest he be told that, although arrested, if he will declare
(manifestarà) who killed Ser Mafio Bernardo, and by whose order,
and if the truth be ascertained, in that case he will be absolved
* In State Papers, vol. viii. p. 607, it is stated that in September 1541, Da l'Armi was
suspected of intending to give Sienna to King Francis, and from the acts of the Council
of Ten it may be surmised that in 1545, when employed by Henry VIII. to act hostilely
against France in Piedmont, Da l'Armi betrayed him to Francis I.; though possibly after
the deaths of Fregoso and Rincon in 1541, he changed his politics, and renounced France
utterly; but at any rate we learn that he combined political conspiracy with murder.
At least such was the opinion of the Council of Ten, who probably understood his merits
and character better than Harvel, or writers of the present day.
1546.
181
1546.
Dec. 7.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 26,
tergo.
Dec. 8.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 26,
tergo.
from any penalty he may have incurred, and have all the benefits
contained in the proclamation made lately concerning this matter.
4 — 0
Managment of
7
5
6
[Italian.]
432. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
The committee appointed for the case of the death of the
late Ser Mafio Bernardo, together with the inquisitors, to send for
Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi, and tell him that if he will declare who
killed Ser Mafio Bernardo, and by whose order, and if the truth be
elicited, in that case he will be absolved from any penalty incurred
by him, and have all the benefits contained in the proclamation
made lately in this matter. Should he not choose to say, he, and also
Ser Zanfrancesco Mocenigo, to be again examined face to face about
the matters in which they have contradicted or shall hereafter con-
tradict each other*; and after examination thus, the majority of the
committee to be at liberty to detain said D. Lodovico until they
come to this Council to determine what shall be done.
10 - 13 + 18.
10 — 9
→→→→
[Italian.]
7
6
[Latin.]
-
433. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Lodovico da l'Armi detained (sequestratum) today in the
office by the members of the committee and the inquisitors, be
arrested (retineatur) and examined by the committee and inquisi-
tors about the present case, even by torture, should it seem fit to
the majority; they to come to this Council with what they shall
have elicited, and justice to be done.
That the committee and inquisitors be authorised to arrest, exa-
mine, torture, and summon all other persons who shall appear
culpable in the present case.
3.†
KA
Error defectu unius ballotæ.
Ideo ter ballotarum,
[Latin.]
434. AMENDMENT to the foregoing motion.
Dec. 8.
Consiglio X.,
That the aforesaid D. Lodovico da l'Armi be arrested solely until
v. vii. p. 27. this Council decide further. For the rest, as in the motion.
Criminal,
-11
12
11
11 + 16
Carried in the negative.
4
1
·
01
* In Harvel's letter to Henry VIII., date Venice, 23rd December 1546, it is said that
Da l'Armi and Mocenigo "both were so contrarious and variable in ther wordes, that no
certaintye cowde be knowen by them." (See State Papers, vol. xi. p. 383.)
†The ballots seem to have been insufficient, and the following ballotation shows that
Da l'Armi was dismissed.
During this debate Da l'Armi was waiting for audience in the anteroom of the College
hall; and to gain time, and lull his suspicions, the Council of Ten gave him a dinner
whilst discussing his arrest. (See letter from the Chiefs to Giacomo Zambon date 16
December.)
182
1546.
1546.
Dec. 8.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Dec. 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 27.
Dec. 14.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 27.
Dec. 15.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xvii. p. 212.
Dec. 16.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
435. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send him summaries of their last letters from Constantinople, for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
436. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Ser Marco Antonio Erizzo, son of the late Ser Francesco,
as "mandante" and accomplice in the death of the late Ser Mafio
Bernardo, be arrested and examined by the ordinary committee and
the inquisitors, even with torture, should it seem fit to the majority
of them. Should the search for him prove inefficient, he be publicly
summoned from the edict steps at Rialto, to present himself at the
prisons within the next eight days, to defend himself from the
imputation aforesaid, on the expiration of which term, should he not
appear, he will be proceeded against, notwithstanding his absence.
The committee to have authority and liberty to arrest, examine,
torture, and summon any other person who may appear culpable in
this case.
10
7
11
10
8 Pendet p.
10
[Italian.]
437. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Re-ballotation of the foregoing motion.
Ayes, 17. Noes, 8. Neutrals, 4.*
[Italian.]
438. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to gratify the magnifico Ambassador from the King of
England, who has made the demand of the Signory with great
earnestness, a license be conceded to the Doctor of Physic (Dr.
Phisico), Dom. Agustin di Agustini,† authorising him and two
servants to wear weapons in Venice, he giving a note of said servants'
names to the office of the State Attornies.
Ayes, 13. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
439. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
After having written to him the account of the death of Maphio
Bernardo, have ascertained that Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi was
* The historian Andrea Morosini (vol. ii. pp. 168, 169) writes that Lodovico and
Marc Antonio Erizzo, nephew of Maphio Bernardo, plotted his assassination for the sake
of inheriting his wealth. For this crime Lodovico Erizzo was beheaded, his brother
being banished for life. No mention is made by Morosini of any revelation of State secrets
either by the Erizzos or by Da l'Armi.
† Agustin de Agustini had been physician to Cardinal Wolsey. (See Venetian
Calendar, vol. iv., date London, 15th November 1530.)
1546.
183
1546.
Dec. 16.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
the person who had him put to death, so that, had we chosen to
proceed according to law, we should have arrested him; but as
this individual brought letters from the King of England, and
resided here as his agent, and moreover lately told us he was to go
on certain business for his Majesty, we did not act as the law
required. To tell the King as above, adding that said Dom.
Lodovico, not content with the outrages committed by him some
two years ago, for which the State outlawed him, and afterwards at
his Majesty's request having been granted a safe-conduct, has now
perpetrated this other enormity. Although they might have proceeded
against him, nevertheless, out of respect for the King of England,
have chosen first to notify this case to his Majesty, who, being most
just, will be as much vexed by the announcement as they are; and
truly in like manner as they have never had any remonstrance to
make against the magnifico the King's resident Ambassador
[Sigismund Harvel], whose offices on the contrary have always
been discreet and prudent, so has this individual [Da l'Armi]
perpetrated such acts as can by no means be tolerated.
To perform this office with the King strenuously (efficacemente),
and as becoming the importance of the case; and should his Majesty
evince satisfaction and assent to their proceeding according to the
law (as they expect he will do), to perform no farther office with
his Majesty; but if the King disapproves of the prosecution, in that
case to add that this man (quest' uomo) being of such a sort as his
Majesty may comprehend, and therefore as odious to the State as
words can express, they request the King to recall him from Venice,
as fitting for any sovereign to do, so that all cause of scandal and
disturbance may be removed; and of the result Zambon is to give
notice to the Chiefs.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
440. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
In addition to what they write to him by the accompanying
letter about D. Lodovico da l'Armi, write apart to inform him of
all that took place in this matter, so that in case the King or other
personages make any inquiry of him he may be able to reply,
according to the truth.
Some days ago, after the death of Bernardo, the Ten obtained a
clue to the murderers, who were the intimate comrades (familiari)
of Lodovico da l'Armi. The Chiefs therefore summoned their
nobleman Giovanni Francesco Mocenigo, who had at that time been
in close communication with said Dom. Lodovico; and having
arrested and examined Mocenigo, to hear from him the particulars
of this case, Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi subsequently came into the
College and spontaneously offered to give what satisfaction they
pleased concerning this matter; so the Chiefs and Inquisitors ap-
pointed for this purpose sent for him, and inquired "de plano
what he knew about it. After this, perceiving that Mocenigo said
hẹ had heard one thing from Dom. Lodovico, whose statement
""
184
1546.
1546.
contradicted the assertion, they were brought face to face, to see
whether the truth could be ascertained. Had heard that Dom.
Lodovico (as he himself confirmed to them) had in his hands a
letter from Bernardo, addressed to the Signory, which he gave to
Mocenigo; the latter denied having ever seen it, but it was found
in the sleeve of the deceased Bernardo's doublet. Amongst other
evidence obtained by them against Dom. Lodovico, this is very
important, that he gave said letter-addressed to the State-to the
individuals whom he sent to murder Bernardo, so that by exhibiting
it to him, he might be induced to let them take him out of Ravenna,
and give them the opportunity of murdering him, as they did. So it
being necessary for the Council of Ten to know the circumstances
he was made to wait in the Chamber of the Chiefs, where dinner
was prepared for him, and he remained there in the company of
a secretary until the Council assembled. After the whole process
had been read to them, the Chiefs and the Inquisitors went and
dismissed him immediately, by reason of the respect had by them
for the King [of England]. Subsequently Dom. Lodovico complained
to us somewhat of this proceeding, although he at length seemed
satisfied, and on the morrow, the magnifico the English Ambassador
[Harvel] came into the Signory's presence, and told them that
having heard a confused account of this business, he was come to
know what official account he should write to his Majesty.
They, in reply, answered as aforesaid, telling him moreover that
in this matter they had evinced all possible respect for his most
Serene King, as otherwise, having arrested Mocenigo, they would
have done the like by Dom. Lodovico aforesaid; and what they did,
was solely to learn the truth, as any government would have done
in such a case.
The ambassador was greatly pleased with the Signory's statement,
and acknowledged that they had done nothing contrary to their
good friendship with his Majesty, who, under similar circumstances,
would have acted in like manner.
The Chiefs acquaint him (Zambon) with these particulars, so that,
if necessary, he may know how to answer, in accordance with the
truth.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
Dec. 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 77.
441. MOTION made in the SENATE for the appointment of an
Ambassador to England.
At the time when the peace was being negotiated between his
most Christian Majesty and the most Serene King of England, the
Signory's secretary at the English Court wrote to them that his
Majesty wished greatly to have a Venetian Ambassador with him,
as of yore. Subsequently, when the peace was made and concluded,
there came into the College the Magnifico Ambassador of that most
Serene King, together with Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi, to announce
it to them in his Majesty's name, and congratulate himself thereon.
with the Signory. This office being performed, Dom. Lodovico
then presented credentials, and commenced talking at great length,
1546.
185
1546.
Dec. 18.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
discoursing very earnestly about this extreme desire on the part of
his Majesty; and from that time to this, he has come very fre-
quently into the Signory's presence to make this request, always
in the name of that most Serene King. Shortly before the arrival
of the secretary's letters, dated the 29th of October last, (full of this
wish, owing to the conference held by him with Ser Francesco
Bernardo,) the aforesaid ambassador [Sigismund Harvel?] came into
the College and repeated the same suit. So it is evident through
this channel, and through that of the Signory's secretary, that the
King of England wishes much for this ambassador. It is highly
advantageous for the Signory to be on good terms with his Majesty,
and to exhibit towards him such marks of affection and esteem as
he desires, and as become so great a King, whose repute and power
have increased since the aforesaid conclusion of peace; and this
embassy cannot but prove to the dignity of the Republic, and pro-
fitable to many private individuals who frequent that country, not
a little to the advantage of this entire city.
Put to the ballot, that an ambassador be elected to reside with
the King; receiving for his expenses one hundred and fifty golden
ducats per month, of which he is not required to give any
account to the Signory. Is to keep eleven horses and as many
servants (including his Secretary's servant), and two running foot-
men. Is to be eligible from all places and offices, and the person
elected may not refuse, under all the penalties decreed by the act
of 1536 against those who refuse missions to crowned heads.
Besides the four months salary, which will be paid him here in
advance, as usual, by the cashier of the Council of Ten, out of
the monies appointed for that purpose, be there given to the agents
left here by said ambassador, 150 golden ducats from month to
month, so that the Signory may not lose any money by exchange
on this account. And that he depart when and with such commission
as shall be given him by this Council.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 8. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
Elected on the 28th December 1546, Ser Bernardo Navagero,
son of the late Ser Giovanni Alvise.
See in Libro scrutinorum, p. 89.
[Latin.]
442. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Will perceive the underwritten advices in their letters from Con-
stantinople, dated the 11th November, and is to communicate them
as usual.
[Italian.]
Dec. 19.
443. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Having understood by his letters, and by the statements made
File no. 18. to them repeatedly by the magnifico the English ambassador
186
1546.
1546.
Dec. 23.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 27.
Dec. 29.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 27,
tergo.
[Sigismundo Harvel], and by Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi, in the
name of the King, his Majesty's great wish to have an ambassador
from the Signory resident with him as heretofore; they, by reason
of the good friendship which they have always maintained and
wish to preserve with his Majesty, and on account of the respect
they bear him, are content to gratify this his desire, and so on the
day before yesterday, they, with the Senate, determined to elect
one of their noblemen to reside with his Majesty as usual. The
election will be made one of these days, and they will also attend
to the ambassador's despatch, so that he may betake himself to his
legation in the spring.
To acquaint his Majesty with this resolve, assuring him that
they will never fail to perform such offices as become good friends,
or to gratify him in whatever they can; and requesting him to
acknowledge the reasonable impediments which have hitherto
delayed their mission of this ambassador, as they are sure that
of his wisdom he will do. Of the execution of this order, Zambon
is to give them notice.
In reply to his last letters of the 22nd November, they have
merely to commend his keeping them advised of the events in
those parts.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
配
​444. MARC' ANTONIO ERIZZO.
Motion made in the Council and Ten and Junta.
Does it seem fit to the Council, from what has been now said and
read, that by reason of the impediments at present declared, Ser
Marco Antonio Erizzo be tortured by cord (fune)?
Ayes, 3.
Amendment-
That the decision aforesaid be made by the members of the
committee and inquisitors, according to the liberty given by this
Council, as usual.
Ayes, 19. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Latin.]
445. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Does it seem fit to the Council, from what has been now said and
read, that Captain Giovanni Battista Campana, and Isepo of Trent,
absent, but legitimately summoned from the edict steps, be proceeded
against?
Ayes, 27. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
The Council decrees that said Giovanni Battista Campana and
Isepo of Trent, absent, but legitimately summoned, be banished for
life; and should any of them at any time break bounds and be
captured, to be beheaded between the columns on a lofty scaffold,
and their bodies quartered in four parts, and suspended on the usual
gibbets; and the captor of any of them placing them "in forcias
nostras," or killing them, on producing a certificate of the death,
1546-1547.
187
1546.
1547.
Jan. 5.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
to receive for each of them 3,000 light livres from the chest of this
Council. Should any person capture them in foreign parts, and
place them in the Signory's power, or kill them, on producing a
certificate of the death ut supra, to receive for each of them from
the aforesaid chest 5,000 livres; and moreover, should "ille talis
capiens aut occidens" be banished from Venice and from all the
Republic's towns and places, even by this Council, for any crime
whatever, except rebellion or peculation, be he free and absolved
from his ban, and further have a pardon for another [culprit]
banished from all towns and places ut supra. Should said captor
or slayer not be a banished man, he may release two [culprits]
banished ut supra. But if within thirty days from the publica-
tion of this present motion, the aforesaid Giovanni Battista Campana
and Isepo of Trent, or either of them, the one who shall come first
and notify, in the case of the murder committed on the person of the
late Ser Mafio Bernardo, its "mandantem sive mandantes," and their
accomplices, so that the truth be obtained, in that case both or one
of them to remain free and absolved from the aforesaid condemnation
and have the benefits, mentioned in the motion, about rewards con-
cerning this matter, passed by this Council on the 27th inst.
Ayes, 20.
Amendment.
Motion as above, save that should both or either of them come
and manifest ut supra, they do receive such benefits as shall seem
fit to this Council.
5.
4.
[Latin.]
A.D. 1547.
446. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Since they wrote to him on the 19th ultimo, announcing their
intention of electing an ambassador to the King of England, they
have made choice for this purpose of their well-beloved noble
Bernardo Navager. To inform his Majesty of this, and also that
Dom. Lodovico Da l'Armi, who some days ago quitted Venice,
having informed the Signory that he was going on the King's
business, has now returned and remains here, to the dissatisfaction
of the State, and in contempt of the law.
In making this statement, to regulate himself with regard to
proceeding against Da l'Armi, or removing him from Venice, accord-
ing to the reply received from his Majesty when executing the
commands contained in their letter to him of the 16th ultimo, of
which they enclose a copy, and repeat to him their intention and
desire to proceed against Da l'Armi as the law requires, or else that
he do by no means reside in the Signory's territory.
.
188
1547.
1547.
Jan. 8.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Jan. 17.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Jan. 17.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 28,
tergo.
To acquaint the Chiefs with the reply obtained by him concern-
ing this matter.
Ayes, 28. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
447. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send him summaries of advices from Constantinople, for com-
munication as usual.
[Italian.]
448. PROTESTANT LEAGUE of SMALCALD. *
The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to [FRANCESCO] GIUSTINIAN, Venetian
Ambassador in France.
His predecessor [Matteo Dandolo ?] wrote to them heretofore
that the Admiral of France spoke to him about a defensive League
between his most Christian Majesty and the Signory. To this
the ambassador replied, that it was unnecessary, by reason of the
great goodwill between the parties, and that it would cause sus-
picion to the other powers, the more so as a defensive League
between princes whose territories are wide asunder is useless.
Subsequently on the 24th ultimo, the ambassador wrote to the
Signory saying that when speaking with the Admiral about the
ambassadors from the Protestants, and the war in Germany, in
order to make the Admiral unbosom himself, he praised the valour
of the Protestants, and said he thought that had they any ray
(lume) of assistance, they would be much more active.
This is not to the satisfaction of the Signory; and simultaneously
the Chiefs received a letter from him concerning the League.
Dandolo's first office satisfied them, but in this last they dislike
the arguments adduced by Giustinian when speaking of the Emperor's
opinions and intentions, of his [present] embarrassments with the
Germans, of those which he will have with the Turks, and of his
agreement with the Protestants. Therefore warn Giustinian not to
encourage this matter, and to abstain from using such arguments,
and saying anything to offend the Emperor or any potentate,
speaking in general terms as his predecessor did on the first
occasion; and should his predecessor be still at the French Court,
he is to communicate these letters to him.
Ayes, 27. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
449. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
As the Captain Campana and Isepo of Trent are coming hither
within the term appointed them, should they reveal the "caso
of the death of the late Mafio Bernardo, so that the truth be ascer-
tained, both of them to be absolved from the banishment and
99
* On the 22nd April 1547, the Emperor gave battle to the League of Smalcald at
Mulberg, and captured its leaders the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse.
The Venetians foresaw coming events, and disapproved of their ambassador's tribute to
the valour of the Protestants,
.
1547.
189
1547.
Jan. 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Jan. 24.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36.
Jan. 30.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
condemnation passed on them by this Council, 2,000 ducats
given them from the chest of this Council, and they to be authorised
to exempt two individuals from their banishment for any cause
except rebellion or peculation; and be they, and a servant for each
of them, allowed for life to carry weapons in Venice and in all the
Republic's towns and places, to which benefit either of them to be
eligible, even should the other not choose to come.
Ayes, 17. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 1.
[Italian.]
450. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
To communicate as usual the under-written advices, contained in
their last letters from Constantinople.
[Italian.]
451. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Lodovico da l'Armi, accused of having caused the death of
the late Ser Mafio Bernardo, be arrested and examined by the in-
quisitors and the ordinary committee, they to come to this Council,
with what they shall elicit, and be justice done; but should the
search for him prove vain, the Signory's governors on the main-
land to be written to, to arrest and send him hither.
Ayes, 18. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
452. GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian Secretary in England, to the
CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Has daily requested audience of the King, to execute the order
contained in their Lordships' letters of the 16th ult. and 5th
instant, about Lodovico da l'Armi,* received by him the day before
yesterday.
He is told that his Majesty cannot see him by reason of indis-
position and business, but he has been promised an interview as soon
as possible, nor will he fail to urge it.
London, 30th January 1547.
[Italian.]
Feb.?
453. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
MS. St. Mark's
Considering the state of affairs on the death of King Henry,
Cod. xxix. Cl. x.hopes that an opportunity is thus afforded for regaining England,
Library,
February? 1547.
[Latin, 16 lines.]
p. 38.
No date. but to this end it is above all necessary to have the support of the
Trinted in v. iv. Emperor, to whom he recommends the Pope to send an ambassador
"Epistolarum in his Majesty's confidence. Wishes the appointment to be made
Reginaldi Poli," in the person of the Cardinal of Trent, as no one could more ably
without any date-negotiate the English business, and also many other affairs of almost
equal moment. Will justify his proposal in a subsequent letter.
* The words in italics are in cipher.
:
190
1547.
1547.
Feb.?
454. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
MS. St. Mark's
Distressed by the present perilous state of affairs, and apprehensive
Library,
No date.
CC
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.of a bad result, he wrote to the Pope yesterday, having solely in
view the common weal, and now explains the causes which moved
Printed in him to give that advice. First of all, he is of opinion that to
v. iv. pp. 39, 40.
Epistolarum complete the business in hand, great part of which is referred to
Reginaldi Poli," the Emperor, everything depends on concord between his Majesty
without any and the Pope. From this concord the best result may be antici-
pated; in like manner as from discord he (Pole) foresees the
utmost turmoil of Christendom. This concord depends chiefly on
the person sent as legate to the Emperor. Therefore enumerates
the qualities required by this legate, and as it is difficult for them
to be combined in one sole person, he would suggest that the
Cardinal of Trent be added to the legation,* as to effect this
concord he has already exerted himself greatly, and would continue
to do so. If for reasons which he (Pole) does not see, the addition
of the Cardinal of Trent should not be approved, he might be
sent in advance to prepare the way, the mission being of course
confided to him with great delicacy. The Cardinal of Trent,
moreover, would be a fitting person, because having negotiated the
league (belli Germanici fœdus), he knows what dissensions arose
thence, and is therefore better able than anyone else to allay
them. His character also is such, that not content with negotiating
he is never satisfied unless his negotiations obtain success, which
in the present instance would be in accordance with the Pope's
wish, and the public advantage. Some persons say that the dis-
putes between the Pope and the Emperor proceeded in great
measure from their respective confidants, who dreading the slightest
diminution of favour easily neglect the common weal. For this he
(Pole) will not vouch, but has chosen to express himself with the
utmost frankness.
Feb. 3.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
[Latin, 38 lines.]
455. GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian Secretary in England, to the
CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Their Lordships will have seen by his letters of the 24th and
30th ult. that he was prevented executing the commissions con-
tained in their missives of the 16th December and 5th ult. ; still less
is he able to do anything at present, as without fresh credentials
they cannot acknowledge him in any matter as the Republic's
representative. Can say nothing more about the business in
question,† [save that when talking with Paget, as written by him to
the Senate, he contrived to make him say openly that Lodovico
da l'Armi's commission was in like manner cancelled and at an end,
and that no farther commission would be sent to him from hence,
and that he was understood to be recalled. Paget then added,
"I should wish the most Illustrious Signory, when proceeding in the
* In 1546, Madruccio, Cardinal Bishop of Trent, had been sent by the Emperor to
demand assistance from the Pope against the Protestants. In 1547, the Pope appointed
Cardinal Sfondrato Legate to the Emperor, to obtain his consent to the transfer of the
Council from Trent to Bologna. (See Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent.)
† Cipher between the brackets; with contemporary decipher.
1547.
191
1547.
Feb. 7.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
case of said Lodovico, to do so adroitly (destramente), and with some
regard for these Lords Protectors and executors (protectori et
executori), as becoming the good friendship between the late most
Serene King and their Excellencies, which friendship I should have
endeavoured to augment daily had his Serenity lived." Thanked
the Secretary [Sir William Paget], and answered him that your
most illustrious Lordships were wont to proceed in all cases with
the utmost prudence and justice, and that he therefore might be
very certain you would continue thus to do for the future.]
London, 3rd February 1547.
[Italian.]
456. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
A gentleman of noble family, Signor Baldisara Bya, told me that
on the evening before last, on the arrival in this city of Dom.
Lodovico da l'Armi, he went straight to lodge with him, being the
friend of his brother, and then yesterday, when a tournament was
held at the Court in the presence of Don Ferrante [Gonzaga] and
the Princess, and all the Milanese nobility, Da l'Armi and Bya
masked and went to the entertainment, where, whilst stando
a piacere, they were arrested on the spot by order of Don
Ferrante [Imperial Governor of Milan] and placed in two separate
chambers. After a little while Bya was set at liberty, Dom.
Lodovico da l'Armi being taken to the castle, where he yet remains.
As it has long been reported here that said Lodovico fled
from Venice because accused of the death of the late Bernardo,
said Signor Baldisera Bya, by reason of his affection and deference
for the most Serene Republic, apologises to me for having lodged
him, vowing that he did so unwillingly, and that his late father,
and brothers were and are most devoted to the Signory.
Ten days ago Don Ferrante said to me, "Lodovico da l'Armi
will take good care not to come hither, not that I know him to be
proscribed from the Emperor's places, but because I will not endure
the presence of men branded with so many iniquities, and so
infamous for their crimes, as I know this fellow to be." He dis-
cussed with me the mischief which results from giving harbour to
persons of this sort, and did not approve the Republic's patience in
having so long tolerated Fregoso, and the late Monsignor Valerio,
and Pietro Strozzi, and then this Da l'Armi, by saying that the city
of Venice is free. From this conversation I infer his Excellency
ordered the arrest of this man by reason of his hatred to the race,
for when the Signor Zuan Paulo Manfron (who was afterwards.
arrested in the territory of the Duke of Piacenza) passed through
Milan, he desired him to depart forthwith, and never again return to
the Milanese on pain of death.
Milan, 7th February 1547.
[Italian.]
*The consort of Don Ferrante Gonzaga was Isabella of Capua, daughter of the Prince
of Molfetta, whose title she inherited.
192
1547.
1547.
Feb. 9.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Feb. 10.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
457. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI,
Venetian Ambassador at Milan.
By his letter received today have heard, much to their satisfac-
tion, that his Excellency the Governor* has caused the arrest of
Lodovico da l'Armi, who lately fled from hence, because he had so
iniquitously contrived the murder of that nobleman of ours, Maffio
Bernardo, which must be known to his Lordship, and ere now to
everybody. Charge him (Rhamberti) to urge his most illustrious
Lordship to keep Da l'Armi under arrest, as by so doing he will very
much oblige them, and by other letters they will acquaint Rham-
berti with their wishes in this matter.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
458. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Don Ferrante having returned from La Bicoccha, inquired of him
the cause of the arrest of Messer Lodovico da l'Armi. Was told
that he came without any servant, on hired horses, always wrapped
up in a cloak of crimson velvet, with a cap on his head of red
ormesin with a gold band, which costume coupled with his. hand-
some figure made everybody stare at him,† so that in many places
he was well nigh compelled to discover himself; and at length when
he arrived at Pizzighettone, not choosing to let his face be seen by
some persons who wished to look at him, he was followed thus far
by a Spaniard, who having described his costume and person to
Don Ferrante, his Excellency recognized him at the tournament, and
not knowing who he was, had him arrested and sent to the castle,
where on hearing that he was Dom. Lodovico da l'Armi, he deter-
mined to let him remain thus under arrest until the receipt of some
further commission from the Emperor. But Da l'Armi having sent
“a dimostrargli" that he is a persona publica from the King of
England, Don Ferrante has determined to release him, in order not
to violate the good understanding and friendship between the
Emperor and the aforesaid most Serene King. On hearing this I
said to his Excellency that as he knew this man had escaped from
Venice, the Signory might wish to learn something from him, and
the more important it might prove the greater would their obliga-
tion be to his Excellency should he detain him a few days to oblige
the Republic. His Excellency rejoined, he would release him to
avoid giving offence to the King of England, but I nevertheless
* Don Ferrante Gonzaga, uncle of Francesco Duke of Mantua, and Governor of Milan
for the Emperor Charles V.
In the Academy of Venice there is an oil painting by Bonifazio (No. 525),
representing the slaughter of the Innocents, in which the artist has introduced a
spectator whose stature and costume agree precisely with Don Ferrante's portrait of
Da l'Armi. The hand of this figure rests on a shield, but its blazonry is unintelligible.
The history of Da l'Armi was an European topic at the time, and on this account it
is probable that Bonifazio made him the principal person in a scene of bloodshed.
The painter Bonifazio of Verona flourished from 1491 to 1553 (see Lord Lindsay,
Christian Art, vol. i. p. ccxxxi.)
1547.
193
1547.
Feb. 12.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
understand that he has written about it to the [Imperial] Court,
and before releasing him will perhaps await his Majesty's reply.
Milan, 10th February 1547.
[Italian.]
459. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
**
At daybreak this morning a horse-post from Crema consigned
to me your letters charging me to pray Don Ferrante to keep
Messer Lodovico da l'Armi under arrest, until other letters acquaint
me with your wishes. Immediately went to his Excellency and
besought him to delay the release of Da l'Armi for a few days.
His Excellency replied, "I have determined to set him at liberty
on account of the King of England, who professes to love my
family, and myself in particular, but, as you urge me in the name
of the Republic, I will delay that the Signory may write to the
Emperor, and obtain an order from him for the consignment by me
into their hands of Da l'Armi, or to authorise you to examine and
speak with him, and elicit whatever you wish from his own lips.
And would to God that I were not bound by these respects for the
King of England, which I must at any rate use towards him,
especially being allied (congionto) as he is at present with the
Emperor, as otherwise Da l'Armi should have been carried like a
bale (da peso) to the feet of the Signory, by reason of my devotion
for the State, and the hatred I bear to persons of that sort, who,
being enabled to live honourably by the military profession, lead an
iniquitous existence, by disturbing the quiet of sovereigns and
honest men." He added, "Tell the Signory to write immediately
to the Imperial Court, and do quickly what they have to do, but
without letting it appear that I prompted them to do so, for by
despatch their wish may be obtained, and I will aid it to my
utmost, whereas by delay it might easily be thwarted." I thanked
his Excellency for his offer to detain Da l'Armi for the despatch of
advices from Venice to Germany, which would require at least
thirty days; whereupon I asked him if he meant to keep Da l'Armi
in the castle, and if he would allow me to speak to him. He replied
that, to ease the Emperor of any responsibility, he thought of
sending him to Guastalla, one of his castles in the Mantuan territory,
and that he did not allow any one to speak to him, although he
had asked for such permission, that he might send a messenger to
England, which was denied him, but Don Ferrante believed that
he had already done so before his arrest.
Milan, 12th February 1547.
[Italian.]
5.
His Excellency is most devoted to your Lordships, and lamented to
me the trouble which is but too often given you by similar "ribaldi”
with regard to State and Government affairs, assuring me that
nothing pains him so much as to hear of judicial inquiries about
rebels and traitors.
N
194
1547.
1547.
Feb. 12.
Parti Secrete
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Feb. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
460. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI,
Venetian Secretary at Milan.
Wrote to him the other evening that he was to request the
Governor to detain Lodovico Da l'Armi under custody.
Have written to their ambassador with the Emperor to try and
get said Lodovico into their hands. Charge him [Rhamberti] to
endeavour not only to prevent Lodovico's release until the receipt
of the Emperor's decision, but to induce the Governor to favour
this their just intention, as he will thus do them a most agreeable
and satisfactory service. As in their letter to the Signory's ambas-
sador with the Emperor they mention certain particulars of the case,
send him a copy of it, that he may acquaint the Governor with the
bad qualities and grievous atrocities of this homicide.
After writing thus far received his letter of the 10th. Commend
his good offices with the Governor, to prevent him from releasing
Da l'Armi. Have written on the subject to the Secretary in Eng-
land; send him a copy of the letter, that he may vouch to the
Governor for the office performed by them with his Majesty.
Send also the letters to the said ambassador and secretary, but
should Da l'Armi have been already released, to say nothing more to
the Governor, and retain the letters instead of forwarding them.
Ayes, 9. Noes, 17. Neutral, 1.
Carried in the negative.
[Italian.]
461. The SAME to [ALVISE MOCENIGO] the Venetian Ambas-
sador with the Emperor.
Some days ago their late nobleman, Maphio Bernardo, was bar-
barously murdered by two individuals in whom he confided, owing
to certain countersigns which they gave him. These men conducted
him outside Ravenna, whither he had betaken himself, having been
outlawed by the State (the period of the writ not having yet
expired), and taking him into the pine forest, the assassins inflicted
eighteen wounds on him, of which he died.
The Signory employed the usual means to ascertain the truth,
and the murderers presented themselves, and proved most clearly
that one of the persons who commissioned the murder (un delli
mandanti) was Lodovico da l'Armi, who was at the time in Venice,
but departed thence secretly and made his escape on the very day
of the arrival there of the mandataries. One of these is the Captain
Zambattista Campana, who was most intimate with the said Lodovico,
the other is Isepo of Trent. So they could not effect his seizure ;
but the Almighty, who does not choose so enormous a crime to
remain unpunished, caused the said Lodovico to be arrested by the
most illustrious the Lord Governor of Milan, who has had him put
in the castle. The Chiefs, therefore, wishing to have him in their
hands, charge the ambassador to acquaint the Emperor immediately,
in the Signory's name, with the atrocity of the case, praying him
to give orders that the said Lodovico be consigned to them, as he
will thus do one of the most agrecable things which at the present
1547.
195
1547.
Feb. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
moment they could possibly desire of him. Although very certain
that the Emperor, abhorring men of so evil a nature, will grant
this just petition, the ambassador is nevertheless to assure him, that
on a similar occassion, they will do the like by his Majesty.
To endeavour to effect their object with prudence and address. If
prevented by the Emperor's occupations from seeing him im-
mediately, to confer with Mons. de Granvelle, that he may state
the case to his Majesty. In the event of the Emperor's objecting
to deliver Da l'Armi into their hands, lest it displease the King of
England, to say that the Signory has written to their secretary
[Zambon] resident with the King, who (they hope) will of his
justice and goodness comply with so just a demand. The Emperor
in the meanwhile to have Da l'Armi detained in custody.
To give notice of what he shall have done to Zambon.
Ayes, 9. Noes, 17. Neutral, 1.
Carried in the negative.
[Italian.]
462. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the Venetian Secretary
ZAMBON in England.
[On 16th December wrote to him about the murder of Maphio
Bernardo, and that they had clear indications of its having been
caused by Lodovico da l'Armi.
Having employed means to ascertain the truth, there presented
themselves to them, Captain Joanbaptista Campana (who was
intimate and most familiar with said Lodovico) and his comrade
Isepo of Trent, the murderers of Bernardo, and clearly proved to the
Chiefs, that Da l'Armi was the person who caused them to commit the
crime, and on the day of their arrival at Venice Da l'Armi fled from
thence privily.
Are certain that the King of England, on hearing of these evil
and detestable proceedings, will not only be much disquieted by
them, but, being replete with wisdom and goodness, will make ample
demonstration in accordance with their obsequiousness towards him,
as instanced by the consideration (rispetto). shown by them lately
to the said Lodovico.
To acquaint the King with the whole, and to give notice of his
reply.
Should Secretary Paget or others ask him about the departure
hence of the ambassador appointed to his Majesty, to tell them that
he will depart in a few days.]"
*
(And be it carried, that the English ambassador be sent for into
the College and made acquainted with these facts, and urged to
write in conformity to his King.)
Having written thus far, are advised by their secretary at Milan
that the Governor had caused the arrest of Da l'Armi, who had
arrived there; so they have written to their ambassador with the
Emperor, to request his consignment into their hands.
The bracketed passage in the draft was to be transcribed in cipher
N 2
196
1547.
1547.
Feb. 14.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Feb. 15.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
Feb. 15.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
To do his utmost with the King that by reason of his even-
handed justice (la bona justitia che è in lei) he may sanction their
fair demand.
Ayes, 9. Noes, 17. Neutral, 1.
Carried in the negative.
Amendment-
Another copy to be made of the paragraphs within the brackets,
for transmission to the secretary.
Ayes, 27. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
463. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI,
Venetian Secretary at Milan.
Received his letter of the 7th. Thank him for his good offices
with the Governor to prevent the release of Lodovico da l'Armi.
But in his last of the 10th they see that the Governor thought of
releasing Da l'Armi. Wish to know what has taken place. Should
his Lordship not have released him, will immediately inform Rham-
berti what they wish.
Ayes, 22. Noes, 6.
[Italian.]
Neutral, 1.
464. The SAME to [ALVISE MOCENIGO] the Venetian Ambas-
sador with the Emperor.
Account of the murder of Maphio Bernardo [as in the letter of
the 12th].
Inform him that Lodovico da l'Armi was outlawed by them for
another iniquitous case, as will appear by the enclosed copy of the
sentence. For the gratification of the King of England gave him a
safe-conduct, but as under its cover he has committed this fresh most
atrocious crime, he has lost all benefit of it, and is subject to his
writ of outlawry, and as an outlaw ought to be delivered to them,
in virtue of the Signory's treaty with the State of Milan.
To request the Emperor to give orders for his delivery into their
hands, etc. [as in the letter of the 12th.]
Postscript.-By way of France have heard the news of the death
of the King of England. Hope it will, therefore, be more easy to
obtain what they justly desire of the Emperor, although they
believe, that had the King of England lived, his Imperial Majesty
would have granted their request.
The above-written letter to be sent by a courier express, who is
to bring back the reply.
Ayes, 27. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
465. The SAME to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary
at Milan.
By his letters of the 12th, perceive his prudent offices with the
Governor, and his Lordship's courteous and gracious reply. To
inform him of the outlawry of Da l'Armi, &c., [as in the letter to
Mocenigo.]
1547.
197
1547.
Feb. 15.
Miscellaneous
Papers,
Venetian
Archives.
Hope to obtain their demand for his delivery the more easily,
seeing that there is an end of consideration for the most Serene
King of England, who they understand is dead, and may the Lord
have mercy on his soul.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
466. OFFICIAL NOTE of Communications between the VENE-
TIAN GOVERNMENT and SIGISMUND HARVEL, from 16th
December 1546 to 15th February 1547.*
In the matter of Lodovico da l'Armi the ambassador of the King
of England, Harvel, stated that this affair caused him such great
pain that he knew not what to say. He had at all times known
the courtesy of this State towards his King, and the respect had
for him, both heretofore when Da l'Armi perpetrated those outrages
here and at Treviso, 'after which he was granted the safe-conduct
at the request of his Majesty, to whom it gave extreme satisfaction,
as also on this last occasion, on which Harvel acknowledged that
not only had this man (costui) offended the majesty of the Republic,
but also the majesty of his [Harvel's] King, who has been greatly
deceived in him, as frequently happens to Princes with regard to
their servants. That he wrote about this at the time of the affair
at Treviso, and therefore Da l'Armi always bore him illwill, and
laid many plots against him, and lately when Da l'Armi was
summoned by the Chiefs,† Harvel came to the Signory to know
what he was to write to the King, as Da l'Armi asserted his
innocence, and now wrote him a letter from Trent to the same
effect, which Harvel does not believe, as he knows him well, and
that he has one thing in his heart and another on his lips. He
declared that these proceedings greatly displeased his King, who
did not send Da l'Armi hither with the title of ambassador (con
nome di ambasciatore), the letter not conferring this honour on him
nor yet his instructions from his Majesty's Council, which purported
that he was to defer to Harvel (ch' el dovesse stare ad obedientia
di esso ambasciatore).
To this the Doge replied, that Harvel might remember that at
his first audience he accompanied Da l'Armi, who remained stand-
ing until his credentials were read, and when it was heard that
he had a communication to make in his Majesty's name, he was
desired to seat himself, and continued to do so ever after. Harvel
rejoined that it was all true (replicò il detto ambasciatore, che
tutto vi era vero), and that the Signory had always evinced very
great courtsey and respect towards the King, to whom he wrote
a full account of the whole affair honestly and sincerely as due
to his Prince, the Doge's account of the case being notorious "fino
alli sassi di questa città;" and not only did Harvel deplore this
-
* In State Papers vol. xi. pp. 382, 383, Harvel's last notice of Da l'Armi is dated
Venice, 23rd December 1546.
† See Harvel's letter, dated 23rd December 1546. (State Papers, vol. xi. pp. 382, 383.)
By the Parti Secrete, Consiglio X., it appears that on the 16th December, Da l'Armi
was absent from Venice, but was again there on the 5th of January 1547, so the letter
dated Trent was probably received by Harvel at the close of December.
198
1547.
1547.
Feb. 15.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 30.
Feb. 17.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
Feb. 19.
Miscellaneous
Letters.
Venetian
Archives.
case, but is ashamed of it, and feels certain that it will displease
the King, no less than it does the Signory. He said he would
write again, as requested by his Serenity, adding that Lodovico
da l'Armi "non è niente," and what little repute he had, was
owing to regard for the King, who has been deceived, and bears
the Signory very great respect, and acknowledges their courtesy.
The Doge then told Harvel that Da l'Armi was under arrest at
Milan;* Harvel inquired whether it was at the suit of his Serenity,
or whether the cause was known. His Serenity replied that it was
not at his suit; but that he went incognito, and was arrested and
confined in the castle, and is supposed to have written to the
Emperor; and that he will not be released until the receipt of his
Imperial Majesty's reply.
Harvel promised to write again to the King, and then took
leave.
[Italian.]
467. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the nobleman Ser Zan Francesco Mocenigo be pro nunc
released from prison.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 6.
[Italian.]
468. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Have received the letter of the 15th announcing your Lordships'
wish that Lodovico da l'Armi should not be released, until your
farther orders arrive; and owing to this news of the death of the
King of England I am of opinion, not only that he will not be
released, but moreover that Don Ferrante may now perhaps be
easily induced to satisfy your Excellencies without awaiting any
other commission from the Emperor.
Milan, 17th February 1547.
[Italian.]
469. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador at
Rome, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
At this hour, the fourth of the night, a secretary came to me in
the name of the Pope and Cardinal Farnese, and after repeating the
news of the death of the King of England, as contained in my public
letter, he requested (as the Pope has this matter at heart, and wishes
for the assistance of those powers to whom he purposes sending
legates) that the most Serene Signory by reason of their religion
would, as the Pope trusted, piously aid him in his efforts, so far
as lies in their power, to bring back that kingdom to its former
* Da l'Armi seems to have absented himself from Venice on the 24th January, and to
have made his way into the Mantuan territory to his comrade Luigi Gonzaga at Castel
Goffredo, proceeding thence by Pizzighettone, Cremona, and Lodi, to Milan, where he
arrived on the 4th February, and was arrested on the 6th.
1547.
199
1547.
Feb. 19.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
devotion to the Catholic Faith; and he therefore requested and
exhorted the Signory to charge that gentleman of the Bernardo
family, who so aptly exerted himself about the peace between the
two crowns,* or such other person as they may think fit, to perform
this office, which his Holiness trusts will be to the mind of that
most Christian Republic.
The secretary stated these particulars in detail, reading to me the
letter which his Holiness is sending to the Nuncio at Venice, and
as your Lordships will hear it, I need say no more.
Rome, 19th February 1547.
[Italian.]
Feb. 19.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
470. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
In obedience to your Excellencies' letter of the 15th I thanked
the Governor in your name, and prayed him to abide by the
promise which he made me on the 12th, not to release Lodovico
da l'Armi until the arrival of the Emperor's reply concerning
this matter. According to the letter's contents I acquainted him
minutely with this man's misdemeanours and his atrocious character
(atroce natura); and I tried whether, now that there is an end of
the principal consideration about England, his Excellency would
gratify your Lordships without the intervention of farther delay.
Don Ferrante replied, "I promised you to detain him, until you
cause the Emperor to send me a commission, which I will execute as
a true Prince, and as a true-born nobleman of that most Serene
Republic, which I hold in as much account as a kingdom (prin-
cipato). Do but cause me to receive the order, and I will gladly
obey it without farther reserve, but for the present it does not seem
to me that with honour to myself I can do more; and promise their
Excellencies in my name whatever can be promised by a good
servant; saving always the allegiance due to my master, for I assure
you that neither their Lordships nor you will ever be deceived by
the hopes I give you."
I thanked his Excellency; and your Excellencies may rest assured
that Da l'Armi will not be released.
Milan, 19th February 1547.
[Italian.]
471. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Desire him to communicate, as usual, the underwritten advices
from Adrianople.
[Italian.]
* For notices of the negotiations of Francesco Bernardo in the year 1546, when peace
was made between England and France, see State Papers, vol. xi., index. In vol.i.
p. 894, it appears that in January 1547 he had a letter of recommendation from Secretary
Paget to Doge Donado. The epitaph of Francesco Bernardo in the church of the "Frari"
at Venice, records his success in accomplishing the peace between the two crowns. As
already stated, he was the nephew of Mafio Bernardo, and seems to have inherited his
property.
200
1547.
1547.
Feb. 19.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Feb. 20.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi Con-
siglio X.,
File no. 4.
Feb. 19.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 92,
tergo.
Feb. 23.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 31.
472. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with Pope Paul III.
Through their ambassador Mocenigo,* have this day received
letters from their secretary in England, dated 31st January, inform-
ing them that the King departed this life on the 27th (sic), and
that the Prince his son, styled Edward VI., had been proclaimed
King under the tutelage of twenty† guardians (governatori) left
by the deceased King his father, the chief of them being the Earl
of Hertford, his Majesty's brother-in-law.
Although they suppose the Pope will have had news of this
demise, have nevertheless chosen to notify it to the ambassador, for
communication to his Holiness.
[Italian.]
473. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN "BAILO" at
ADRIANOPLE.
Since their last of the 11th, have heard by letters from England,
dated 31st January, that King Henry died on the 27th (sic), and
the Prince his son had been proclaimed King by the name of
Edward VI. He is eleven years old, and under the guardianship
of twenty governors appointed by the deceased King, his father, the
chief of them being the Earl of Hertford, his Majesty's brother-in-
law.
Neutral, 1.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 2.
[Italian.]
474. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
at MILAN.
Have seen what he wrote to them on the 17th about Lodovico da
l'Armi, and his opinion that owing to the news of the death of the
King of England, not only will Lodovico not be released, but the
Lord Governor [Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Governor of Milan,] may
perhaps give satisfaction to the Signory in this matter without
awaiting commission from the Emperor.
Have received letters from their secretary in England, dated 24th
January, informing them that Secretary Paget, whilst the King was
yet alive, told him that Lodovico da l'Armi was no longer in favour
with his Majesty, and that he was certain that his iniquities, which
caused him to be in disgrace with the entire English Court, would
greatly displease the King.
[Italian.]
475. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motions made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the safe-conduct from this Council to the Captain Zam-
battista Campana and Isepo da Trento during the whole of the
* Alvise Mocenigo, ambassador with the Emperor at Ulm.
†The executors of the King's will were originally nineteen, but shortly before his
death he cancelled the names of the Duke of Norfoik, Gardiner, and Thirlby. (See
Lingard, History of England, v. 5, pp. 105, 114, ed. London, 1854.)
Henry VIII. died on the 28th January 1547.
1547.
201
1547.
Feb. 24.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
present month, be prolonged until the despatch of the case denounced
by them.
Ayes, 27. No, 1.
Neutral, 1.
That from the chest of this Council forty ducats be given to the
Captain Zambattista Campana and Isepo da Trento, that they may
have the means of maintaining themselves until the case shall be
despatched.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 4. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
478. ALVISE MOCENIGO, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
On Sunday the 20th, at noon, the courier Pellegrin brought me
your Excellencies' letter of the 15th ;* and seeing how strictly I was
charged to speak to the Emperor about the affair of Lodovico da
l'Armi, I sent immediately for audience of his Majesty, hoping to
obtain it that very day, but as mentioned by me in the public
letters, business prevented him from receiving me until last evening,
when I represented all that your Lordships enjoined me, earnestly
requesting the Emperor, by reason of the affection and goodwill
which he bears the Signory, to give orders for said Lodovico to be
consigned to you, assuring his Majesty that besides thus acting
according to justice, in virtue of the treaty between the Republic
and the Duchy of Milan, he would also confer as great a favour as
any that could be asked of him by the Signory at the present
moment, and that in similar cases your Serenity will always do the
like by his Imperial Majesty. The Emperor answered me that
a few days ago he heard of the capture of this Lodovico, whom he
considered "leggero"; that he had written to Milan for information
on the subject; that I was to go and speak with the Bishop of
Arras [Antoine Perrenot] and the Regent Figueroa, who would
also inspect the treaty, and that he would then not fail to do what
he can in justice, for the satisfaction of the Signory; whereupon,
after again requesting his Majesty in so just a matter to give the
Signory satisfaction, which would be most agreeable to your
Lordships, I took leave.
As the Bishop of Arras was occupied last evening I went to him
today, performing the most earnest office I could with him about
this business. His Lordship answered me that being as he is a
bishop, he must be very cautious about interfering in this case,
which concerns a man's life; but that, as he is hostile to evil doers
and anxious to do the State service, he will not fail proceeding in this
matter as far as he can without committing any irregularity. He then
said that so long back as when he was in Italy he had heard of this
treaty [for the reciprocal extradition of outlaws] stipulated between
your Serenity and the Duchy of Milan, but did not know whether
it was in force (in osservantia), and would therefore endeavour
to acquaint himself well with the matter, and do all he could to
oblige the State. I thanked him, and besought him to oblige the
*Cipher from here to the end. The decipher is contemporary.
202
1547.
1547.
Feb. 25.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
Feb. 28.
Deliberazoni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 94.
State. I then went to the Regent Figueroa and stated the case,
telling him I did so by the Emperor's order. His Lordship, who is
a man of few words, answered me that he knew this Lodovico
da l'Armi to be a rascal, and that he had perpetrated other misdeeds,
and that he [Figueroa] would not fail to perform such office with
the Emperor as to satisfy your Serenity. I thanked him for so
favourable a reply. I should hope for the best, but I do not yet
know what weight the words of this Don Figueroa may have with
the Emperor.
Such is the state of the business hitherto, nor will I fail to hasten
it as much as I can, but now the obsequies of the Queen* have
commenced, and are attended by the Emperor and the Bishop of
Arras, I also having to be present in deep mourning (con habito
lugubre).
Ulm, 24th February 1547.
[Italian.]
477. BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI, Venetian Secretary at Milan, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Although I had requested Don Ferrante, as there was no longer
any question of the King of England with regard to Lodovico da
l'Armi, to oblige the Signory without further orders from the Em-
peror, and he said he could not in honour do so, I yesterday, on
receiving your commands, dated the 20th, obeyed them by returning
to him and narrating what you wrote to me as to the words uttered
by Secretary Paget to the Republic's secretary in England, and
prayed him as earnestly as I could to deliver this man into your
hands without further delay. His Excellency replied that having
written to the Emperor that he had arrested him, and that his
Majesty was to send orders what he was to do with him, he could
no longer proceed of his own accord, but must await such order,
and that he had given this same answer to all who interceded for
the release of Da l'Armi; but he thought his Majesty would not
fail to gratify the Signory, being the mortal enemy of similar evil
doers; and he will abide by the promise of having him kept in
custody until your Excellencies receive the Emperor's decision.
Milan, 25th February 1547.
[Italian.]
478. The DOGE and SENATE to FRANCESCO GIUSTINIAN, Vene-
tian Ambassador in France.
The advices of English affairs contained in his last letters pleased
them, and as they expected him to perform such good service as
becomes a diligent ambassador, both by acquainting himself with all
events in those parts, and by executing their orders skilfully, there
is no occasion to say more to him on the subject.
Ayes, 194. Noes, 4.
Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* Anne of Hungary, Consort of Ferdinand, King of the Romans, died 27th January 1547.
•
1547.
Feb. 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
March 2.
Esposizioni
Principi,
vol. i. p. 9.
1547.
203
479. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
Have understood what you wrote to us on the 19th instant, touch-
ing the request made to you in the name of his Holiness and of the
Cardinal Farnese, to the effect that we, by means of our noble-
man Francesco Bernardo, or of others, should be pleased to aid
the Pope, through the opportunity afforded by the death of the King
of England, to bring back that kingdom to its pristine devotion to
the Catholic Faith. In conformity with this announcement, a com-
munication has been made to us by the Nuncio from his Holiness, to
whom you are to say that the Signory would in truth be anxious
to satisfy the Pope, but the mediator proposed by him, namely
the aforesaid Bernardo, has already returned to Venice. Have a
secretary in England, whose commission and credentials it will be
necessary to renew, owing to the death of the King, but as yet we
know nothing as to the stability of the Government there, or the
course it will pursue. Whenever we perceive an opportunity for
doing anything, we will not fail to perform such offices as become
devoted sons of the Apostolic See.
A statement in conformity with this letter to be made by the Doge
to the Papal Nuncio.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
480. ANNOUNCEMENT to the SIGNORY of the death of HENRY
VIII.
This morning the ambassador of the King of England came into
the College Hall and spoke in substance as follows:-
"Most Serene Prince and most illustrious Lords, I cannot without
extreme sorrow, I may indeed say without tears, perform this office
of acquainting your Serenity with, and condoling with you on the
death of his most Serene Majesty my Lord Henry VIII., of blessed
memory (di bona memoria), as enjoined me by letters received from
the most Serene Edward VI., the King, and now in like manner
my Lord, and from the most illustrious Earl of Hertford, his
Majesty's Governor and Protector of England.
"This I say, most Serene Prince, because I know that your
Serenity will have much lamented this demise by reason of his
Majesty's great prudence and rare virtues (rare virtù), and on
account of the love which, like all his predecessors, he bore your
Serenity.
"Before his death his Majesty appointed sixteen commissioners
(commissarij) and governors of his most serene son, and of the
kingdom, which sixteen, having regard for the Earl of Hertford's
relationship to his Majesty (he being the uncle of this present most
Serene King), and for his most illustrious Lordship's authority and
great prudence, have elected him guardian (governator) of the King's
person, and Protector of the kingdom, so that there may be a head
to apply to for such negotiations as may be requisite, and he with
the other sixteen governors and the members of the Council will
despatch them.
204
1547.
1547.
"His Majesty with his most illustrious Lordship have now given
me notice of what is aforesaid, with orders to communicate the
whole to your Serenity, as to his principal friend, and by reason of
the goodwill which prevailed between you and my Lord, his most
serene father of blessed memory; and should it seem to your
Serenity that I have been tardy in performing this office, you must
know that it proceeded from my letters not having come sooner, as
they were brought by Messer Francesco Bernardo.*
"The aforesaid most illustrious Earl of Hertford and Protector
also charged me to inform your Serenity that the intention of the
most Serene King, and of all the other councillors, is to continue in
that ancient goodwill and love with the Signory, which was con-
stantly demonstrated by King Henry and all his predecessors.
Therefore they pray your Serenity to do the like by his Majesty,
loving him and having his interests at heart during this his
minority. And as your Serenity, to the infinitive satisfaction of his
late Majesty and of the whole kindgom, had purposed sending him
an ambassador; the most illustrious Protector hopes that you will
not show less favour to the present King, and therefore prays you
so to do, as by means of ambassadors friendships between sovereigns
are preserved and multiply. This will give his Majesty great satis-
faction and contentment, and prove the account in which your
Serenity holds him; and as my commission, owing to the death of
the late King my Lord, is cancelled, his present Majesty, wishing
therefore as aforesaid to continue in friendship with this most
illustrious State, has by his fresh commission charged me to reside
with your Highness as before the said death, to which effect he has
written a letter of credence to your Serenity."
This the ambassador presented, and after its perusal, he con-
tinued:-
"During my past residence here I have followed the commands
of the King my Lord, always to keep your Serenity on the most
loving terms with his Majesty, and thus do I offer to do for the
future, and also to serve your Highness in whatever shall be
ordered me."
The most Serene Prince answered him with much prudent con-
dolence with his Lordship on the King's death, by reason of the
ancient and excellent friendship, not only between his Serenity and
his Majesty, but which subsisted between the entire Venetian
nation and that very grand kingdom, alluding to the trade carried
on there; but as it had so pleased his Divine Majesty they must
resign themselves to his will, and thank Him for having left this
most Serene King, his son, from whom so much may be hoped (as
they do), from his natural inheritance of the paternal virtues. His
Serenity and the entire Republic congratulated themselves on his
accession, thanking him and the Protector for the announcement
made by the ambassador of his Majesty's wish to continue in his good
* In Mr. Turnbull's Calendar (pp. 12-17), mention is made of Francesco Bernardo
alias "Sir Francis Bernard." The second entry, dated March 20 1547-8, should be March
1547. Bernardo seems to have arrived in Venice from England at the close of February
1547.
1547.
205
1547.
March 5.
Parti Secretc,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
friendship and peace with the Republic, by whom he assured them
that the wish and intention were reciprocated, and that the Signory
would always be ready to do what might be to the satisfaction of
his Majesty, to whom they would send an ambassador according to
his wish.
In conclusion, the Doge said he was glad to hear the King had
confirmed the ambassador in his former post, and that he should
therefore hold him very dear, as he had hitherto been held both by
his Serenity and the whole Republic.
The ambassador having thanked his Highness for his gracious.
reply, took leave and departed.
[Italian.]
March 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 95,
tergo.
481. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
In addition to what they wrote to him on the last day of February,
touching the Pope's request about the affairs of England, they now
announce their resolve to send an ambassador to that most Serene
King. On his despatch, and as soon as it is opportune, and required
by the nature of the times, will not fail to use their good offices.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
482. The DOGE and SENATE to the Venetian Secretary [GIACOMO
ZAMBON] in England.
By his letters of 3rd February, heard of the death of King
Henry, and of the accession of his son Edward VI. Perceive also
what he tells them about his conversation with the Secretary
Paget concerning the intention of the new King not to admit
for purposes of negotiation any ambassador or other agent now
at the English Court, from any Prince, unless provided with letters
of credence addressed to his Majesty. Subsequently received a
letter from the King, presented to them yesterday by his ambassador
resident, whose statement confirmed the secretary's account, and
gave ample assurance of his Majesty's goodwill towards the State,
and that he will maintain the same friendly relations with them
as subsisted between his father and the Republic.
Write to the King condoling with him on his father's death, and
congratulating him on his accession; and enclose a copy. In addition
to the letter, to acquaint the King orally with the Republic's
goodwill towards him, which will moreover be announced to his
Majesty hereafter by an ambassador appointed for that purpose.
To recommend to his Majesty the Venetian merchants, their
ships, merchandise, and effects.
To
Send him the enclosed letter for his Majesty's guardian
(governator) and the Protector of England, with a copy.
perform such offices with his Lordship and the other guardians
as he shall deem fitting; thanking his Excellency for the loving
announcement made to him (Zambon), by Sir John Masone (per
Mastro Massen). To continue to reside with the new King. Will
keep him advised of what occurs, and send him the news-letters
206
1547.
1547.
from Constantinople, as hitherto, that he may communicate them
to the King and his Council.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 28. Neutrals, 7.
[Italian.]
March 5.
483. FRANCESCO DONATO, Doge of Venice, to KING EDWARD VI.
Deliberazioni
Heard lately of the death of his father, by the King's own letter,
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 96. 'as also by one from the Venetian Secretary in England, and orally
from Edmund Harvel,* who acts as ambassador, and fully explained
the goodwill which his Majesty bears the Republic. Condoles
with him on the catastrophe, but congratulates him heartily on
hearing that his Majesty has not only inherited his father's realm
and grandeur, but also his prudence and many and great virtues,
of which the Doge trusts he will so avail himself, that in like
manner as his peers, gentry, and people † have put him in possession
of his kingdom, and admitted him willingly, so will he also be
loved and respected by foreign powers. Has desired his secretary,
Giacomo Zambon, to state most fully by word of mouth his earnest
wish to maintain and augment his friendship with the Crown of
England, as will be declared more fully by an ambassador to be
sent shortly. Requests credence for the secretary.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 28. Neutrals, 7.
[Original draft. Latin.]
March 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 96.
484. The SAME to the EARL OF HERTFORD, Protector of
England.
Was grieved by the death of the late King Henry VIII., but
marvellously pleased to hear that the young King's minority and
the administration of everything was to be intrusted to Lord
Hertford, as the Doge already knew him to be a most prudent
statesman. Therefore congratulates the Protector, the King, and
the whole kingdom. The King will doubtless show himself such
as easily to surpass his years and the general expectation. Hopes
that his Majesty, by the Protector's advice, will persevere in that
friendship with the Republic, which was so long and constantly
maintained by his ancestors, as has been affirmed, in the name of
Lord Hertford and other councillors, by Sir John Masone (Magister
Masson) to the Doge's secretary in London, the letters from the
King and the Protector giving the like assurance; whilst Edmund
Harvel, acting as ambassador to the Republic (apud nos oratorem
agentis), has given ample assurance of the fact. Returns thanks
for this, and requests credence for the secretary.
And be it forthwith carried, that by a scrutiny of this Council,
an honourable ambassador be elected to the King of England. To
receive for his expenses 150 golden ducats per month without being
bound to give any account to the Signory. To keep 11 horses and
* By an entry, dated 29th August 1544, it has been seen that the English ambassador
was then styled Sigismondo Arvel, nor can I account for his being now called Edmund.
† "Ut quemadmodum a proceribus, et optimatibus, ac populis suis," &c.
1547.
207
1547.
March 7.
Lettere del Col-
egio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
March 7.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
March 8.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
To be read by
face to face.
the
as many servants (including his secretary's servant), and two
running footmen, etc. [as in commission to Bernardo Navagero,
dated 17th December 1546, which see.]
Ayer, 168. Noes, 28. Neutrals, 7.
[Italian.]
485. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
To communicate the underwritten advices from Adrianople, and
to continue giving the news as usual.
[Italian.]
486. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI,
Venetian Secretary at Milan.
The courier Pelegrin has brought letters from their ambassador
with the Emperor, dated the 3rd instant; send a copy. To go to
the Governor and inform him that the Emperor has caused his
Excellency to be written to, enjoining the observance of their treaty
with the Milanese.
To request the Governor to deliver Lodovico Da l'Armi into their
hands.
In case his Excellency should say that Da l'Armi has not yet
been outlawed for this offence, and that their treaty relates to the
surrender of outlaws, to avail himself exclusively of what they
wrote to him on the 14th ultimo, namely that Da l'Armi is
banished for life from all the Signory's towns and places on account
of another most atrocious outrage. If his Excellency meditate
quitting Milan speedily, to endeavour to obtain from him such
orders, that Da l'Armi may be delivered without difficulty to the
persons whom the Chiefs will send for him.
Should his Excellency be content to satisfy them in this matter,
to endeavour that this resolve be kept secret, and to give imme-
diate notice of it to the Signory's Governors at Brescia, to whom
the Chiefs will write what they are to do in this matter.
And be it carried to authorise the College to write to Brescia,
and elsewhere as may be thought fit, ordering the necessary pre-
parations to be made, that the said Lodovico may be brought in
safety.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
487. The SAME to the GOVERNORS of BRESCIA.
Lodovico da l'Armi is detained in the power of the Lord Governor
of Milan. Are endeavouring to get him into their hands.
To get
together as many as 40 good cavalry of their light horse and men-
at-arms, with one of the Signory's commanders-brave and trusty-
keeping them in readiness, without any stir, and not letting them
know on what service they are to be employed, until advices are
received from the Secretary at Milan. Thereupon they are to
immediately despatch the commander with the cavalry to receive
(accettar) Lodovico, in such place and in such form as shall be
R
x
208
1547.
1547.
March 8.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
March 11.
Secretario
alle Voci,
v. i. p. 28,
tergo.
March 17.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
written to them by the secretary; warning the commander to
whom they shall give this charge, to use all diligence in bringing
the aforesaid Lodovico in safety to Venice to the Chiefs of the
Council aforesaid; and to have care for his custody by day and
night, so that he may not injure himself by weapon, or otherwise.
Should they incur any expense, they are to avail themselves of any
sort of monies in the "Chamber" of Brescia, giving notice to the
Chiefs, who will have them credited at Venice.
Alvise da Riva, C.X., Ill.
Jacomo Duodo, C.C.X.
L. Sermo. P.D. Cons. et Sap. utr. manus.`
[Italian.]
488. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
at MILAN.
Have written to their Governors of Brescia; enclose copy. On
obtaining a favourable determination from the Lord Governor, to
write to the said Governors of Brescia, to send the commander with
40 horse to such place and with such instructions as necessary, for
taking Da l'Armi in charge.
Alvise da Riva, C.X., Ill.
Jacomo Duodo, C.C.X.
Lectæ Sermo Principi D. Cons. et Sap. utr. manus.
[Italian.]
489. ELECTION of an AMBASSADOR to ENGLAND.
Domenico Bollani, son of Ser Francesco.*
[Italian.]
490. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
On the 7th instant received his letters of the 3rd, concerning
Lodovico da l'Armi, and sent a copy to the secretary at Milan, who
was told by the Governor that he had not yet received an order
from the Emperor to observe the treaty [for delivery of outlaws],
but by letters of the 28th ult., his Majesty commanded that Da
l'Armi was to be kept in close custody, and that information was
to be sent to him [the Emperor] concerning the matter, together +
with a copy of the treaty. The Governor added that immediately
on receiving the order (which Mons. d'Arras told the ambassador
had been given to him, Don Ferrante) he was very ready to satisfy
the Signory.
•
Subsequently received the ambassador's letters of the 4th, and
saw what the Emperor said to him about this matter. Also heard
from the secretary Rhamberti at Milan, in date of the 12th, 14th,
and 15th, that the Senate of Milan answered the Emperor that
they did not consider him bound in law to surrender the said
Lodovico to the State; but the secretary was informed that were
the Signory to ask him of his Imperial Majesty as a gift, he would
* The election of Domenico Bollani is alluded to in Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, date
1547-8, March 20th, a misprint for March 20th 1546–7.
1547.
209
1517.
March 17.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,`
File no. 7.
March 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
comply with their request. Enclose copies of Rhamberti's letters.
To speak again with all earnestness to the Emperor, and Mons.
d'Arras, urging the delivery of the said Lodovico.
Should the Emperor or others allude to any particulars about
this circumstance, to answer in the same form as Rhamberti did,
but coming to the conclusion that the Signory asks him [Da l'Armi]
of the Emperor as a favour.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
April 14.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 105,
tergo.
491. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to BENEDETTO RHAMBERTI,
Venetian Secretary at Milan.
Received his letters of the 12th, 14th, and 15th, concerning Lodo-
vico da l'Armi. Have written again to their ambassador with the
Emperor. To persevere in making suit to the ministry at Milan for
the close custody of Lodovico, until they receive the Emperor's reply.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
492. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Enclose summaries from the Signory's Bailo at Adrianople, for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
493. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the Embassy
to England.
This Council, in conformity with the Republic's prudence and
dignity, determined to elect two ambassadors to Henry II., King
of France, to perform such offices as are required by present
events, so that there will be three Venetian ambassadors at the
French Court. Notwithstanding this, to the King of England who
is in the same position, and whose greatness is notorious to every-
body, there has been elected but one sole ambassador, who is
to reside at that Court. This is, in truth, contrary to the dignity
of our State, nor can it but cause dissatisfaction to his Majesty,
which should be provided against in some way.
Put to the ballot, that one of the two ambassadors elected tọ
France who shall score (scoderà) the fewest ballots, after doing
what he has to do with his most Christian Majesty, do go to the
King of England, to perform such offices as the present times
require, and after doing so to return home, the Ambassador Bollani
remaining at the English Court. The new ambassador to receive the
same salary as appointed him during his first embassy to France.
Ayes, 49.
Amendment to the foregoing motion :—
That the Senate do abide by what was carried heretofore con-
cerning this matter.
Ayes, 133. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 9.
[Italian.]
* Henry II. succeeded his father Francis I. on the 31st March 1547. (See L'Art de
Vérifier les Dates.)
5.
O
210
1547.
1547.
April 18.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
April 19.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
To be read by
face to face.
the
April 19.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
494. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN SECRETARY
at MILAN.
By the enclosed copy he will see what their ambassadors with
the Emperor and the King of the Romans have heard from Mons.
d'Arras about Lodovico da l'Armi. By other letters from their
ambassador with the Emperor, dated the 4th instant, they were
advised that the Lord Don Ferrante, by letters dated the 15th ult.,
announced to the Emperor the resolve of the Senate of Milan, and
then added, that after having written, he received his Majesty's
letters dated the 3rd concerning the delivery of Lodovico, which he
would effect. To tell Don Ferrante that they have heard from the
Court, that his Imperial Majesty wrote to his Excellency in such form
that Mons. d'Arras said his Excellency would comply with their
wish. To pray him therefore to give them the aforesaid Lodovico.
Francesco Longo, C.C.X.
Stefano Trivisano, C.C.X.
Lectæ Clarmis D. Cons. et Sap. utr. manus.
[Italian.]
495. The SAME to the GOVERNORS of BRESCIA.
This morning the Emperor's Reverend Ambassador informed them
that his Majesty had sent an order to the Lord Governor of Milan
to deliver Lodovico da l'Armi. Therefore immediately wrote the
accompanying letter to their secretary there, which is to be
forwarded. To cause Count Camillo Avogaro and Dom. Hieronimo
Martinengo to put in marching order 100 efficient men well mounted,
but without stating the service to be performed by them to any but
the said commanders. Should they require 50 or 60 harquebusiers
besides the cavalry, the Governors to provide that from territory
to territory they may have those of the militia (delle ordinanze).
On being advised by the Secretary, to immediately send the said
commanders with the company to receive the said Lodovico. The
troops sent to be efficient and well armed. To warn the com-
manders to keep him under the closest custody, and bound, with-
out any respect, not leaving him weapons of any sort, and keeping
an eye upon him both by day and by night, that he may not
be able to injure himself, nor be injured by others, either by
means of poison or otherwise, but that he be brought in safety
to Venice. To consult with the commanders, which road will be
the safest for them to take, either by the Bergamasque and the
Valleys, or by the straight road. Should either of these two com-
manders not be at Brescia, or unable to go, to make use of others
as they shall deem sufficient. To take the advice of D. Antonio
da Castello, the colonel and captain of the Artillery, and for their
necessary expenses beyond the Signory's territory, to supply them
with such money as shall be needed.
Ayes, 19. No, 1.
Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
496. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN SECRETARY at
MILAN.
This morning his Imperial Majesty's Reverend Ambassador in-
formed them that his Majesty had sent a commission to the Governor
1547.
211
1547.
April 20.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
April 22.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36.
"
[Don Ferrante Gonzaga] to give Lodovico da l'Armi into their
hands, and that the Governor will make the delivery. Therefore
send in haste, charging him to acquaint his Excellency with this
statement, and to pray him to carry out his Majesty's order.
Ayes, 19. Noes, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
497. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR with the EM-
PEROR.
Are informed by their ambassador in Rome that on the 6th
instant his Holiness's Legate, Cardinal Sfondrato, departed on his
way to the Imperial Court. Their ambassador hears on good
authority that the Cardinal has a very ample commission for the
adjustment of matters between the Pope and the Emperor, and it is
supposed that with regard to England, Sfondrato will do but little.
To ascertain all he can about Sfondrato's negotiations.
Received his letters dated the 3rd, 4th, 8th, and 9th, concerning
Lodovico da l'Armi.
Yesterday the Emperor's ambassador informed them that he had
received letters from his Majesty, desiring him to write an order
immediately to Don Ferrante, to consign Lodovico to them, and
that they were therefore to send to receive him, in conformity with
what was said by the Bishop of Arras to him, their ambassador.
Francesco Longo, C.C.X.
Stefano Trivisan, C.C.X.
Jeronimo Zane, C.C.X.
Postscript.-Have received letters from the secretary at Milan,
dated the 18th, that Don Ferrante informed him that he had
received an order from the Emperor to deliver Lodovico da l'Armi
to them. To thank the Emperor in their name.
[Italian.]
498. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
In order that Zambattista Campana and Isepo da Trento may
be able to maintain themselves, be they given fifty ducats from the
chest of this Council.
Ayes, 22. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
499. MOTION made in the COUNCIL of Ten.
tergo.
April 27.
Parti Comuni,
That from the moneys appointed for this purpose there be given
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 19, to the nobleman Ser Domenego Bollani, who is going as ambas-
sador to England, 600 golden ducats, for four months' salary, at
the rate of 150 ducats per month. For riding-horses, as usual,
150 ducats, at the rate of six livres and four "soldi" per ducat.
For trunks and coverings, 30 ducats. To his secretary, as a dona-
tion, 50 ducats. For two couriers, at the rate of 20 ducats each,
40 ducats, as carried in the Senate and in the College.
And be there given him 200 ducats for couriers and the despatch
of letters, and to spend, if necessary, for boats, escorts, guides, and
o 2
212
1547.
५.
1547.
April 28.
Lettere Secrete
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
April 28.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
•
File no. 4.
•
safe-conducts; with the obligation to give especial account of the
sum. Moreover be the treasurer of this Council and his successors
charged, out of the moneys of the limitation fund appointed for am-
bassadors, to give to the aforesaid ambassador's agents, on the
expiration of three months after his departure hence, at the com-
mencement of the fourth month, 150 golden ducats, so that he may
have one month's salary in advance, and thus successively from
month to month.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
500. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN GOVERNORS of
PADUA
Their Governors of Brescia wrote to them on the 26th instant,
that tomorrow there will arrive at Padua the Signor Camillo
Avogaro and the Signor Hieronimo Martinengo, who, with some
200 horse, are bringing Lodovico da l'Armi from Milan. As the
Chiefs do not choose the commanders and cavalry to proceed farther
they send the present letter to the Governors of Padua by the trusty
Bernardin Secula, Captain of the Council of Ten, with some of his
men; charging the governors immediately on the arrival of the
escort with Lodovico da l'Armi, to have him consigned to the
captain, and with twenty-five good infantry of the garrison of
Padua, under the command of the lieutenant of their company,
they are to have him embarked [on the Brenta] for conveyance to
Venice. To give the Signors Camillo and Hieronimo leave to
return home with their soldiery, informing them that the Chiefs
are extremely satisfied with the promptitude and diligence displayed
by them on this service, and are writing to the Governors of
Brescia to repay what they have expended.
•
[Italian.]
Franciscus Longo, C.C.X.
Stefano Trivisan, C.C.X.
Jeronimo Zane, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
501. The SAME to the VENETIAN GOVERNORS of BRESCIA.
Received their letters of the 26th, announcing the arrival there of
Signor Camillo Avogaro and Signor Hieronimo Martinengo with
Lodovico da l'Armi, and the road they were to take. According to
the governors' advice, are this day sending to Padua the trusty
Bernardin Secula, Captain of the Council of the Ten, to receive
Lodovico and bring him to Venice, with an escort of infantry from
the garrison of Padua. To inform Count Pietro Martinengo by
letter that they are very much pleased with his proceedings on this
occasion. As when the consignment was made to the two com-
manders they gave 27 crowns to the officials of the Castle of Milan,
the governors are to repay them this sum, and whatever else they
have expended.
Francesco Longo, C.C.X.
Stefano Trivisan, C.C.X.
Jeronimo Zane, C.C.X.
1547.
213
I
1547.
April 29.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36.
April 30.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
April 30.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 19,
tergo.
May ?
MS. St. Mark's
66
502. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That Lodovico da l'Armi be not unhandcuffed, and should he
refuse to eat, the due trial being first made,* the food to be forced
down his throat against his will.
Ayes, 17.
That the committee return to the [torture?] chamber this evening
to examine the above-mentioned Lodovico.
Ayes, 5. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
504. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
The right faithful notary in ordinary of the Signory's Chancery,
Alvise Novello, going now as secretary to England with the
ambassador, the nobleman Domenego Bollani, it is fitting, accord-
ing to invariable custom, to pay him his salary in advance, that he
may provide his outfit and other things required by him for this
legation; wherefore,-
Put to the ballot, that the governors of the revenues, and
especially the one who presides over the chest of the notaries of
the Chancery, be enjoined to advance to said Alvise on account of
his salary, which is 30 ducats, one hundred ducats, to be repaid
in five years, by his notes of hand.
Ayes, 15. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
505. CARDINAL POLE to POPE PAUL III.
Is averse to importuning the Pope by letter, but circumstances
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. occasionally arise, rendering it necessary for him to do so, as in the
No date.
pp. 41-42.
present instance, when he has to return thanks for the gracious
Printed in vol. iv. answer received by his agent at Rome, giving him hope, that the
Epistolarum ambition of one single individual, who calls himself an Englishman,
Reginaldi Poli," would not be allowed to exasperate the whole nation. Many causes
without any induce him to deprecate such perverse and knavish ambition,
especially because convinced that, if it were gratified, nothing could
more easily and entirely alienate those English (and he believes
them to be many, although they dare not openly declare themselves,)
who still preserve the remains of devotion towards the Pope and
date of time
or place.
503. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN SECRETARY at
MILAN.
By his letters of the 24th instant were acquainted with the
consignment of Lodovico da l'Armi. The commanders arrived with
him yesterday at Padua, and the same day he was brought to
Venice by the Captain of the Council of Ten.
Stefano Trivisanus, C.C.X.
Hieronimo Zane, C.C.X.
* "Fatta prima la debita experientia." This may signify, either that before proceeding
to extremities, he was requested to eat; or, that assay of the food was made, to remove
any suspicion of poison.
214
1547.
1547.
May 5.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
May 6.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36,
tergo.
the Apostolic See, or make them despair of ever again deriving
any comfort thence, were they to know that their archbishoprics,
especially the one nearest Scotland (with whom England has well
nigh perpetual border warfare), were conferred at the will of the
Scots themselves. This is what very greatly scandalized Pole with
regard to the individual who canvassed the archbishopric, most
especially as he could not be ignorant of the fact, especially if he be
an Englishman, (of which the persons who wrote to Pole from Rome
have great doubt); notwithstanding which, he showed very plainly
that his cupidity exceeded his wish either to keep the people of
England devoted to the Pope, or to benefit the common cause. Nor
to gratify his ambition was he ashamed to molest the Pope and the
Sacred College with supplicatory letters. The truth of his cause
is disproved by his shunning the testimony of his countrymen,
thus showing that he has nothing more at heart than to deprive or
rather rob them of the archbishopric, which he dared not enter by
the door. Has thought it right to acquaint the Pope with these
particulars, that he may more easily judge whether reward or
punishment should be adjudged to the man who canvassed this
archbishopric so much at the risk of extinguishing the devotion of
his country to the Apostolic See, and so imprudently violating all
canon law.*
[Latin, 34 lines.]
506. ALVISE MOCENIGO and LORENZO CONTARINI, Venetian
Ambassadors with the Emperor, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Yesterday Messer Natale, the agent of Don Ferrante, came and
told us that he had letters from Milan, dated the 22nd ultimo, and
that by the same post Don Ferrante wrote to the Emperor touching
Lodovico da l'Armi.
Regret not having had similar advices either from the Chiefs or
the secretary at Milan.
5th May. From his Majesty's camp under Wittenberg.
[Italian. In cipher with contemporary decipher.]
507. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That it be intimated to the nobleman Ser Francesco Bernardo, son
of the late Ser Benedetto,† that if he purposes saying, producing,
or alleging anything whatever in favour of the memory, effects,
and property of his uncle, the late Ser Mafio Bernardo, who was
•
* Amongst the printed letters of Cardinal Pole, this one relating to the archbishopric
of York is preceded by another, also addressed to the Pope, alluding to the death of Henry
VIII., and I therefore date it accordingly; but as Edward Lee, Archbishop of York, died
in 1545, it was probably written in that year, by so much the more as his successor,
Robert Holgate, was Lord President of the North, on which account, perhaps, Henry VIII.
conferred on him the Archbishopric of York.
† In Mr. Turnbull's calendar, date 16th April 1547, it is stated that on that day Bernardo
told Harvel he was labouring with the Senate for the recovery of his goods, probably the
property of his uncle Mafio Bernardo, and he also acquainted him with a report that Da
Ï'Armi would "be delivered out of prison," [at Milan] "with surety of 20,000 crowns,
which the Cardinal of Trent hath caused to be made for him, and that he should be
departed for England. This he thinks not credible." It has been already shown (entry,
dated 30th April) that Da l'Armi was brought prisoner from Milan to Venice on the 29th
April.
1547.
215
1547.
May 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36.
May 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 36.
May 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 37.
summoned on imputation of having published the secrets of the
State, he, before the close of Monday next, must by word of mouth
or in writing say, produce, and allege whatever he chooses, as after
that term the case will be brought before this Council for its due
despatch.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
508. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That for the matters alleged Lodovico da l'Armi be proceeded
against.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 3.
Decree, that on Saturday next* he be taken between the Two
Columns, where on a lofty scaffold his head shall be severed from his
shoulders so that he die.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 3.
[Latin.]
•
[Latin.] ·
509. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That for the matters alleged the nobleman Ser Lodovico Erizzo,
son of the late Sir Francesco, be proceeded against.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
Decree, that on Saturday next he be beheaded between the
Columns, ut supra.
Ayes, 29. No, 1.
First amendment.-
510. MAFIO BERNARDO. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That for the matters alleged the nobleman Ser Marco Antonio
Erizzo be proceeded against.
Ayes, 25. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
They decree (volunt) that said Marco Antonio Erizzo be confined
for life in a fortress (in carcere forti), there to end his days; and that
all his goods and whatever else he may possess be pledged (obligata)
to the chest of this Council, for payment of the rewards promised
by this Council for the discovery of this case, and also for payment
of the costs of the captains, gaolers, and officials of the prisons, etc.,
and of other costs incurred in this case, both for himself and for
Lodovico da l'Armi.
Ayes, 16.
They decree (volunt) that he be confined as above and banished
to the city of Famagosta, to the captain of which place he is to
present himself twice every week; with all the other conditions, as in
* The second Saturday in May 1547 was on the 14th, so the Council of Ten passed
sentence on the preceding Wednesday; but the "Necrologio" of the Avogadori di
Comun dates the execution 12th May, on which day the Chiefs of the Ten gave permis-
sion for a priest to attend Da l'Armi until his execution; and I therefore infer that it took
place, as ordered, on Saturday the 14th May.
216
1547.
1547.
May 11.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 37.
May 11.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
May 12.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
above-written motion, and moreover should he break bounds he
may be captured and killed, even in foreign parts.
Ayes, 6.
Second amendment.-
They decree (volunt) that he be banished and confined for life in
the islands of Cherso and Ossero, being bound to present himself
twice every week to the captain of that place, and should he break
bounds and be captured to be beheaded, with the fine and all the
other conditions in the motion of the most Serene Prince, and also
of the two Councillors and the above-written Chiefs.
Ayes, 8. Noes, 0.
[Latin.]
C
511. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That considering the condemnation passed today in this Council
on the persons of Ser Lodovico and Marc' Antonio Erizzo, sons of
the late Ser Francesco, no one of the Erizzo family-nor any one
who together with them is denied the right of ballot (expellitur a
capello)*-can be judge of any of the present members of this Council,
nor of their brothers or children.
Ayes, 29. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
Published in the Grand Council on the 12th May.
[Latin.]
512. The GOVERNORS of BRESCIA to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
On the return of the Signor Camillo Avogaro and the Signor
Hieronymo Martinengo from the duty done by them in bringing
Lodovico da l'Armi from Milan to Padua, told them that you were
satisfied with their promptitude and diligence on this service; and
I, Captain [of Brescia],† went to Orzi-novi, and told the Signor
Piero Martinengo, that what he did on this occasion had your
utmost approval. We also repaid their expenses for the consignment
of said Lodovico at Milan, and also on the journey, amounting in all
to 779 livres and 8 "pizoli.”
Brescia, 11th May.
[Italian.] ·
513. MOTION made in the COLLEGE, by GIACOMO DUODO and
GIOVANNI BARBARIGO, Chiefs of the Ten.
That the rector (Piovan) of St. Luke's be told that should he
choose to go and confess (andar a confessar) Lodovico da l'Armi,
and remain with him until he is taken to execution leave will be
given him to go. Should he not choose to remain constantly with
him, provision to be made for sending him another confessor.
Ayes, 11. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
* (C
Cat
Capello" in Venetian signified the balloting urn from which the ballots were ex-
tracted. There is a very well designed receptacle of this sort preserved in the Ducal
palace, and which bears the arms of Doge Griti.
† Brescia was governed by a Podestà and a Captain.
1547.
217
May 13.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 38,
tergo.
1547.
May 12 [14?]
514. MESSER LODOVICO ERIZO, and MESSER LODOVICO DA
Avogaria del L'ARMI, beheaded by order of the most Illustrious COUNCIL OF
Comun, Filza
TEN.*
Necrologio.
[Italian.]
515. MAFIO BERNARDO.
Motions made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
To proceed against the memory, effects, and property (contra
memoriam, res et bona) of the late Ser Mafio Bernardo, killed before
the expiration of the period at which he was summoned to present
himself,
May 14.
Consiglio X.,
Criminal,
v. vii. p. 38.
13
12
5
9 × 18
[Latin.]
Ballotation of the foregoing Motion.
4. Captum de non.
13
13 Pendet 1º.
4
"1547. 12 Maggio.
Avogaria del Comun.
Filza.
516. LODOVICO DA L'ARMI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
Put to the ballot,-
Whether the Captain Zambaptista Campana and Isepo da Trento
have fulfilled their promise, and are deserving of the reward pro-
Necrologio dei Nobili Veneti.
Madd
Messer Lodovico Erizo
Messer Lodovico dalle Arme} Le fu tagliata la testa d'ordine del Ill'mo Cons’io de' X.”
Since the note on p. 192 was printed, I have had drawings made of the shield in
Bonifazio's picture in the Academy at Venice, and of the Da l'Armi armorial bearings,
from a work in the municipal library at Bologna; enabling me to represent them on this
page, which may thus be said to record the doom and blazonry of one of Henry VIII.'s
ambassadors the most notorious bravo of the 16th century.


ARMORIAL BEARINGS of the Da l'Armi
family, received from the Municipal
Library at Bologna, 8th December 1871.
SHIELD in the picture by Bonifazio
representing the Slaughter of the Inno-
cents. The right arm of the figure in
red rests on this shield.
218
1547.
1547.
mised them in that case on the 17th January last in this Council
as has been read.
The white balloting box for the ayes, that they have kept their
promise and are therefore entitled to the reward.
The green for the noes.
The red for the neutrals.
And if they demand absolution for some murderer, he to be
bound to have the peace certificate,* according to the tenour of
the law.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
May 31.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 114.
May 27.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Received their letters of the 20th ultimo yesterday, the delay
Archives. having been caused by the conveyance of the packet to Flanders
and the time required for its return hither. Has written to the
postmaster at Trent complaining of this.
Cardinal Sfondrato has not yet arrived here, although it is
understood that he was at Inspruck some days ago; and the
Nuncio with the Emperor told the Florentine ambassador that he
had written to the Cardinal, recommending him not to come on to
this Court, until his Majesty is domiciled in some city.
Yesterday, when with the Emperor, told him he had letters from
the State, announcing that the scelerat (quel scelerato) Lodovico
da l'Armi had been consigned to them, and thanked his Imperial
Majesty extremely for having been pleased to order this consign-
ment, which was beyond measure agreeable to the Signory. His
Majesty was very glad to hear this, and said, "Now the Signory
has Lodovico in their hands, they can do what they please with
him."
517. ALVISE MOCENIGO, Venetian Ambassador with the Em-
peror, to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Went to the Bishop of Arras, and thanked him for his good offices
with the Emperor in this matter. His lordship answered, laughing,
"Have I not indeed constantly told you that I cannot put men to
death? nor does it become me to do so." He also alluded to the
goodwill which both he and his father [Nicole Perrenot, Seigneur
de Granvelle] bore to the Signory.
27th May. From the Imperial camp near Wittenberg.
[Italian. In cipher, with contemporary decipher.]
518. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning the Ambassador
appointed to England.
It being fitting that our beloved noble, Domenego Bollani,
ambassador elect to the most Serene King of England, should depart
on his legation:
* Before a murderer could be legally pardoned, it was necessary for him to obtain a
peace certificate from his victim's kinsfolk.
1547.
219
1547.
June 1.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Put to the ballot, that the ambassador aforesaid depart on his
legation within the next five days, under penalty of one thousand
ducats.
Ayes, 60.
Noes, 88.
Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
}
June 4.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 115.
"Captum de non."
519. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Send him the summary of advices received lately from their
Bailo at Adrianople, dated the 5th May, which he is to communicate
as usual.
[Italian.]
520. COMMISSION from DOGE FRANCESCO DONATO to DOMENEGO
BOLLANI, Ambassador elect to England.
It being his intention to preserve with the present King of
England the friendship which the Republic maintained with all his
predecessors, has elected Bollani ambassador to reside with his
Majesty. To journey speedily to that Court and present the letters
of credence, saying a few words of regret for the death of the late
King, and congratulating King Edward on his auspicious accession,
by reason of those virtues which flourish in this the King's youth,
and which, increasing with his years, warrant hopes of their soon
leading him to that pitch of fame (al segno della fama) which
was left by his father and ancestors.
To recommend to the King the Venetian merchants in England,
to whom he is always to render, when necessary, such assistance and
favour as he can for the benefit of their traffic and merchandise.
To endeavour especially to obtain from his Majesty licence to export
from England to Venice the greatest possible amount of wool.
Should it be necessary to incur any expense herein, to inform the
proveditors for the London factory, who will supply the money. On
obtaining the licence to keep it in his own possession, making use of
it solely on the exportation of the wools, and taking care that they
be exported by none but Venetian subjects, according to the
memorial which he will receive from the said proveditors. To exe-
cute also their commission about certain registers of the consuls
in London, which they wish to have here for the convenience of
their office.
To visit the most illustrious Protector and the other Guardians
(Governatori).
Has caused him to receive 600 golden ducats for four months'
salary, 150 ducats (at the rate of six livres and four soldi per ducat)
for the purchase of horses, thirty ducats for coverings and trunks,
and forty ducats for two couriers, allowing him to take (at the
Signory's risk) 400 ducats' worth of silver, to be valued by the Office
for the Old Accounts, according to the orders of the State.
Ayes, 124. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
220
1547.
1547.
May 4.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 115.
June 27.
Parti Secrete
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
July 9.
Senato Terra,
V. xxxv. p. 44,
tergo.
521. The DOGE and SENATE to GIACOMO ZAMBON, Venetian
Secretary in England.
Are sending the noble Domenego Bollani as ambassador to reside
with King Edward, and are well satisfied with Zambon's diligent
service during the whole time of his stay in England. To return
on the arrival of Bollani.
Ayes, 124. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
522. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
The Papal Nuncio requested us lately in the Pope's name to com-
mission our ambassador, who is on his way to England,* to use his
influence that that kingdom may resume its obedience to the
Apostolic See. Answered the Nuncio that on the ambassador's
arrival in England he will give them notice of the state of affairs
there, and inform them in detail of the mode in which to proceed.
To announce this to the Pope, that his Holiness may perceive
their wish to gratify him.
And be it carried, that the most Serene Prince [Doge Francesco
Donado] do answer the Nuncio in conformity with this present
letter.
Ayes, 25. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
523. MOTION made in the SENATE concerning a pension received
by FRANCESCO BERNARDO, knight, from Edward VI.†
That the nobleman, Francesco Bernardo, knight, son of the late
Ser Benetto, who, contrary to the Republic's statutes (affording
thus a bad and perilous example), receives certain pensions from
the Kings of France and England, do immediately renounce them
to the State Attornies' office within the next four months, under
the heaviest penalties ordained by the Republic's statutes in this
matter. Should he employ any fraud or compromise herein, he is
proscribed for life from Venice and the district, from [Venetian]
ships armed and unarmed, and from all the Signory's places, con-
tinental and maritime, and shall pay 10,000 ducats to the Republic's
arsenal. Should he at any time disobey the sentence and be cap-
tured, his captors to receive 1,000 ducats from his effects, he
remaining for one year in one of the Signory's dungeons, and
then to return to the boundaries assigned him. The person who
shall reveal the aforesaid things, shall have his name kept secret,
and gain 2,000 ducats.
76
81
32
77
88 Undecided.
26
* The arrival of Domenego Bollani in England took place apparently in July or August
1547.
†This pension is alluded to in the late Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, date 7th and 23rd
March 1556, pp. 215, 219.
1547.
221
1547.
Aug. 19.
Lettere del
Collegio
(Secreta),
File, no. 8.
Aug. 31.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 51.
Oct. 7.
Lettere del
Collegio
(Secreta),
File no. 18.
Sept. 20.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lxv. p. 148,
tergo.
The kinsfolk of Ser Francesco Bernardo were made to withdraw
and the State Attornies did not ballot.
[Italian.]
524. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose advices from Constantinople for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
525. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That to the nobleman, Ser Francesco Bernardo, knight, there be
conceded the term of nine years within which to pay the eighteen.
hundred ducats due from his uncle, the late Ser Maphio Bernardo,
for the loan supplied him to build [rebuild?] the ship burnt in
England, he being bound to give suitable pledge and security, such
as may seem valid to the Chiefs of this Council, for making said
payment from time to time.
Ayes, 25. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
526. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILIFFS
[BAYLIS] at CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from their ambassador with the Emperor, dated Augs-
burg the 10th instant, are informed that his Majesty was recovering
from his indisposition.
From France they hear that the Queen of Scotland,* with the
assistance of the Prior of Capua [Pietro Strozzi], who was sent by
the most Christian King to favour the affairs of that kingdom with
a certain number of galleys, recovered the castle of St. Andrew's,
which had been taken from her, and was held by the English, being
a strong and important fortress. The Prior also got back another
place, and after this success returned to France.
Owing to this support given by the most Christian King to the
Queen of Scotland, and in consequence of certain difficulties about
the fortifications of Boulogne, it seemed that distrust and suspicion
had arisen between France and England, so that there was a fear
of discord, but it is now said that their Majesties will agree together,
and not dispute further.
Ayes, 193. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
527. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send him the summaries received in their last letters from Con-
stantinople for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
* Mary of Lorraine, daughter of the Duke de Guise, Queen Dowager of Scotland.
222
1547-1548.
1547.
Oct. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
vol. lxv. p. 154,
tergo.
1548.
Jan. 8.
Lettere del
Collegio
(Secreta),
File no. 18.
528. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLIANI, Vene-
tian Ambassador in England.
Received his letters of the 15th and 17th ult. three days ago. By
the first are acquainted with the loving and confidential conversa-
tion held with him by the Lord Great Master* concerning events in
those parts, and the good intention which King Edward had to
adjust the disputes there instead of settling them in another fashion;
and by the second they learned what had taken place in Scotland.
Subsequently, the English Ambassador resident here had audience
of us, and gave a detailed account of the victory obtained, saying
that all means were attempted to avoid the conflict, as the King
loves peace; the result was miraculous, and by the will of God.
To congratulate the King on his success, and, as the Protector will
have returned to the Court, to repeat the same to him.
Ayes, 168. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1548.
529. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
To communicate the underwritten advices from Constantinople
as usual.
[Italian.]
MS. St. Mark's
530. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF MANTUA [ERCOLE
GONZAGA].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time
Requests him to grant the privilege (privilegio) to print the
or place in MS. works of the late Cardinal Bembo,† which privilege to be in
conformity with the one given by the Pope in this matter. Cardinal
Bembo appointed Pole protector (protettore) of his will, in which
he expressly charges Messer Carlo Gualteruzzi to print his works.
Cannot but perform this office for twofold reasons, and particularly
lest Messer Carlo, who has to incur the cost of printing, be a loser
thereby, as might easily prove the case, unless he obtains the
privileges from the Cardinal of Mantua and the other Italian
potentates in whose towns books are printed, and by the greater part
* William Paulet, Lord St. John of Basing, Lord Steward of the Household. (See
Collins, v. ii. p. 372.)
† Cardinal Bembo died on the 18th January 1547. His will was dated 5th September
1544.
In Morelli's preface to Bembo's Venetian History (Venezia, 1790) it is stated that there
were two protectors of the will, both Cardinals, but their names are not given. The executors
were a Venetian Nobleman and Friar, by name Girolamo Quirini and Carlo Gualteruzzi
of Fano, to which last Bembo confided the task of editing his works. Quirini wished to
print the Italian version of the Cardinal's Venetian History in Venice, and Gualteruzzi, by
the letter, seems to have intended publishing it at Mantua, but Quirini appealed to the Doge
and Council of Ten, and as Bembo was the paid historian of the Republic, Gualteruzzi at
length consigned his manuscript to the State, and Cardinal Pole's attempt in favour of
Gualteruzzi proved vain.
1548.
223
1548.
Feb.?
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
CC
531. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP of BADAJOS [FRANCESCO
NAVARRE].
Has received from the [titular] Bishop of Worcester [Richard
No date of time. Pate] a writing composed by the Bishop of Badajos and sent to
Printed in v. iv. Pate, pointing out certain passages requiring explanation and also
of whom they have been very graciously conceded. Encloses copy
of the briefs for the information of the Cardinal's Chancery
(Cancellaria).*
Rome, 1548?
[Italian.]
pp. 73-81.
Epistolarum correction in the books addressed heretofore by Pole to the King of
Reginaldi Poli," England.† Subsequently received a letter from Badajos asking
Ed. Brescia,
pardon for the liberty he had taken. Finds nothing to forgive,
1752.
but much to be grateful for, in proof of which he long delayed
answering Badajos' complimentary letter written last year, but to
this other containing these censures he replies immediately. Regrets
that the rod was so sparingly used, and will respond in the order
observed by his censor, who, in the first place, remarks that Saint
Peter did not walk upon the sea to meet Christ, as Saint John
does not say so; nor is it in accordance with the translators, many
of whom say that Peter swam towards Christ. It seems to Pole
that a man disposed to swim does not clothe himself if naked, but
if clothed strips himself. Now St. John says that St. Peter,
being naked, clad himself; but at any rate, if Pole understood the
passage to mean that Peter walked on the sea, he was at liberty to
use this interpretation, which has been adopted by some very
learned commentators. Secondly, Badajos does not approve of the
comparison about the recognition of Christ by Peter and John the
Baptist, it seeming to him that Pole attributes the recognition by
John the Baptist to mere natural causes, which would be untrue
and would confound him with Nathaniel and the Centurion, who in
fact recognized Christ by natural signs. The Baptist recognised
him on the appearance of the dove in the act of baptism, and not
only Peter, but the rest of the Apostles likewise, confessed him to
be God, through Divine revelation. If Badajos still finds these
passages at variance with the opinion set forth in his books, Pole
will have them altered or omitted in the second edition which he is
about to publish. Thirdly, Pole justifies the opinion given by him,
according to the words of Christ, about the preeminence to be con-
ceded to St. John over the other prophets, and it seems to him that
on this point Badajos agrees with him. Admits his having exceeded,
in saying that Peter" ordered" the observance of the legal cere-
monies; he should have said "permitted," and he will correct
accordingly [in the new edition.]§ Where allusion is made to the
* As already stated, Ercole Gonzaga was regent of Mantua.
† Namely, the four books "Reginaldi Poli pro Ecclesiastica unitatis defensione ad
Henricum Octavum Britanniæ Regem." Becatello, in his life of Pole (p. 390), says they
were FIVE books, and the title "De Unitate et Primatu Ecclesiæ.”
I "Cum ii iterum typis excudendi sint." I am unable to find any edition of Pole's
"De Unitate et Primatu Ecclesiæ," of this period.
"Et ita corrigendum curabo."
224
1548.
1548.
V
virginity which God can restore, it is evident that Pole does not
mean physical virginity, which Badojos in conclusion seems to
admit, as he does not urge Pole to alter the phrase. With regard
to the reply of Thomas More, Badajos observes that either Pole's
narrative is defective, or that it does not contribute to the praise
of More. Does not know whether his narrative is defective, he
merely knows that it is true. The Bishop of Badajos blames More,
because on his examination he so long delayed speaking on the
matter of Faith (in causâ Fidei), and adds that Pole in his
panegyric might have omitted this circumstance. Does not think
so; is of opinion that the time for More to speak was after
being condemned by the fifty-eight judges. It was not the same
case with Rochester, whose duty it was as a bishop to speak
immediately on being examined; More was a layman, whom they
chose to condemn by a civil decree, not an ecclesiastical one; and
although it was contrary both to the laws of God and the Church,
it seemed to him more becoming, when examined about the law, to
reply according to law, depriving his judges of the arguments
derived by them from the common law (arma legis forensis) which
they had used against him, as he did when he answered, that how-
ever just this decree might be, he had never infringed it by word or
deed, so that he could not be tried, and still less condemned, by
it. Could a consummate lawyer, who for many years had himself
been a judge, make a more just defence? Is of opinion that in
this matter More cannot be said to have failed in his duty to the
Church by not replying immediately that the decree was contrary to
the Divine law, as he had neither been interrogated about this nor
was he tried for violation of Divine law, but of human law, which
he therefore had first of all to confute; and when he saw himself
condemned contrary to the right (jus) of human law, he then
availed himself of the ecclesiastical arguments (armis ecclesiasticis),
adding that even had he violated that decree, as it was contrary to
Divine law, they could not justly condemn him either by Divine or
human right (nec divino nec humano jure). The more Pole con-
siders the different conduct observed by More and Rochester, the
more he is convinced that they acted entirely by Divine inspira-
tion. Hopes that on reflection Badajos also will be convinced
of this, and as he would have wished Pole in some places to
have been less bitter and vehement in reproving the King, he will
justify himself in a writing addressed to the King's son, which he
will place as introduction to the new edition of those books, and
which he will send to the Bishop of Badajos. There remain two
other passages, one considered obscure by Badajos, and which Pole
will easily correct, the other being criticised, because when quoting
the testimony of the Father concerning the Son in St. John's
Gospel,† Pole did not give the precise words; but as he seems to
have rendered the sense, Badajos does not insist on correction.
*
Badajos also noted the typographical errors, and made the index
* The four books "Pro Ecclesiasticæ unitatis defensione," or five books" De Unitate
et Primatu Ecclesiæ."
† St. John ii. 38. ?
1548.
225
1548.
Feb. 18.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
of the work, which, together with the perusal of these books and
his notes and corrections, greatly comfort Pole, because they imply
approval, and are a pledge of the Bishop's affection.
Rome, February 1548?
[Latin, 205 lines.]
532. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN by the Chief
GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Knight.
That the Armoury Halls of the Council of Ten, and the jewels
of St. Mark's Sanctuary, be shown to some English gentlemen.
Ayes, 17. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
March 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 4,
tergo.
March 5.
533. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of TRENT.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Was in great grief for the death of the most Illustrious Lady
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Vittoria Colonna, whom he revered as a mother, and it was in-
No date of time. creased exceedingly by news of the demise of the Cardinal's
Printed in v.iv. brother Aliprando, a youth who had already greatly distinguished
"Epistolarum himself in the present German war, and whom the Cardinal of
pp. 81, 83.
Poli," Trent loved most tenderly. Comforts him in his misfortune, in the
Date, Rome, first place by worldly arguments, which taking but little effect
when the mind is afflicted, he exhorts him to seek consolation in
God.
nonas
Martias.
Rome, 5th March.
[Latin, 107 lines.]
534. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
By advices from the Emperor's Court at Augsburg, dated the
12th instant, understood that Queen Maria was going back to
Flanders to assume the government of the state as usual.
The letters from France down to the 5th instant, inform them
that the most Christian King continues fortifying his border places;
and it was said that his Majesty's commissioners and those of the
King of England were to meet together near Boulogne, to adjust
certain disputes about boundaries which had arisen between the
two crowns since the conclusion of the peace stipulated by the
deceased Kings.
The Signory's advices from England purport that the war con-
tinues between the English and the Scots, who, with the assistance of
the French troops, sent to them by the King of France, lately took
Dundee ? (Dondino), which was held by the English; and then the
Scots and French went to take another place called Portigrach (sic),
but the English compelled them to retreat. These two castles are
those which the English took from the Scots last year.
Ayes, 197. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
March 22.
535. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
The accompanying advices purport that commissioners from the
v. lxvi. p. 5, 'two crowns were to meet for the adjustment of their differences ;
tergo. and that the Scots, together with the French troops are at war
5.
P
226
1548.
7
1548.
with the English, which would seem to contradict the conference
aforesaid. So concerning this succour given by the most Christian
King to the Scots, inform the "Bailo," by this separate letter, that
in the peace made between the deceased Kings of France and
England, the French King would not renounce his protection of
the realm of Scotland; and in right of this protection, France now
assists the Scots. Therefore in the aforesaid advices there is no
contradiction.
Ayes, 197. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian]
April?
MS. St. Mark's
536. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DI MONTE.
Was glad to hear by his last that he is satisfied with their
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.executorship of the late Cardinal Cortese; and they are certain
Library,
or place.
No date of time that he would be yet more satisfied both with them and with
the Archbishop of Sorrento were he here on the spot, or acquainted
with their proceedings by another person than the one who con-
siders himself aggrieved in this case. They mention this in reply
to the Cardinal's assertion that Messer Giovanni Battista says
the blame of his intemperance should be in great part attributed
to the persecution of the Archbishop of Sorrento. Vindicates the
Archbishop alluding especially to his having granted the petition
of Messer Giovanni Battista demanding the consignment of certain
effects known to be his, according to the inventory; and the
Archbishop, sent him an order from the executors to receive them,
and thus prevent him from coming to blows with the household,
which might eventually have been detrimental to him. Does not
believe that throughout the business they have done anything
of which Messer Giovanni Battista can reasonably complain, either
of the executors or of the Archbishop, who after the outrage of
the wounds interceded with the Pope, as did the executors likewise;
and down to the time of his (Pole's) departure, the Archbishop
had proceeded with all sincerity and kindness towards Messer
Giovanni Battista, evincing a very great wish to oblige him, on
account of Cardinal di Monte. The executors have thought fit
to explain this sinister statement to him, that he may have reason
to hold the Archbishop of Sorrento in as good conceit as he
deserves, and understand better, that in this affair all that they
did, was done with due regard for their office, and for the advantage,
not only of the family but of Messer Giovanni Battista, Cardinal
di Monte's nephew.
Rome, April?
[Italian.]
April 10.
MS. St. Mark's
537. The SAME to the SAME.
In reply to his letter concerning the effects of the late Cardinal
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Cortese, refers himself to the joint statement made by himself and
Library
the other two executors. Will always do what he can to oblige
* Gianmaria del Monte, elected Pope with the title of Julius III. on the 8th February
1550.
1548.
227
1548.
April 27.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 12,
tergo.
him, and in this affair of his nephew he and his two colleagues
will do the best they can for his interests, as the Cardinal may
comprehend from what they have done hitherto. Is very sorry
not to have heard a word about this dispute whilst Cardinal
Cortese was still alive, as by an adroit application to him all cause
of dispute and dissatisfaction would have been prevented. Prays
God that Messer Geronimo may recover his health, and the disagree-
ment be adjusted in peace and quiet.
Rome, 10th April.
[Italian.]
538. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from France down to the 22nd ulto. the Signory is
informed that the King continues fortifying his frontier towns, and
sending troops and money for the support of Scotland, between
which kingdom and England the war continues.
Ayes, 179. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
539. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF VENOSA [ALVAREZ
DELLA QUADRA].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. From the bearer of the present letter, an Englishman, Sir Oswald
May 8.
MS. St. Mark's
July 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 30.
[Massingberd],* Prior of Ireland, the Bishop will hear the causes
which have induced him to endeavour to go with the French
armada (armata),† in the company of our Irish Earl Gerard
[Fitzgerald], whom he recommends to the Bishop, together with
Sir Oswald, praying him to concede them all possible favour in
this cause, in the service of God and his Church, for which Pole
will be especially obliged to him.
Rome, 8th May.
[Italian.]
540. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
According to letters from France, dated the 24th ult., the most
Christian King's fleet, consisting of a good number of vessels, sent
in favour of the Scots, has reached Scotland in safety. The Queen
[Dowager, Mary of Lorraine] is mustering troops for the recovery
of the places of her realm, taken last year by the English; and the
Governor of Scotland [Earl of Arran] has sent his son as hostage
* In the original "Il Cavalr. Oswaldi." The surname is found in Winthorp's list of the
English, Irish, and Scotch knights of St. John of Jerusalem. In State Papers, vol. ix.
p. 522, there is a letter from Harvel, date Venice, 20th October 1543, alluding to the
"sending of Pathis, Kildare, Brensetour, with other semblable rebelles to Scotland,” but
I do not find the name of Oswald Massingberd in the printed documents of the period,
though Thomas Massingberd is recorded in the late Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, date 1556,
No. 497, f. 223.
† The French succour for Scotland was already preparing in April 1548. (See Turnbull's
Calendar, p. 20.)
Gerald Fitzgerald, eleventh Earl of Kildare. See Collins (vol. vi. p. 155), and State
Papers (vol. xi. index); also Turnbull's Calendar, Edward VI., pp. 28–39.
P 2
228
1548.
1548.
to the most Christian King, and should it please him, will send two
others as security for his waging war on the English; who, by
letters from England dated the 29th May, were in like manner
preparing their forces against the Scots, owing to the news of the
French succour; and also because they understood that the Queen
[Dowager] of Scotland had promised the King of France to send
him her daughter, who inherits the Scottish crown, that he may
dispose of her hand as he pleases, and therefore the Governor of
Scotland is sending his sons as hostages to France (et per questo il
Governator di Scotia mandarà li figlioli per ostasi in Franza).
The "Bailo" is to communicate these advices to the [Turkish]
Governor (Governatore), that the Sublime Porte may have notice of
them as usual.
Ayes, 176. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 8.
[Italian.]
Aug. 20.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 36.
541. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE."
Are informed by their letters from France down to the 29th ult.,
that after the safe arrival in Scotland of the French succour, the
Scottish barons, at the persuasion of the Governor, had determined
to send the young Queen [Mary Stuart] to reside in France, that the
King may be assured the English marriage will not take place,
and to encourage his Majesty by so much the more vigorously to
defend the kingdom of Scotland; and that he was coming into
Piedmont, as he did, having arrived on the 12th instant at Turin,
from which city they have letters from their ambassador dated
the 15th. According to report, his Majesty is come to inspect
those frontiers, and will then return to France; and he is increasing
his fleet at Marseilles and along that coast, and it is expected to
consist of a good number of sail.
By letters from England, dated the 24th ult., have heard that
Pietro Strozzi, the commander of the French fleet, after his arrival
in Scotland, went with the French and Scottish troops and battered
a fortress held by the English, called Hadington, near which place a
skirmish took place with the English cavalry, which is understood
to have been routed, with the loss of some thousand horse, and of
some of the best commanders in the English service ;* so Hadington
is expected soon to fall into the hands of the Scots and French,
and therefore the English were endeavouring to reinforce their troops,
and had sent their fleet (which was said to number forty large
ships) into those parts.†
Ayes, 193. Noes, 8. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
* See Calendar, Scotland, vol. i. p. 91, letter dated Berwick, 17th July 1548, from John
Brende to Somerset, commencing, "Unhappy news.
† For the arrival of the fleet, see Calendar, Scotland, letter dated Berwick, 27th July
1548. On the 10th August, Lord Clinton was in Leith Road.
1548.
229
1548.
Aug. 24.
Miscellaneous
542. The GOVERNORS of PADUA to the CHIEFS OF THE Ten.
Have received their letter, dated the 22nd instant, demanding
Correspondence, information about the quality of six English gentlemen, whose names
were given in a former letter from the Chiefs, dated 10th July,
respecting the arms-license requested for them by the ambassador
of the most Serene King of England, as therein contained. The
Governors have never received that letter, and therefore the names
of these gentlemen being unknown to them, they are unable to give
the information required.
Library,
Venetian
Archives.
From Padua, 24th August 1548.
[Italian.]
Sept. 16.
MS. St. Mark's
543. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP of FANODA (sic).
Asks him to entreat the Emperor to have a letter written to the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Archbishop of Granada, desiring him to pay Pole's pension in full,
Library,
and without any tax, as paid during so many years to the late
Bishop of Verona;* and that it be also paid at the periods when
due, without compelling him to have recourse to "censures," in order
to obtain what belongs to him. Expresses himself thus, because
until now the Archbishop's agents at Rome have received no order
to pay him what was due last St. John's day; and indeed in a
letter from him to Pole, dated August, without making any mention
of that payment, he merely talks of taxes to which he would
fain subject Pole. Hopes this is contrary to the intention of the
Emperor, who, having vouchsafed to grant him this pension in
virtue of the resignation made in his favour by the late Bishop
of Verona, does not (he is confident) intend him to receive it in
worse terms than he did. Trusts that the Bishop will make this
demand, and that the Emperor will concede this just favour;
wishes the letters to be duplicated, one of them being sent to
Spain,† and the other addressed to himself at Rome.
Rome, 16th September.
[Italian.]
Sept. 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 44.
544. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
Their letters from England mention advices from Scotland, dated
the 24th ult. The Scottish and French troops, after remaining
some days under Hadington, raised the siege, and retreated to some
distance, so that the English advanced and were provisioning the
place, the Scots and French being four miles off.
By other letters understand it to be reported that the Emperor
is sending his captain, Mons. de Bura (sic) [Buren ?], now in
Flanders, with troops in favour of the English against the Scots;
* Gian Matteo Giberti, Bishop of Verona, died on the 30th December 1543, and
bequeathed his pension on the See of Granada to Cardinal Pole. (See Life of Cardinal
Pole, vol. v. p. 384.)
† On the 16th September 1548, the Emperor was at Ulm. (See Turnbull's Calendar,
p. 26.)
230
1548.
1548.
Oct. 12.
Secretario
alle Voci.
Oct. 13.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 169.
and by advices from France it is heard that the Queen Dowager of
Scotland and her daughter have arrived in France.
To communicate these advices as usual.
Ayes, 205. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
Nov. 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 49.
545. ELECTION as AMBASSADOR to ENGLAND of SER DANIEL
BARBARO, LL.D.
[Italian.]
546. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That to gratify the most Illustrious Protector of England, the
term of one year for presenting himself be conceded to the outlaw
Gasparo Pizzoni, in addition to the two years assigned him by the
statutes, he being outlawed "ad inquirendum."
Ayes, 28. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
547. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
The fleet which his most Christian Majesty sent to Scotland,
with the exception of six galleys which remained there to fortify
a certain harbour, have returned to France with part of the Italian
troops; and by letters from England, the Signory is informed that
both the English and Scots have retired into their fortresses, and
put the greater part of the troops into winter quarters.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 8. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
Dec. 11.
548. The SAME to the SAME.
Deliberazioni In date of the 15th ult., the Signory's ambassador wrote from
Senato (Secreta),paris that the Constable had quelled the insurrection in Gascony,
v. lxvi. p. 53.
punishing the ringleaders, so that those provinces had returned to
their former allegiance to his most Christian Majesty, who was
sending 2,000 French infantry to Scotland, besides the other troops
maintained by him in that kingdom.
In Italy, the Imperial ambassador Don Diego is at Sienna with
the usual Spanish garrison, and he has appointed the chief law-
officer there (nel qual loco ha posto il Capitanio de giustitia).
Ayes, 148. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
1549.
231
Feb. 4.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 203.
A.D. 1549.
1549.
549. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of RAGUSA.*
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Congratulates him on being named Cardinal; delayed doing so,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.expecting his arrival at the Court. Thanks him for the letter
No date of time announcing his election.
or place in MS.
Rome, April?
[Italian.]
Feb. 8.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Feb. 8.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxvi. p. 61,
tergo.
550. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
The noble Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., ambassador elect to the King of
England, having requested [to have] for his. secretary Alvise Augus-
tini, notary of the Ducal Chancery, it is just and fitting to capa-
citate him to serve in that legation, although he is not yet in the
number of the secretaries in ordinary.
Put to the ballot, that licence be accordingly given to the said
Alvise to go to serve their aforesaid ambassador as secretary.
Ayes, 13. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
551. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose the summary received by them lately from their Bailo at
Constantinople, which he is to communicate as usual.
[Italian.]
552. MOTION made in the SENATE about EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
As the despatch of the nobleman Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., ambas-
sador elect to the King of England should not be delayed; and as
means should be given him, to prepare for his journey:
Put to the ballot, that out of the fund set apart for ambassadors,
600 golden ducats be given him on account of his expenses for four
months; and 150 ducats, at the rate of six livres and five "soldi”
per ducat, for the purchase of horses, 30 ducats for coverings and
trunks, 50 ducats as a donation for his secretary, and for two
couriers 40 ducats, at the rate of 20 ducats each; he being allowed.
to take silver utensils at the Signory's risk of the value of 400
ducats, to be estimated by the office for the new accounts, according
to the Signory's orders.
GRE
Ayes, 108. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 0.
Read to the College on the 6th of February 1548.
[Italian.]
Feb. 14.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xviii. p. 205. ducats be given to Ser Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., for his expenses for
553. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That of the moneys destined for ambassadors, 600 golden
four months, &c. [as under date Feb. 8]. And be there given to
* Gianangelo de' Medici, Archbishop of Ragusa, afterwards Pope Pius IV., was elected
Cardinal on the 8th April 1549. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 293.)
232
1549.
1549.
Feb. 25.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
March 7.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xix. p. 1,
tergo.
him 200 ducats for couriers and despatch of letters, and to spend it
requisite in boats, escorts, guides, and safe-conducts. The Treasurer
of this Council, on the expiration of three months, to pay one
month's salary in advance from month to month.
[Italian.]
554. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
To communicate as usual the enclosed advices, dated Constan-
tinople, 14th January, announcing that on that day the money
destined for the Grand Signor at Aleppo, namely, 600,000 ducats,
was sent from Constantinople escorted by 400 janissaries raised
lately from amongst the young "Azam-Oglani" lately enlisted. The
Sophy was reported to be between Tauris and Constantinople.
To mention that a Turkish ambassador has presented himself to
the Signory with congratulations on his [Turkish] Majesty's well
being and on his victories.
[Italian.]
555. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That by the Governor of the revenues at the Chancery chest
there be given to Alvise Augustini, going as secretary with the
ambassador to the King of England, thirty-two ducats in advance
on account of his salary, he discounting the sum at the rate of five
ducats per annum as usual.
Ayes, 16. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
March 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
556. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from Paris down to the 17th ult. understand that a
v. lxvi. p. 75, son has been born to the most Christian King, who is going into
Britanny, that he may the more easily provide for the affairs of
Scotland.
tergo.
By letters from England are informed that the Protector's brother
has been arrested and sent to the Tower, because he was plotting
against the King's life.
In England they were intent on raising pecuniary supplies for
their need against Scotland.
Ayes, 179. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
April 25.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 83,
tergo.
557. COMMISSION from DOGE FRANCESCO DONATO to DANIEL
BARBARO, Ambassador to England.
Choosing to grant the fair demand of his beloved nobleman,
Domenego Bollani, knight, ambassador with the King of England,
for the appointment of his successor, he having served for the usual
period, and wishing to maintain the ancient friendship which the
Republic has always had with that most Serene Crown, has elected
the noble Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., ambassador to reside with his
Majesty. To obtain audience of the King and present his cre-
1549.
233
1549.
dentials. To recommend the Venetian merchants in England. Also
to present his credentials to the Protector.
To visit such other personages of the English Court, including
the Lords of the Council, as shall be indicated by his predecessor.
April 25.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 83,
tergo.
To endeavour with all vigilance to learn what business is nego-
tiated at the English Court, and the events of the kingdom.
Before his departure from Venice the Proveditors of the London
Factory will consign to him a memorial of several things required
by them there for the benefit of their office.
On his way to England, to visit any prince or personage whom
he thinks it advisable to visit for the benefit of the Signory's
affairs.
Ayes, 189. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
May 6?
MS. St. Mark's
558. The DOGE and SENATE to DOMENICO BOLLANI, Knight,
Venetian Ambassador in England.
Having chosen to comply with his just demand to return home,
are sending as his successor Daniel Barbaro, LL.D.
Ayes, 189. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
April 26.
559. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF MANTUA.
Has received his letter of the 17th instant, concerning the abbacy
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. of St. Benedict, and his wish, in the event of the death of the
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
present abbot of that monastery, that he may be succeeded by one
of the two monks mentioned by him. As the Cardinal merely
wishes for their election, in case they deserve it, their being Mantuan
by birth must be considered an advantage to them rather than an
impediment, most especially as the appointment would gratify his
Right Rev. Lordship. Will very gladly further his wish, without,
however, coercing the congregation, and will state the Cardinal's
reasons, either through the Abbot of Naples, who is expected at
Rome hourly, or should he not arrive in time, by writing earnestly
to the Chapter.
Requests the Cardinal to continue his protection to the monastery
of St. Benedict, as granted by him hitherto.
Rome, 14th May 1549.
[Italian.]
J
C
560. The SAME to the BISHOP OF CENEDA [DON MICHELE
DELLA TORRE, Papal Nuncio in France].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Very Reverend Monsignor [beloved?] as a brother.
The Reverend
or place.
No date of time Dr. Hilliard (Eliardo), the Pope's Penitentiary, the bearer of the
present letter, will explain to your Lordship the cause of his
coming, and although it is very certain that as his business
relates to the service of God and of his Holiness, your Lordship
will not fail to favour it, I nevertheless cannot but recommend
it as warmly as possible, both the cause and himself, praying you
to exert yourself in it as warmly as anticipated by me by reason
of your goodness and piety. And I also recommend to you especially
234
1549.
1549.
May 14.
MS. St. Mark's
561. CARDINAL POLE to the ARCHBISHOP OF SORRENTO.
Thanks him for the proofs of his affection, and reciprocates it.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Recommends him to cherish his health for the service of God, and
Library,
May 25.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Captain Griffith* [Grifetto], in case he should have either to remain
[in England], or to return to France with the intention of serving
his most Christian Majesty, and of obtaining some suitable stipend
from him. For the rest, I refer myself to the statement of the
bearer. I have nothing else to tell you, save that I am most ready
to do your Right Reverend Lordship any pleasure, and recommend
myself to you, praying our Lord God long to save and prosper
you in his service.†
Rome? 6th May?
[Italian.]
of the Pope. Is grateful for his present holyday, of which he had
in truth great need.
Civitella, 14th May.
[Italian.]
562. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Paul III., to the SIGNORY.
It seems that in France they sought to surprise as it were (quo-
dammodo robare) a fortresst dependent on Ardres, near Boulogne,
hoping thus to recover that place. The garrison being forewarned
fought very stoutly, and the French were worsted, their commander,
Mons. de Chatillon, being wounded.
In England also war with France becomes daily more and more
apparent, by reason of the usual defence and protection afforded
to Scotland, as the Signory will learn better from the Venetian
ambassadors in those parts.
Rome, 25th May.
[Italian.]
563. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF CENEDA.§
The letters addressed to Pole by those two English gentlemen
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.who have been with the Bishop, purport that they are unable to
June 6.
MS. St. Mark s
Library,
express by words the extreme courtesy and kindness received from
him, for love of Pole, for which he thanks the Bishop heartily; and
with regard to Pole's having requested Cardinal Farnese to write
to the Bishop in this matter, he did so, not from any distrust of the
Bishop's affection for him and his affairs, but because this cause
*"Griffith, Greffyth, Gruffyth, James, alias Bampton, or Brancetor, uncle of Rice
of Wales." (See State Papers, iv. 647, 651, 653, vii. 527, viii. 219-227, 229, 230, 240,
243, 248, 249, ix., 108, 109, 141, 144, 522.)
+ From this letter, from the State Papers, and from Turnbull's Calendar, it appears
that the envoys accredited to the Protector by Cardinal Pole in May 1549, were Dr.
Hilliard and James Griffith, and that they were accompanied by Michael Throckmorton.
Query Boulenberg.
In the year 1549 the See of Ceneda was held by Don Michele della Torre, Apostolic
Nuncio in France. (See Le Chiese d' Italia, vol. x. p. 305, ed. Venice, 1854.)
1549.
235
1549.
being both public and private,* and considering the Bishop's position,
he thought it becoming to act thus, to give him an opportunity for
exerting himself more freely in this matter, according to circum-
stances; yet were the Bishop's loving complaints very dear to him,
proceeding as they did from affection, which he has never doubted,
being as it is the counterpart of his own for the Bishop. Is
waiting to hear the result obtained by these messengers, who will
acquaint the Bishop with it in detail according to Pole's instruc-
tions,† nor need he recommend the cause to him farther. Prays
God for a better result than might be anticipated from past and
present events, and that the other public negotiations for the general
benefit and comfort entrusted to the Bishop may succeed pros-
perously. Messer Marc' Antonio Flaminio, and Messer Luigi Priuli,
kiss the Bishop's hands, and send him their loving salutations.
Having had leave from the Pope to remain abroad during the
present hot weather, Pole has been nearly a month in this castle
(castello) belonging to the monks of St. Paul, distant twenty miles
from Rome, a very convenient and opportune place for the season,
where he thinks of passing the summer, unless other causes take
him to Rome.
Civitella, 6th June.
[Italian.]
July 6.
564. CARDINAL POLE to the ABBOT OF S. SALUTO.I
The Abbot knows for how much courtesy and kindness he is
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.indebted to Monsignor Boldù, who has written him the enclosed
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
letter. Desires to assist him as much as he can in this his need,
and therefore wishes the Abbot to go to Cardinal Cornaro and
plead warmly to him on his (Pole's) behalf in favour of said Mon-
signor Boldù; and should he understand that Cardinal Farnese
has been moved to act thus by any other motive, in that case, the
Abbot is to speak to his Lordship likewise in Pole's name, performing
in short every office with that personage and such others as neces-
sary with all earnestness in favour of this good gentleman; pre-
supposing however that he has not done anything to deserve this
punishment; as were it otherwise, Pole does not believe that the
Nuncio at Venice would have been induced to write in his favour,
as Boldu says he has done. As the Abbot knows, the Dean Bonfio
(Decano Bonfio) is a great friend of Pole's, and he would gladly do
him any favour, but in the present case, Pole thinks he is debtor; if
not, Pole does not intend to favour the just and fair demand of this
* From this paragraph, I infer that these were the two English gentlemen sent by
Pole to the Protector Somerset, and whose mission is recorded by the Venetian
Ambassador, Matteo Dandolo, date 20th July 1549. I am unable to ascertain their names;
but by another Venetian despatch, dated Rome, 7th September 1549, it seems that two
other messengers were then on the eve of departure for England, and I shall therefore
date Cardinal Pole's second letter to the Protector accordingly.
† We thus learn that these two gentlemen were to return from England by way of
France, as they went. They delivered a letter from Cardinal Pole to the Protector, dated
6th May 1549, and received his reply, dated Greenwich, 4th June in that year. (See
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1547-1580, p. 17.)
Vincenzo Parpaglia, a. Piedmontese gentleman, Abbot of San Salutore, commonly
called Saluto. (See Pallavicino, History of the Council of Trent, vol. iii. pp. 288, 289, ed.
Faenza, 1793.)
236
1549.
1549.
July 6.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
good old man, and trusts in the goodness and courtesy of Cardinal
Cornaro, that if his sole motive is to oblige the Dean in this matter,
he will, at Pole's request, not oppose Monsignor Boldù farther.
Requests this of him with all earnestness, nor does he care for the
Dean's knowing that he has performed this office, as in a similar
case he should be quite ready to do as much for him and his
honour.
Civitella, 6th July.
[Italian.]
565. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Paul III., to the SIGNORY.
On the 30th ult. Cardinal Farnese courteously communicated to me
the facts contained in the letters of the 18th from the Imperial Court,
as announced to the Signory at the close of mine of the 29th, but I
did not find him so well satisfied with what he could get [from the
Emperor] as had been told me, for on the contrary he seems to hold
the recompense [for Piacenza] in very small account, the 40,000
crowns appearing to him (to use his own words to me) "nothing at
all." He evinced his intention of resenting this in some manner,
although he said he had to deal with too powerful an adversary,
adding that it was time for everybody to beware of the Emperor,
and that he had moreover said so to the ambassador from Ferrara.*
He also appeared to place very little reliance on French assistance,
most especially because King Henry is so impeded by England.
Yesterday the Pope conversed with me a long while about these
letters of the 18th, but in general terms, saying that as the Emperor
will not restore Piacenza to him, being unable to slake his thirst for
universal empire, which he seeks to obtain by all possible means, so
that all powers should take warning from the example of others, hist
Holiness hopes that God, whose cause is concerned, will inspire him
with some resolve to his honour, and enable him to act as becomes
his office, for that although the Emperor offers him this recompense
he considers it certain that it is merely for the sake of thus enlarg-
ing his own territories, which can only benefit himself. But since
the receipt of these letters his Holiness has daily held long consul-
tations with the Cardinals Farnese, Sta. Croce, and Maffei, and on
the day before yesterday they were also joined by Cardinal
St. Angelo, and the Dukes Ottavio and Oratio [Farnese], who are
likewise with them today, besides Giulio Orsini, who arrived last
night. I hear many things, though not authentic, but it is told me
on good authority that the Imperialists, both [the ambassador] Don
Diego and the Spanish Cardinals, are constantly urging Madame†
and these Farneses not to restore Parma to the Church; and yester-
day, when I quitted the Pope, the Cardinal of Burgos entered his
chamber, perhaps for the purpose of discussing this matter.
From what Cardinal Farnese tells me this morning, Giulio Orsini
C
*The ambassador from Ferrara was negotiating an alliance between France and
Paul III. and his nephews, to detach them from the Emperor.
† "Madama.”—Margaret of Austria, natural daughter of Charles V., Consort of Ottavio
Farnese, Duke of Parma.
1549.
237
1549.
July 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 103.
July 20.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
merely announces what I have already mentioned, and the doctor
of laws who is being sent by the Emperor is a Spaniard, of no great
rank (condizione). It seems that he is gone to Milan, but will be
here in two or three days, and will merely have to negotiate about
a writing in confutation of the claims of the Apostolic See upon
Piacenza and Parma, and concerning the offer to satisfy the Farnese
family, and to give the Pope's grandchildren 40,000 ducats annual
rental, either in Sicily or in the kingdom of Naples.
There are also letters from France of the 26th ult., and Cardinal
Farnese told me this morning that the French have no hope of
recovering the island [Boulognebourg?] occupied by the English,
but they purposed erecting a fortress on the coast opposite to it.
They skirmish daily with the garrison of Boulogne, and lives are lost,
and perhaps for the most part French.
Scotland is making great preparations, as the Signory will have
heard in full from their ambassadors.
Rome, 6th July.
[Italian.]
566. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
By letters from Brussels, dated the 29th ult., are acquainted with
the arrival there at the Emperor's Court of Sir William Paget
(il Paiet), chief secretary of the King of England, who has sent
him as ambassador, some say to visit the Prince of Spain, the
Emperor's son, others to negotiate fresh agreements between the
Emperor and the King of England.
Their letters from France, dated the 22nd June, announce the very
stately entry into Paris of the most Christian King, and subsequently
of the Queen for her coronation. That news had been received of
the arrival in Scotland of the French troops and commander, sent
by his most Christian Majesty in favour of that kingdom; and it
was said that the Kings of France and England would appoint
commissioners to settle their disputes on the confines of Picardy
about forays and skirmishes, which take place daily towards
Boulogne between the French and English. An agreement and
confederacy is also said to have been formed between the most.
Christian King and the Switzers.
Ayes, 166. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
-
567. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Paul III., to the SIGNORY.
The Pope tells me that letters received by him from the Imperial
Court, dated the 10th instant, announce news of a great insurrection
against the Government in England, and that the King had retired
to a strong castle out of London. It seems that the cause of this
was the grass-land (lo herbatico) [grass-commons?], as the great
proprietors occupy the pastures of the poor people; the insurgents
also require the Mass, or at least that, together with the religion, it
remain as left by the late King. The government wishing to apply
238
1549.
1549.
July 21.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File, no. 18.
July 29.
MS. St. Mark's
a remedy, put upwards of 500 persons to the sword, sparing neither
women nor children, so that it gained strength, and was increasing,*
as the Doge will have heard from his ambassadors, for (perchè) Don
Diegof seems to hold it in much less account, but the Rev. Secretary
Dandino brought me the original letters ut supra, which also state
that there is little hope of the agreement which is now being
negotiated by Paget at the Imperial Court;‡ and that the Signory
may know what took place here in this matter, I add that the Right
Rev. Cardinal Pole sent two of his gentlemen, both English, with
a safe-conduct, to exhort the government of England to return to
the Catholic religion, and they had audience of the Protector, but
were dismissed rather harshly (ma con qualche asprezza spediti).
Rome, 20th July.
[Italian.]
568. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
at ROME.
By letters from England, dated 3rd instant, they are informed
that the people have rebelled in several parts of the kingdom, not
choosing to conform to the new religion. Commissioners were sent
to quiet them, and some of the rioters boldly refused to submit,
unless the mass and all the other offices of the old religion were
restored; and having in like manner endeavoured to persuade the
Princess Mary, she remained very firm in her determination not to
renounce the old religion.§
They have thought fit to notify this to him that he may commu-
nicate it to the Pope.
[Italian.]
July 26.
569. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in ENGLAND.
Lettere del Col-
Send him the summary of the advices from Constantinople for
legio (Secreta),
File, no. 18. communication as usual.
[Italian.]
570. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL FARNESE.
The Penitentiary [Dr. Hilliard] who will deliver this letter to him,
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.having returned from England, arrived at Civitella last evening.
Should the Cardinal please, he can hear from him the report (il
ritratto) which he has made of that whole Island, and present him
to the Pope. Prays God to inspire his Holiness to do in this
matter what may be most for his service and for the benefit of the
church. Has nothing else to tell the Cardinal, referring himself
to the Penitentiary's statement.
Civitella, 29th July.
[Italian.]
*"Dal che si era invalidita tal solevatione et andava crescendo."
† Diego Urtado de Mendoza, Imperial ambassador at Rome.
See negotiations of Sir Wm. Paget in the late Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, June 2nd
1549 to July 22nd, pp. 36-45.
"Et che essendo stata tentata dal medesimo la Principessa Maria, la stava constan-
tissima nel suo proposito di non lassar l' uso della religione antica."
S
1549.
239
1549.
Aug. 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Aug. 31.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Sept. 7.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Sept. 7.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
vol. xix. p. 62.
571. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose a summary of their last letters from Constantinople, dated
9th July, for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
572. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Paul III., to the SIGNORY.
Late on Wednesday evening received the Signory's letters with
the advices from England,* for communication to the Pope, and
about the recovery of effects belonging to the Jews plundered by
the Prior of Lombardy.†
Although Friday is the usual day of audience for the ambas-
sadors, I sent to ask it of his Holiness early on Thursday morning.
I explained to him my wish to impart a full and distinct account
of the advices from England; those sent to your Serenity, already
received at Rome in the morning, narrating much turmoil, but in
a confused form. The Pope was very much pleased with them, dis-
cussing the points with me, one by one, and passing subsequently
to the Right Rev. Cardinal Pole, whom he eulogized extremely, and
as he was at Civitella, he sent for him immediately, to consult with
his Right Rev. Lordship how far that flock (greggie) can be assisted
to return to his bosom.
Rome, 31st August.
[Italian.]
573. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Paul III., to the SIGNORY.
Four days ago Don Diego returned to the Pope to hear what
reply he was to make to the Emperor about the coming of the
prelates from Rome.
Touching the affairs of England, it has been determined for the
present that Cardinal Pole is to send thither two of his confidential
and experienced attendants, and according to what they shall bring
back or transmit hither, so will his Holiness decide farther, but he
is very desirous of secrecy. By letters of the 14th ult., received from
London this morning, it is heard that war has been proclaimed
against the French, and that the insurrection is subsiding.
Rome, 7th September.
[Italian.]
574. VENETIAN GLASSMAKERS in ENGLAND.
The Council of the glass trade assembled on summons from
the Magnifico the Bailiff in the town hall [of Murano] as usual,
to make the following motion, there being present the Magnifico
Dom. Angelo Venier, most worthy Bailiff of Murano, and others,
}
* These advices were of course derived from the correspondence of Domenico Bollani,
the Venetian Ambassador in England, whose despatches no longer exist.
†The Prior of Lombardy, who commanded the Pope's galleys, had captured, off Zante,
a ship laden with Jews, who were Venetian subjects. See Report of Matteo Dandolo
(Alberi, 2nd series, vol. iii. p. 340.)
240
1549.
1549.
etc., in the which Council the Magnifico the Lord Bailiff, the Warden
(Gastaldionem) and his colleagues made the following motion:
Considering how injurious to the Republic's duties, and to the
poor inhabitants of this place of Murano, is the removing thence
the glass manufacture (l'arte de' veri), whether by the masters or by
the artisans, very great care must be taken to provide against this;
and as the artisans complain of being compelled to go and work
out of Murano, taking the manufacture elsewhere, by reason of the
length of time that they remain out of work, namely two months
and a half, during which they have not wherewithal to live; in
order that this may be remedied, and that said artisans may not
have cause to take the trade (il mistier) abroad, owing to the long
cessation of employment:
It will be put to the ballot, that the cessation of work be limited
to two months, and that they [the artisans] do commence working
on the first of October next, the furnaces to be put out of blast
on the last day of July, this being observed from year to year;
and as it occasionally happens that the month of July ends in the
middle of a week, that the masters be therefore at liberty to make
the artisans continue working until the end of said week; and be
their Excellencies the Chiefs of the Ten petitioned to have this
Act confirmed by that most illustrious Council.
The Council of Ten is also petitioned to make such provision
that this manufacture be not carried out of this place, either by
the masters or the artisans (as, notwithstanding the fines decreed
to this effect heretofore, both masters and artisans do not cease
taking it abroad), granting such term as the Chiefs shall think
fit to those who have gone to work abroad in foreign parts, so
that they may return. Also that these same penalties be enacted
against such masters as shall hire as workmen, whether to tend
the furnaces (stizzar) or to work in this art, such as are foreigners,
namely, those not born of native Venetians and Muranese.
And as on the 25th November 1543, in the Grand Council (maggior
Capitolo) of this art, many statutes were enacted for confirmation by
the Council of Ten, one of which, concerning glass bladders (visighe),
was not presented to the Chiefs; be the Council of Ten now
petitioned to confirm it as registered hereunder, but that it be not
carried into effect until the close of the next working season and
commencement of the subsequent one, which will take place on
the 1st of October 1550; with this condition, that of the fine
to be levied, one part be given to those who exact it, one to
the accuser, and one part to the poor [artisans] of the trade;
and in the clause concerning glass bladders, window glass,* and
plain work (lavori schietti), be there also understood wrought
work (lavori lavoradi) of every sort; the tenor of which statute is
as follows:-
That at the close of the present working season, in no furnace
may there any longer be made [at one and the same time ?] glass
bladders, window glass, and plain work, nor may the chests con-
* In the original "Rui," which signifies the round glasses used for the old Venetian
windows, very few of which now remain.
1549.
241
1549.
Sept. 7.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
taining such vessels be removed from the furnace, under penalty of
100 livres; and this because by taking so much glass out of the
furnace all at once, it cannot be properly purified. And to give
employment to a number of artisans who are exclusively occupied
as glass bladder blowers, be they allowed to make medicine phials
(groppi), and "pie de redesello," and retorts (retortoli); nor, for the
aforesaid reasons, may the glassmakers work at more than three
mouths of each furnace.
Ayes, 34. Noes, 3.
[Italian.]
575. CARDINAL POLE to the PROTECTOR of ENGLAND.
Translated from the English tongue [into Italian].*
Having received and read your letters,† and moreover heard the
statement of the persons who conveyed my first letter to you,
together with the instructions (la instruttione), I really hesitated for
a time, whether I ought to proceed farther by writing to you, seeing
the little fruit obtained by my first letter with regard to the matter
whereby I was principally induced to write, namely, for your honour
and profit, as would not have been the case, had you chosen to accept.
this my office in a becoming manner. But as you have received
it quite contrariwise, as your letters prove, it seemed fit to me for
the moment to refer myself to the Divine Providence to answer you
by deeds rather than by words, instead of sending you any farther
reply by letter; a determination to which I should have adhered,
had it not been that on communicating this my resolve to the
aforesaid messengers, and after making them read your letter, they
expressed great surprise at the tone of the reply, as being quite at
variance with the verbal communication made by you to them,
although they said the substance (la somma) was one and the same.
They came to the conclusion, that the entire fault of so dis-
courteous a reply rested with your Secretary, to whom you
possibly intrusted it, and that then, without farther perusal, as
customary with great personages, most especially when the letters
are at all long, as this one was, you caused it to be delivered to
them for conveyance to me; and that your Secretary considered it
sufficient to express your mind in the form he liked best, which
form seemed to them (as I said) very dissimilar to that in which
you had addressed them with such gravity as was required by the
matter in question, and with such respect for the person who
wrote to you, as became one man of honour when speaking of
another who had done him the honour to write to him; while, on
the contrary, this letter is full of gibes and scoffs, without the
slightest regard for the subject nor for the person in whose name
* This letter from Cardinal Pole to the Protector Somerset has no date in the MS., but
from circumstantial evidence, I have reason to believe that it was dated at Rome on the
7th of September 1549.
1860.
† In this letter, dated Greenwich, June 4, 1549, Somerset wrote to Cardinal Pole, in
answer to his letters of 6th May, that he hoped he at last perceived the abuses of the church
of Rome, and exhorted him to take advantage of the King's mercy and to return. (See
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1547-1580, p. 17.)
Query, William Cecil. See Froude, date May 1548, vol. 5. pp. 102, 103, ed. London,
5.
♦
242
1549.
1549.
to the
CARDINAL POLE it is written, nor for him to whom it is addressed. This their con-
PROTECTOR OF Jecture seemed to me the more probable, considering that it is the
ENGLAND. custom nowadays of those folk (costoro) who delight in showing
(7th Sept.) their wit, to treat the affairs of Rome, however important the
matter under discussion may be, with ridicule, as may be seen
hitherto by the comedies composed by them; so that if your Secretary
in this letter, in failing to have such regard as was due for the
matter and the person, followed the style of the others, I am not at
all surprised at it, and still less that, for the reasons aforesaid, you
should not have reperused it.
I therefore, sharing their opinion, that all the discourtesy evinced
in this letter, is the fault of the Secretary, and choosing to believe
that whatever might render me averse to make you any farther
rejoinder, arose more from the fault of others than from your own
will, determined not to deprive you by my silence of such satis-
faction as you may receive from knowing how I took your reply.
This you seem to desire, as also my opinion of the book* sent me
with your letter, exhorting me to let you know it, and promising
that whatever it may be, a friendly and gracious reply shall be
given me.
To commence, therefore, by answering the substance and con-
clusion of your letter, in which you say you will not send to any
place, even neutral and near England, to confer with me about such
matters as are in dispute, and which, from not being yet adjusted,
might greatly injure the kingdom, I tell you that so far as this
answer in any way concerns my own personal interest, you have
done me very great pleasure by relieving me from extrenie mental
and bodily toil, as had you accepted my offer, I could not have
avoided taking so long and troublesome a journey, without ultimately
obtaining any advantage from my labours, which is now clearly
manifest from your letters, a thing which I never could have
imagined.
#
To be dispensed thus from this trouble, and, without any personal
inconvenience or detriment, to have had an opportunity of mani-
festing and disclosing the affection and love I bear my country,
of which I know not what greater proof could be given than is
evinced by this offer, cannot but cause me great and singular plea-
sure, though as to the style of your letter which conveyed it to me,
I should have cause to consider it most unpleasant rather than agree-
able, not so much for the thing itself, nor on account of any personal
injury done me by your writing thus, as for the evil sign and omen
indicated of the utter and impending ruin of my country. It is indeed
true that my regret would have been still greater, as it would more-
over have been a sign of yet more manifest ruin, had I felt certain
that it proceeded from you wilfully, and yet more, above all, had it
proceeded from the Council, of which in your letter you make no
mention whatever, which somewhat mitigated my sorrow (though
it could not but be great, considering that at any rate the writer
was a member of your Privy Council, rendering the salvation of
* A copy of the Book of Common Prayer. (See Calendar of State Papers, Domestic,
1547-1580, p. 17.)
1549.
243
1549.
CARDINAL POLE the country quite desperate);—if this reply, full of derision and
mockery, had been given, to such a proposal made by me, by your
ENGLAND. order and that of the Council. And I have remarked that the truest
(7th Sept.) sign of approaching ruin in all cases, but more notably in that of
to the
PROTECTOR OF
the rulers of kingdoms, is when they have reached such a pitch of
iniquity that they ridicule and deride the simplicity of those who,
they acknowledge and confess, speak from sincere conviction (con
sincera mente). They then actually sit "in the seat of the scornful,”*
which is the last grade of impiety, and to which no one attains who
is not shortly afterwards precipitated from his seat and government
by the hand of God,† who often permits bad men to rule until
they reach that bourn, and then irridet illorum, and they are
destroyed; nor can any greater scourge befall a kingdom than to
have such rulers. So to see that he who holds the chief post in the
government of the kingdom (nel governo del regno della patria)
has reached this grade of impiety, is a thing, the suspicion of which
now harrasses me more than all the rest, for in truth, if you, when
reading my letter and instructions (instruttione), in which I merely
propose to you your own salvation (salute propria) and honour.
had interpreted my writing as the emanation of a malicious and
fraudulent mind, I should feel less regret than I do for your scoffs
(beffe), although on myself individually you would have inflicted a
greater injury than you do by confessing that my writing proceeds
from sincerity; for what greater injury can be done to a man of
honour than to repute him malignant and fraudulent? And as it is
false that I am such, and true that I am sincere and candid, which
you acknowledge and deride, you thus do less injury to me than to
the Holy Spirit, it being a sin against the Holy Spirit to deride and
ridicule your neighbour's mental sincerity and simplicity, which gift
coming solely of God, he is not wont long to defer the infliction of
grievous punishment and vengeance on those who in any way scoff
and deride him through any of his creatures. This pitch of extreme
impiety seems to me the more intolerable and remarkable in you,
from what I experienced in a similar case from the greatest enemy
I had in the world, who was that King whom I had loved above
all other men, and who, having an opportunity of knowing my
sincerity in a matter very contrary to his feelings (senso), would
not however be angry with nor ridicule me, as you do; and the
story is as follows.
He had received a writing of mine treating of the divorce which
he wished to make with his first wife, and as this my writing was
much opposed to his intent and desire, my late brother [Henry de
la Pole, Lord Montacute?] informed me of his having been told by
the Duke of Norfolk that the King bore me illwill on this account,
which the Duke said would cause my total ruin. I then answered
my brother that I was certain that this could not be true, if the
King had read all that I wrote to him, knowing it to be impossible,
* «Che questo e'pro priamente seder sopra la cathedra d'i derisori."
Proverbs, xxix. v. 8.
† "Scornful men bring a city into a snare."
prepared for scorners." Proverbs, xix. v. 29.
"Che egli desiderava di fare colla sua prima moglie.”
See Psalm, i. 1.
Judgments are
Q 2
244
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE that when I opened my heart to him so sincerely and affectionately,
as his Majesty must know by reading the writing, he could ever
ENGLAND. bear me illwill for it; and that even were this the case, I considered
(7th Sept.) it a very sure proof that his Majesty had not read all that I wrote
to the
PROTECTOR of
to him, as if he had, he most assuredly could not be offended with
me for a writing given solely to himself, and not communicated to
others. So I spoke the more boldly, most especially knowing that
his Majesty had not shown it to others, and being firmly convinced
that such a disposition on my part could not be scorned, nor so
angrily taken amiss, I requested my brother to sound the King's
mind by acquainting his Majesty with this my reply, as he did, and
informed me, that having found an opportunity for conversing
(ragionare) with his Majesty in a privy garden (in un giardino
secreto), where he chanced to be walking with him, he narrated the
whole circumstance. On hearing this, and after remaining a long
while thoughtful and silent, he exclaimed that he had read my
writing, and that I had spoken the truth, nor could its perusal ever
make him feel any anger against me, as although the writing was
very contrary to his will, he nevertheless recognised in it my love
for him, and the sincerity with which I had written it, but that
in conclusion my opinion did not please him, and that he much
wished me to change it, in which case he would then prove how
dear I was to him.
This was the reply of the King, who, although preoccupied by
the violent passion which then dominated him, and although he had
such great reason to be angry with me, seeing that my written
opinion was utterly opposed to his desire; nevertheless, considering
that what I said to him did not proceed from any malignity, but
from my love for him, and from sincerity of mind, he checked
his anger against me. Concerning this matter, I will also add
what was said by the person who placed this writing of mine
in the King's hands, namely, Sir John Russell, a gentleman of
his privy chamber (camarier secreto suo), to whom I confided
my writing that he might present it to the King, provided he
could do so without incurring any detriment or blame, which I
said from doubt whether my writing would please the King or
not. He answered me, that if I was the author-knowing me as
he did he would present the writing without any hesitation,
let happen whatever pleased God.
I have chosen at present to acquaint you with these two
examples, that by perceiving how greatly they differ from your
conduct, you may be better able to judge the error of your
Secretary, and consider well that the King who was then so very
greatly excited (perceiving nevertheless the sincerity of my mind),
could not be angry with me although what I said was repug-
nant to his feelings; how much less ought you to deride and
ridicule such candour? By so much the less, assuredly, should you
do so, because, if ever I made a writing which was to express
my mind sincerely, and devoid of all passion, and demonstrating
the true love which I bear God, my country, and its rulers, this
to which you reply is certainly such, that no one with the sentiment
of a man (che habbia sentimento d'huomo) can deny it; as it is
1549.
245
1549.
CARDINAL POLE not denied even by you yourself, since you confess that both by
the letter and the commission given to my messengers, you could
ENGLAND. understand that my mind is precisely such as is aforesaid.
(7th Sept.)
to the
PROTECTOR OF
And of all the contents of that letter, what I regret most,
is that after admitting that my mind (l'animo mio) is what I
said it was, you nevertheless reply in this discourteous manner.
If it be the fault of your Secretary, as I am willing to believe
for the aforesaid reasons, my regret is diminished; and in that
case, he certainly served you very badly, for it is the office of a
secretary to express by words the internal meaning (senso) of
his master, as it is the office of a painter to paint the external
form (figura) of the body. In this respect, to say the truth,
not only has he served you badly, by not expressing your mind
well, but he has depicted you very differently to what you
yourself feel internally about yourself (da quel che voi medesimo
sentite dentro di voi stesso), and differently to what I had judged
from hearsay about you, and from your verbal reply to my
messengers, which made me suppose you such as you apparently
wished to be considered, that is to say, a person of honour,
prudent, grave, not rash, but discreet and full of affability (et
piena di gentilezza). But this letter of yours depicts you quite
oppositely, likening you rather to men who, emerging from low
condition to some grade of honour, can find no other way of
displaying their importance, than by despising all those whom
they consider beneath them in authority, in like manner as they
themselves were formerly despised, when ill-conditioned. And in
addition to this, your letter divests you of all gravity and politeness
(humanità), making you treat such important matters as those
which concern your Government, by deriding and ridiculing the
person who, according to the necessity of the case, warned you
with all courtesy for your welfare and preservation (salute); nor
can anything more uncivil than this be imagined.
This letter also destroys your claims to prudence, by making
you talk of the great perils which threaten you either as if they
were not at all visible to you, or that perceiving them, they are held
by you in small account; and as if you will not listen to any
counsel, but reject any remedy proposed to you, which is great
rashness; yet thus are you represented throughout your letter,
as will be evident by my reply to its contents, which I shall now
commence in the same order as that observed by you.
.
And first of all, I will reply to that part of your introduction
(præmio) in which, as if you would reproach me, you commence
by complaining that I have belied the opinion you had formed
of me (ingannata l'oppinione che havevate di me), having inferred
from my letters and instructions (instruttioni) that I was about to
negotiate with you for my return to my country, by asking pardon
of the King for past offences, and recommending myself to the
graciousness and clemency of the present Government. And as I do
not utter a word about my own private cause, but merely concerning
the common weal, which in your opinion does not concern me,
you consider this a sign of great contumacy and pride, and say
that had you known this, you never would have received any
246
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE letter from me, and still less would you have admitted my
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
(7th Sept.)
messengers.
To these things, my Lord, I say, that if I leave my own private
cause aside, to speak of that which is public, it is thus manifest
that I am more bent on seeking the common weal than my own;
But if
nor was this a reason to render you so wrath with me.
indeed the mention of my private affairs can give you any satis-
faction, I tell you that when speaking of the public cause, private
interests are included, for when the public state is established,
my private state is also established and confirmed, as it never fell
nor went to ruin by default of the public; and as the public over-
throw is commencing (et poi chè il publico comincia a ruinare), do
you again resume the law of God and of the Church, and permit
the continuance and observance of those statutes which the ancient
Council of the Realm enacted for the common weal, and then I
shall have effected my return, and obtained the pardon which I
desire. Do you in the first place ask pardon of God for the
violation of his laws, and my pardon will then be conceded without
any other new decree.
You would that I should ask pardon of the King, whose clemency
and Government you so greatly extol, and I, were it not that
my words might be attributed by you to pride, would say that
the King—if he wishes for the pardon and grace of God-has much
greater need to ask pardon of me, for the injuries and losses incurred
by me, than I have to ask pardon of him, as never did I offend
either him or his father in anything, unless perchance it be said
that I and the others, who would not consent to the perdition of
his soul, and simultaneously of the whole kingdom, offended him.
This is the offence which he has found in me, and no other; but
he on the other hand, when I would not consent to his iniquitous
designs, deeply injured me, by doing all that he could to destroy
me, as well as my whole family. I am not speaking of the young
King (as these things occurred before his birth), save inasmuch
as he followed the paternal footsteps, which footsteps if he chooses
to follow, let him follow those first trodden by his father before
he commenced failing in his duty to God and his Church; let him
imitate the things done by him in the first years of his reign,
and in his first Parliament, before worldly prosperity had spoilt
him, and whilst he still retained some part of the grace of God,
and of the good education received from his father.
Let the young King act thus, and I will do as said by me
above, when speaking of my private cause, and of the injuries so
iniquitously done me by his father; that is to say, rather shall
he ask pardon of me, and I will do the like by him, at least on
account of his father, from whom he has in this case
a very
notable example, for in his first Parliament, he restored to my
lady mother the greater part of her revenues on this condition,
that she was to pardon the King, his father, for the death of
her brother, a man perfectly innocent, who was the last Earl
of Warwick. This the King did, because his father, Henry VII.,
being at the extremity, and by the grace of God repenting of
the acts of injustice committed by him during his reign, and
•
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CARDINAL POLE amongst the rest calling to mind one of the most notable done to
our uncle the Earl of Warwick, and to our family, and wishing
for pardon from God, and from those he had offended, ordered
(7th Sept.) the restitution to my lady mother of her revenues intrusted
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
(raccomandate) to the King his son, who then, as a Prince obedient
to God and to his father, restored her revenues to my mother,
with the condition mentioned by me, namely, that she was to
forgive the King his father the injuries received from him. And
this was told her in the Council, when summoned for the purpose
of hearing the will of the King, which was, that her own property
should be restored to her; and when asked if with her whole heart
she forgave King Henry VII. the death of her brother, and all
the injuries which he had done her, she replied that not only was
she content to forgive all the past, but acknowledged herself very
much bound to pray God for his Majesty. Thus was her property
restored to her.
And this, my Lord, would be an example worthy to be imitated,
if not in acquittal of his father's debt, at least for the salvation of
his soul; and if his tender years do not admit of his yet having this
sentiment (senso) spontaneously, it would become his councillors,
you, my Lord Protector, especially, to remind him of it, so that by
accustoming him from childhood to do good and follow similar
examples he may form his mind in a manner truly royal and worthy
of one destined to rule men, averting at the same time the Divine
wrath, lest it fall upon him, for so much innocent blood shed by his
father, and for the great injustice done by him not only to our
family but to many others likewise; and by having recourse to the
mercy and goodness of God, beseeching Him that repentance, which
He denied the father, may be conceded to the son.
Thus you may
compensate the sufferers for their losses whilst compensation can be
made, not awaiting the day of judgment, which, if you continue as
you have commenced, will doubtless prove so merciless and terrible
as to be unbearable. And for the present, this is what I have to
reply with regard to my own pardon.
But all this does not suffice you, and you also require me at
any rate to ask pardon of the King, I having no fault, solely for
this cause, which you repeat so often, namely, that I, being his
subject, have not chosen to obey his statutes and decrees; and upon
this you lay great stress, styling the King, as he in his proclamations
to the people styles himself, "natural and supreme Lord,"* which I
do not deny may be true in one sense. But in the sense in which
the King exercises his authority against Him, who by nature is
true and supreme Lord, this "Lord by nature can by no means
signify that he is the natural and supreme Lord either of me or
of any other individual of his people, as by right no Prince can
assume this title,† even were all his subjects slaves, in which con-
""
* The Court of Rome resented the title "Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ supremum caput,” ex-
tremely; and this is noticed by the Chiefs of the Ten, in a letter to the Venetian Ambassador
at Rome, dated 20th June 1550, with regard to a notarial certificate drawn up in London,
concerning the Ambassador Barbaro and the Patriarchate of Aquileia.
"Ma in quel senso che il Re usa l' autorità sua contra colui che è vero et supremo
Signore per natura; questo Signore per natura; questo in alcun modo non può esser
vero, che egli sia il mio naturale et supremo Signore, ò d' alcun altro del suo populo,
perciò che niun Principe," etc. etc.
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CARDINAL POLE dition neither I nor the people of England are born. So even were
he thus “natural and supreme Lord," no man has more than one,
ENGLAND. who is God the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, and His Son, who
(7th Sept.) being one and the same with Him took our nature upon Him, fol-
to the
PROTECTOR OF
lowing the will of the Father, and freeing us by the victory obtained
in his passion from the hands and servitude of him who kept the
whole human race in captivity, and by nature and acquirement (et
per acquisto) was and is true and supreme Lord of all men, to whose
obedience I have subjected myself, being bound by nature to do so,
and doing the like by Kings and Princes with regard to the laws,
so far as their commandments, decrees, and statutes are in accord-
ance with His Divine law, as it is fitting that they should be, He
being supreme Lord of them and of us, as likewise of all other
human creatures. Therefore as many of the decrees issued by the
King and by yourself are at variance with the Divine law, I do not
intend to be subject to them. It is also possible that while other
people are subject to the laws and statutes of the King, an individual
changing profession, state, and country, as has chanced to me, is
not bound to this subjection.
But further explanation of this matter would be now too tedious
and unnecessary after so much discussion about it in England
and in France, when what you now assert was confuted entirely
at the time of my mission as Cardinal Legate, and honourable
reception by King Francis. When the late King of England
complained of this, he was answered that he had no cause for com-
plaint, as the honours done me were done as to a Legate from
the Pope, and not to a private Englishman. Had you then held
such authority in the Council as you do at present, you would
have well understood that reply and decision, and perhaps not laid
such great stress on my being the subject of the King as
re my
supreme Lord." But be this as it may, my Lord, should any
opportunity present itself for me to serve the King, and you
also, to the honour of God and to the advantage of the realm,
albeit you are unable by any law to call me your subject, I, of
my own free will and election and by this my writing, am content
that you should always command me; and I readily offer myself,
not only as your subject, but also [as the subject] of the meanest
person in the kingdom, on any occasion when it may be really
in my power to benefit them. And to this point the present is
a sufficient reply.
You also allege another cause for which you thought I should
desire to return home, namely, on account of the purity of the Word
of God and of the doctrine of Christ, sent forth (mandata innanzi)
as you say, by your means, and taught more purely (sinceramente)
now than ever it was formerly. I tell you, my Lord, that this in
truth would be of no little importance, and that it would be well
nigh a bait to make me return to my country, were I sure the
matter is as you represent it. And I should be convinced of this
could I see or hear that the Word of God produced such effect upon
you, as is usual when it is well understood and received; that is to
say, were it to make you return to his obedience; whereas hitherto,
to tell you frankly what I hear, you give various indications of
acting to the contrary. One of these is, that the spiritual compre-
·
?
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CARDINAL POLE hension of the Word of God (as I suppose this to be the thing of
which you boast when you say that you promote the Word of God)
does not reach (proviene ad) all persons equally, but solely those to
(7th Sept.) whom God gives it, together with His Holy Spirit, which, according
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
to Scripture,"effugit fictum et cum simplicissimo habitat." So by
exhibiting a spirit quite contrary to this, that is to say, by being a
scorner rather than a lover of simplicity, you furnish me with a very
sure argument for showing that spiritual comprehension of the word
of God, of which you make profession, does not exist in you more
than in others.
((
But even granting, as I said before, that this error be not yours,
and that it proceeded from your Secretary, yet, nevertheless, what
I shall now say cannot be denied, that one error committed by
you is so great as to exclude all comprehension, spiritual and
profitable, of the Word of God, namely, that I still see manus
vestras plenas sanguine et sacrilegijs." You confirm, and do
not cancel, as you ought to do, the statutes of that man, who
himself alone shed more innocent blood in the kingdom, and
perpetrated more unjust acts of spoliation, than the entire series
of such Kings as reigned tyrannically before him (che tutti gli altri
Re insieme che per lo passato hanno tirannescamente regnato).
These statutes it would have been your duty to repeal and abrogate
on assuming the government of the realm, if you wished to make
any greater profession than others of spiritual comprehension of
the doctrine of God (d' intelligenza spirituale della dottrina di
Dio), as before God he who confirms and approves such impious
statutes is no less guilty and culpable than he who makes them.
Nor can you excuse yourself on the plea of not having had
authority to repeal them, as it was in your power to annul and abro-
gate the confirmation (sic) of the Six Articles relating to the con-
firmation of the sacraments made by the late King and passed in
Parliament, which was the best thing he ever did in this world
and you, although compelled by the law of God to have them
maintained and observed, did not hesitate to repeal and abrogate
them, and have confirmed the other statutes, which every law,
Divine and human, condemns and blames as most unjust and impious.
And with all this, you profess to have the pure comprehension of
the Word of God, of which if you have any comprehension at all,
your conscience must reproach you for making such bad use of it.
But in truth it seems to me that your actions show that you have
very little of this comprehension; for Christ declares who those are
who have the true comprehension of his doctrine when he says,
“Qui facit voluntatem Patris mei qui in cœlo est, hic intelligit (sic)
de doctrina med," signifying that those who do not follow this
obedience never arrive at the true and spiritual comprehension of
his doctrine; and he demonstrates to what sort of persons the Spirit
of God comes, when he says, "Ad quem respiciam, nisi ad humilem
et contritum et timentem verba mea?" namely, to him who evinces
* Law of the Six Articles passed by the two Houses in May 1539. (See Hume, vol. iii
p. 231.)
250
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to the
PROTECTOR OF
(7th Sept.)
CARDINAL POLE this spirit of contrition, which you as yet do not, and indeed
rather show the contrary; nor can I ever believe that you
ENGLAND. have more perfect comprehension of the things of God (delle
cose di Dio) than other people, unless you acquire (pigliate)
it; because this comprehension is derived from spiritual books
and writings, in which case moreover I do not see how you can
have any advantage in this respect to make you prefer them to
those in these parts; we having as great an abundance of good
writings and good books as you have. And to omit mentioning all
our other advantages of which you by your disobedience are
deprived; I tell you that in any way whereby you may have
wished to gain repute and credit in this matter of religion, and of
the pure comprehension of the Word of God, as it seems was your
object, you should have commenced your Parliament and Council
(Parlamento et Consiglio), as I have already said, by doing justice
to those who during the past years have been persecuted with so
much violence and iniquity, which would have gained for you no little
repute. The acts of injustice perpetrated by the late King in so
many various manners and against all sorts of persons, afforded you
a wide field for doing so, had you chosen, and had grace been
conceded you for the purpose. Then, after having done this, you
would have been enabled with some authority to discourse about
the purity of your doctrine, in which matter at present you have
deservedly little credit; so that you have no cause to be surprised,
if for this reason likewise I abstained from negotiating with you
about my return to my country.
After this, you conclude your introduction (præmio) by saying
that were you not convinced that all that I wrote you, and all the
warnings given by me to you, proceeded from a sincere mind, you
would not have given me any answer at all, the matter not being
worthy of reply; and so you commence answering, and say that you
do so, because a mind such as that evinced by me deserves either
pardon or thanks. Your first reply, nevertheless, contains nothing
but scoffs and gibes, which constitute the pardon or thanks awarded
by you to a sincere and pure mind. You then say-as if I had
demanded a place in which to hold a conference with you—that I
must borrow the territory from another power; and you say that
I represent myself as a foreign prince, coming to an interview with
your Sovereign, with other similar expressions, to which I, my Lord,
having no mind to jest, especially in matters of such vast importance,
which, proceeding as they do (andando nel modo come vano), move
all who have any zeal for the honour of God, or love for their
country, to weep rather than to jest, will reply with that same
sincere mind which you yourself confess to have recognized in
* written (fatte) concerning this matter.
my
And first of all, I tell you that I did not think of coming to any
conference with the King, well knowing that he was still a minor
(un fanciullo); and this was why I do not say a single word about
him. But you display a very puerile imagination by supposing that
* Blank in MS.
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251
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to the
PROTECTOR OF
CARDINAL POLE I could wish for a conference with such a person, in matters of
such great importance, unless you consider all the matters proposed
ENGLAND. by me puerile and light, as indicated by your reply throughout. I
(7th Sept.) indeed offered to hold a conference with any of his ministers whose
parlance was not puerile (i quali non havessero discorso puerile),
and the cause of my offer was this, that I perceived your transactions,
most especially in the affairs of the religion, to be very abominable
in the sight both of God and man, and that therefore you were
threatened with many dangers. These seemed to me so much the
greater as I understood that at that very time, the Emperor gave a
great rebuff to your ambassador, solely on account of your pro-
ceedings in religious matters, so that I was afraid his Majesty's
words might be followed by corresponding deeds, as might be very
distinctly inferred from the recent example of Germany in the like
cause*; and this might moreover come to pass very speedily, his
Majesty being in such great force.
Of this I was the more apprehensive, because at that same time
I saw a great inclination and desire on the part of all honest men
to have the ecclesiastical censures enforced against you. This wish
was caused not solely by your ancient Articles as maintained by
you against the Church and its faith, which were common to you
and all, but also by other new heresies in the matter of the Trinity
such as no heretic bearing the name of Christian ever entertained,
and with you (et appresso di voi) they were discussed before the
Marquis of Dorset (Marchese di Dovestria) without any contradic-
tion.~ These things having with good reason greatly exasperated all
pious persons against you, I feared that God would visit you with
some sudden scourge, before you could foresee it; and for this I had
also great reason, from knowing, through persons who had quitted
those parts, that owing to these same matters of religion the people
were divided in their opinions, and that some great tumult might
easily arise in the kingdom, as was in fact demonstrated by some
recent acts of rebellion.†
As you had given me some little opportunity for writing to you,
I, being apprehensive of all these things, would not pass them over
in silence, and by reason of the good result which might have been
obtained by a warning of the disasters which threatened you, I was
induced to make you that offer which I did, of coming to a confer-
ence with any of you, a thing which, had you accepted it, would
have been very advantageous for you, as it might have been inferred
thence, that you were not contumacious (contumace) in your
opinions; and thus for a while you would have avoided all dangers,
and given cause to delay the censures and military operations
(et l'armi) which with such just reason might have been employed
against you.
This, my Lord, is the simplicity and sincerity of my mind, for
which you deride and ridicule me, saying that I offer to come and
hold a conference with you in a foreign land (sul terreno di un
altro), as it were borrowing it, not having any land of my own,
* Rout of the League of Smalkalde, battle of Mulberg, 22nd April 1547.
† Query, disturbances caused by the commission of enclosures.
252
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CARDINAL POLE Which is but too true, for no other reason than because that land
which by every reason and justice ought to be equally yours and
ENGLAND. mine, and which is my country, you, contrary to all justice, have
(7th Sept.) rendered as it were a Charybdis or a Scylla to all those who favour
to the
PROTECTOR of
its honour and welfare, for were not this the case it would not
behove me to borrow the land of others, as I should have my share
as well as any one else. You then accuse me of pride, for having
offered to come in person to confer with you in any place near the
kingdom, about some agreement concerning the affairs of the religion,
should it be possible; and this you interpret "an ambitious desire
(una voglia ambitiosa), as shown yet more clearly in another part
of your letter. To act by you throughout with that sincerity and
purity of mind which you yourself admit, I tell you that when
Î made the offer I rather apprehended the reverse of what you say ;
it seemed to me that had I come to you in the amicable form pro-
posed by me I might have done myself dishonour rather than any
honour, as I very well knew the character you bear with all persons
of repute and at foreign courts, by reason of your conduct in the
affairs of the religion, in such wise that the Emperor himself, about
whose friendship you brave and boast so much (bravate et vi
gloriate tanto), deemed it no longer for his honour to pass it over
in silence, and therefore gave that reproof to your ambassador; and
this same opinion is entertained by the other Christian Powers
likewise, and by all persons of honour.
""
It would have been no marvel had I at the commencement of
such a negotiation with you, anticipated but little honour, as were
any honour whatever to accrue to me thence, it could only be in
case through my mediation some good adjustment of this matter
should be effected, of which you yourself gave me but little hope;
and even had there been any at all, I foresaw nevertheless that at
the commencement of the negotiation, until it succeeded, I could
necessarily obtain but little honour, and perhaps much blame from
many persons for the reason aforesaid. And therefore I had no
lack of friends who demonstrated to me that I was humbling
myself too much by offering to make so long a journey in person to
confer with you; and they counselled and exhorted me to wait until
I had some better founded hope of a good result. But the love I bear
my country, and the manifest peril in which I saw it (should you
continue as you had commenced) being always before my eyes,
caused me to have little regard for my own honour in this case,
most especially as I did not perceive any other way whereby you
could be turned aside from the very dangerous road on which you
had commenced your course, save through this sort of parley and
conference, by means of which it seemed to me that your present
impending dangers might be averted or at least delayed for some
time; and for this reason I was content to endure some indignity
and dishonour, in order that you might be induced to act for your
own advantage and honour.
You now interpret this contrariwise, as if it were unbecoming and
dishonourable for the King's commissioners to cross the sea for a
conference with me, I being of the rank I am, and coming so
great a distance, and for so important a cause; although I have
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to the
CARDINAL POLE frequently seen persons, even those most in repute with the King,
PROTECTOR OF sent by him across the Channel, solely to adjust commercial
ENGLAND. differences, without any disparagement to the royal honour. So
(7th Sept.) it is thus evident that had you heartily reverenced the Word of
God, as you profess to do by the lips outwardly, you never would
have considered it contrary to your honour to send some one as
your delegate on so short a sea voyage, to discuss that Word of
God with another delegate, I do not say of such dignity as I am,
but of any condition whatever, most especially one coming a distance
of upwards of 1,000 miles for this purpose; for although perchance I
might have known less than you, yet the charity inherent to all
those who truly reverence the Word of God should have persuaded
you not to hold in such small account so great an opportunity
given you for teaching such a person who professed himself ready
to listen to you; and had he known as much as you, that same
charity should have prompted you, propter mutuam consolationem,
to send some one on so short a journey to confer together, and not
allow such an opportunity to escape, solely because it seemed
derogatory to your honour.
But I know not how you estimate this your honour, unless you
consider your dignity greater than that of the late King, who gave
you what dignity you possess. Nor ought you now to deem
undignified that which he considered as suitable to Kings; and with
this opportunity I will tell you what you perhaps did not know
hitherto, as when it happened you had no authority in the kingdom.
It is this. In the first year of my cardinalate,* on my coming to
Flanders, when I had no controversy whatever with the King, save
about matters relating to the religion, at that time his Majesty
ordered certain learned men (dotti), amongst whom the chief was
Dr. Wissonio (sic), to come to the city of Liege, where I was then
residing, to confer with me about those matters, and on this account
solely the said Doctor was despatched by the said Court; though
this conference did not take place, because I was compelled to return
to Rome by commission from his Holiness before the said Doctor
had crossed the Channel. So you can see that my proposal was not
contrary to your dignity, [unless ?] supposing it to have been your
intention to assume greater authority than the King your master
ever did, which would convict you of much greater pride than such
as you lay to me.
Be this, however, as it may, the true cause for which I nominated
and offered myself was because I had regard for your honour and
welfare more than for my own, which honour and welfare would
have ensued had you ceased to do what you have commenced doing
about the affairs of the religion, from which you will perhaps be
compelled to desist by some foreign power; and to me it appeared
both better and very much more honourable for you, that without
waiting to be coerced, you should have appeared to do so from your
own free choice, and not from necessity.
* As already mentioned, Reginald Pole was created Cardinal on the 22nd December
1536.
•
254
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CARDINAL POLE
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
(7th Sept.)
In addition to this, the exception made by you in your letter,
showing that you were ready to come to any negotiation with me,
provided I did not employ any foreigner as mediator, was a very
great reason for my offering myself; and but for this consideration,
I could have found many other persons more sufficient from their
qualities, to treat this matter with you, than I am, although I
venture to place myself on a par with any other person who in a
similar case would have been fit to negotiate with you, by reason of
the love and affection I bear my country, which if ever demonstrated
by me at any time, has been most especially manifested by this
offer. And the chief reason for my offering myself, besides that of
doing you more honour as aforesaid, was because had I sent you
any other person, even an Englishman, it would not have been so
much to your honour, as there is no one else of our countrymen
invested with my grade. This will suffice, in reply to your
imputation against me; referring myself for the rest to the judg-
ment of God and of the whole world, which will comprehend whether
this offer and these particulars deserved such imputation, and
whether my offer should have been remunerated by the gibes it
received from you.
.
After deriding me to your heart's content, and saying that by
seeking a place in which to hold a conference with you, I wished to
borrow the land from another (voleva tuor imprestito il terreno da
un' altro), you then commence answering about the dangers of
which I warned you, saying that when I announced them, it should
have struck me that they were as well known to you as to myself.
Notwithstanding, by this your reply it does not appear that you
knew anything at all about them, for you treat the subject so
lightly, as if there was not the least danger in the world, and yet,
in the opinion of all other persons, they are so manifold and so
great, that in no kingdom, at one and the same time, were greater
ever witnessed than those now manifest there. And were there
none but such as are visible to everybody, they would suffice for
the ruin of any realm however great and powerful,—an infant
King,--war with two kingdoms at one and the same time, and the
people within the realm discordant and divided about matters the
most important, and of the most difficult possible adjustment,
namely, those of religion; all which, besides other causes, have
often sufficed to make the people rebel.
These things should not, I think, be held in little account; but
the prudence of your Secretary considers them unimportant, it
seeming to him that he has found a most efficacious remedy for
all these evils. He alleges on the other hand the great graces
and virtues (gratie e virtù) possessed, he says, by the young King,
evincing displeasure at my having said that he is in boyhood (in
età puerile), and that I ought to have told you besides that he
has so many endowments (che egli è di tante gratie), and is so
fortified and strengthened by his faithful councillors-as evident by
his successes in holding his own and repressing the attacks of his
enemies that no former sovereign of late years can be said to have
exceeded him in power. This is the addition which your Secretary
wished me to have made, when speaking of the King's age, which
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SFET
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CARDINAL POLE addition he deems sufficient to remove all the fears which might be
entertained on this account. Hence it may be inferred what the
ENGLAND. youth will become on arriving at man's estate, having been educated
(7th Sept.) by persons who already commence flattering him so shamefully,
to the
PROTECTOR OF
"
and do not choose to be reminded that it is no little disadvantage
for a realm to have an infant King, let his qualities be what they
will; Scripture purporting in general, " Maledicta terra cujus Rex
est puer.
Solomon, whose wisdom is so celebrated, seeing that
three things were uncertain in this world, namely, the way of a
ship at sea, and the way of an eagle in the air, and the way of a
serpent on the land, adds thereto moreover the fourth, yet more
uncertain, of which he did not dare to give any opinion, namely, the
way of a youth in his adolescence.
But that prudent man, your Secretary, speaks of this King with
such certainty that he cannot bear to hear talk of any danger
which might befall the realm by reason of his too tender age,
although in my letter, without alluding either to virtue or to a
corrupted kingdom (regno vizio) (sic) [viziato ?], I spoke not so
much of the dangers it might incur from the King's boyhood, as of
the inconveniences which might befall the realm during his minority,
even should he be endowed with all the greatest gifts of which his
age is capable. And to this effect I quoted several examples, and
some of recent date, and amongst the rest, the losses and troubles of
England during the minority of Henry VI., when such turmoil and
disturbance commenced in the realm as to continue for many years
afterwards. But the Secretary is so averse to this opinion that a
kingdom can receive detriment from being governed by a King of
such tender age, that he says I deceive myself in history (che mi
ingano nell' istoria), and declares that in said Henry's minority,
the realm did not suffer; and he adduces examples from Scripture
(della Scrittura), — including even Solomon for one (et non-
dimeno Salomone per uno)-that some realms, although their Kings
were young lads (puti di poca età), did not suffer on that account.
To see therefore whether I deceive myself, I will cite the words of
the printed English Chronicle recording the years of Henry VI.,
thus-
Li
[The passage is not transcribed in the manuscript.]
Coming now to the example of Solomon, we can see whether it
is to the point. Scripture says that Solomon was not a child
(puto) when he commenced reigning; but although educated, until
he arrived at man's estate, under the discipline of his father, the
best King that ever reigned, which profited him more than all the
wisdom and science he had besides, yet at the end, all this did
not suffice to render his good government durable (a mantenerlo
in buon governo).* But this your young King, on whom you
place so much reliance, has moreover, amongst others, the following
disadvantage, that he had for father the greatest King who ever
ruled that realm, which may conduce more to spoil and injure him
than all the endowments of nature, and any good education received
Thy father made our yoke grievous." (II. Chronicles, x. v. 3.)
256
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CARDINAL POLE by him, can effect in his favour, most especially as the abominable
statutes of his father are set before him as an example.
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
But, as I said, I did not intend to discuss the qualities of the
(7th Sept.) individual, he being of such tender age, but solely the detriment to
which a kingdom might be subjected by the boyhood of its King;
nor do I believe it necessary to dispute with you, my Lord, about
this, as by experience you know what I say to be perfectly true,
as you have been compelled to behead your own brother,* because
with this opportunity of the King's boyhood, he sought to expel
you from the government and from the post held by you, and to
usurp it for himself. On this point, therefore, I will not dilate
further, what I have said being quite enough to show my intention,
namely, in what danger those subjects are, who have a lad for their
Lord (che hanno un putto per Signore), since where there is strife
for government, and discontent about it, one brother cannot be safe
from the other.
After this, you reply to what I said about the danger you might
incur by persevering in your present course, owing to the injuries
done to the churches (per li dispiaceri fatti alle chiese), and to
foreign powers; on which subject, when speaking of the Emperor
and demonstrating to you with what good cause he might wage
war against you for the injuries (offese) done him and the Church,
which you continue multiplying daily, you make an exclamation
against me, and say that I detract from the honour of the Emperor
and of the other sovereigns also, as was likewise the case with
regard to your Prince, by my showing such an opinion of his
[Imperial] Majesty as to suppose he would make war upon you,
not having any other cause to do so, save that of the divorce made
by the late King of the Emperor's aunt; and this would be too
great a dishonour for his Majesty, were he for a cause so long ago
forgotten, to choose to break so firm a confederacy as that which he
has with you, and even were he to do so, you seem to care little
about it, having, as you say, God on your side.
But to return to the dishonour which you say I should do the
Emperor, if I supposed that his Majesty-regardless of so strong a
tie of friendship and confederacy contracted with you since the
divorce from his aunt-bears in mind the injury done him; I will
speak rather more clearly, and say that it would be more to his
Majesty's dishonour to observe those confederacies than to break
them, as you are the persons who break all laws Divine and
human; so those who wish to defend the honour of his Majesty
who made those confederacies are compelled to seek some reason
and apology for them. And the Emperor himself when speaking of
his friendship with you, alleges that he made a confederacy with
the deceased King to see whether this courteous form could convert
him (l' havesse potuto ricuperare); but never supposing-should the
King continue the impious courses whereby he commenced-that it
would be for his [the Emperor's] honour to persevere in friendship
* Lord Seymour was beheaded on Tower-hill in March 1549. (See Hume, vol. iii.
F. 317, ed. London, 1754.)
1549.
257
1549.
CARDINAL POLE With him; and with regard to this, the Emperor speaks as becomes
the honour of so great and Catholic a sovereign as he is, and you
think disrespectfully of his Majesty if you think otherwise. You
(7th Sept.) also deceive and flatter yourself if you suppose he will interpret
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
and measure the justice of his complaint against you, according to
your interpretation and measure, neither more nor less; and the
admonitions so frequently received by you from him, had you really
been persons of prudence, might have taught you on what he
grounds his complaint.
And as you write that I disparage the Emperor's honour, as said
by you heretofore, solely for the purpose of rendering me and my
cause also odious to the Emperor, and to deprive me of all credit
with him when discussing this matter, I will tell you with regard
to it, that if his Majesty had no cause for waging war upon you
heretofore, as everybody knows that he had, you nevertheless by
your proceedings in the affairs of the religion, have given, and daily
continue giving him yet greater cause for doing so; and were his
Majesty in these matters to give greater credit to one side than to
the other, I ought not to be the last listened to by him. If by
means of his power and authority matters here should assume that
form which justice and the honour of God require, and if those
persons and families which have suffered should be restored and
compensated for the losses they have incurred; in that case there is
no family in England which might and could more reasonably
expect the favour and graciousness of his Majesty than ours, not
merely on public accounts, but likewise for private reasons, as I
shall now show.
5.
This thing, as yet, I have never told his Majesty, but as you
now give me a very great opportunity for doing so, and because
it is much to the purpose for the better illustration of Divine
providence-which the more we have before our eyes, the more
does it act for our welfare and safety-I will tell you of the
grievous trouble and remorse which his Majesty's aunt, the most
Serene Queen Katharine, had to endure, as frequently alluded to
by herself, always thinking of this, namely, that a great part of her
troubles emanated from God, not through any fault of her own,
but for the salvation of her soul; and that the Divine justice thus
punished the sin of her father King Ferdinand, for when he com-
menced negotiating her marriage with Prince Arthur, the eldest
son of the King of England, some disturbances took place at the
time, owing to the favour and goodwill borne by the people to my
mother's brother the Earl of Warwick, of whom we have made
mention above, who being the son of the Duke of Clarence, brother
of King Edward, became, by the death of that King's sons, next
heir to the English crown. King Ferdinand, having by the agree-
ments to conclude his daughter's marriage at that time, made a
difficulty about it, saying he would not give her to one who was
not secure in his own kingdom; and thus, by inciting the King to
do what he already desired spontaneously, he was the cause of the
death of that innocent Earl, who had no more blame in those
commotions, nor could anything else be laid to his charge, save the
danger which the King in Council alleged had already befallen him
R
258
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE in part, through the existence of the said Earl; and in addition to
this, having heard the opinion of the King of Spain, he did that
deed, of which (as I have already said) he so greatly repented on his
death-bed.
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
(7th Sept.)
But the Divine justice did not permit so iniquitous an act of
injustice to remain unpunished, for at the end of six months Prince
Arthur died, nor could he any longer enjoy the wife who had been
given him by such bad counsel, and she was then re-married to the
King's other son, who succeeded to his crown. To these causes
that good Princess said that she attributed in great part the annoy-
ances and distresses endured by her, confessing that she was therefore
very much bound to recompense and requite us for the detriment
we had received on her account (although she was not in the least
to blame for it), and to show us every kindness, having found by
experience that in all her sorrows and afflictions, from no family of
the realm had she ever received greater consolation than from ours,
although for her sake we had received so many injuries. Any
reasonable man can judge whether these are reasons for the Emperor
to commence the restoration of our family,* which has been
destroyed for no other cause than for having suffered for the honour
of God and for the Imperial family.†
Of this, however (as I have mentioned), whatever private oppor-
tunity I may have had for speaking to his Majesty, never did I
utter a word to him on the subject, because the public cause being
in such a state as it is, I do not heed that which concerns myself
individually, it being so connected with the public cause that the
two will of necessity revive together, should the Lord God ever
grant such a result. But leaving aside the discussion of the private
advantage of our family, which we might justly anticipate from the
Emperor,--although I never wished it to be taken into consideration,
save so far as compatible with the common cause of the Church,
and the common weal, on account of which alone we were thus
reduced, and returning to the inquiry about the profit or loss
which might accrue to England were the Emperor, moved by the
just causes given him by the government, to attack the country, I
tell you that this is what I warned you of, and now I do so
again, because I desire your welfare as much as you yourself.
Although you hold my counsels and warnings in little account, I
give you notice not obstinately to stifle the common weal (oppri-
mere il ben commune), and repeat that you deceive yourself grossly
if you think the Emperor will measure the justice of his com-
plaint against you, according to your own interpretation. And as
to what you say, that the fear evinced by me lest the Emperor
attack you, proceeds from those who wish him to break the peace
between you, and that I well know who attempted this thing,
inferring by these words that I in great part solicited and insti-
gated his Majesty thus to do; I answer you, that God in the first
place, who alone is the best cognisant of all things, and then the
W
* Metter mano a ristorare la nostra famiglia.
+ † Non per altra eausa distrutta che per haver servito all' honor di Dio, et alla famiglia
sua.
1549.
259
1549.
CARDINAL POLE Emperor, can render good testimony of my goodwill, and of your
false opinion in this respect.
to the
PROTECTOR of
ENGLAND.
I will not indeed deny having endeavoured by every effort that
(7th Sept.) the Emperor should interfere and use all his authority in order
that the affairs of England might assume a better form, and be
adjusted in such a manner as should be for the universal welfare
and quiet of all parties. But I have never, as you say, sought
(procurato) anything against the kingdom, but on the contrary, its
honour and safety. And the realm being crushed by every sort of
tyranny, so that neither in written records, nor in the memory of
man, had the country, since it bore the name of a kingdom, ever
been in a worse condition than of late years; I thought it fitting, as
all these misfortunes occurred through the injury done to his family,
that the Emperor should hold in greater account the bond of ancient
friendship which linked him to the body of that realm, than the
friendship of one single man who was its head, the which head,
being infected and full of peccant humours, had well nigh tainted
and destroyed the rest of the body. Nor did I therefore speak of
that man save in this manner, that if his [Imperial] Majesty thought
conscientiously there was any way of converting (ricuperar) that
Prince, who had so widely deviated from the law of God and man,
he should be pleased in the first place to employ all such means as
his prudence might deem fit for making him return to a healthy
state (a poterlo fare tornare in sanità), thus benefiting not only the
head, but contemporaneously the whole body. In case, however, his
Majesty should perceive him to be utterly and thoroughly abandoned
by God and entirely given over in reprobum sensum,* and that he
was daily going from bad to worse, in that case all I requested of
his Majesty was that he should hold in greater account the friend-
ship of the entire kingdom, containing so many thousands of souls
in extreme danger, than that of one man alone, for he might feel
very sure of rendering them great assistance, as manifest to every-
body, should God give him the grace (which it is credible would
be given him) to change in some degree the government of that
kingdom, he having been called by his Divine Majesty to the
grace and station occupied by him, that he may provide for the
common weal of all kingdoms and countries (di tutti li Regni e
Provincie). And that should his Majesty not do this, but allow
English affairs to remain as they were, which, owing to the bru-
talities (brutezze) and enormities committed by the ministers
(governatori), contrary to Divine and human laws, had become
unbearable, he would incur very great blame and responsibility.
And that not only should he and could he do so, according to the
natural law, which exhorted and encouraged him to this, but also
by authority of that person, to whom you and your ancestors,
before you lapsed from the ecclesiastical laws, always assigned
the chief authority for regulating all matters relating to the well-
being of the Church, that is to say, of the High Pontiff, to whose
judgment both the Emperor and the King originally referred
Chi
* "God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient." (St. Paul to the Romans, chapter i. verse 28.)
R 2
260
¡
1549.
1549.
to the
PROTECTOR of
CARDINAL POLE themselves, that he might decide and pass sentence in that suit,
which was the cause of all the trouble and disturbance of that
ENGLAND. kingdom; which suit having, according to justice, been decided in
(7th Sept.) favour of the Emperor, his Majesty was so much the more bound to
defend the right of the legitimate sentence, and of the suit, both
which had been coerced (oppressi) by the King.
*
This, as I said, has always been the main point (la summa) of my
negotiation with the Emperor, to whom, when speaking of these
matters, I always chiefly recommended the interests of the King,
exhorting his Majesty to have every regard for him compatible with
the advantage of the whole Church and the Realm, and in the
second place I recommended to the Emperor the welfare of the
kingdom. This same method was observed by me, when after
the death of the King you refused to listen to any advice from me,
although it concerned your own interest and advantage; for at that
time, when treating these affairs with the Emperor, in the first
place I recommended to him your advantage (comodo), that is to
say, that you should remain Protector so long as your rule was not
contrary to the welfare and benefit of the Realm. And this is all
that I negotiated and treated with the Emperor; which negotiation
and treaty you now seem to deride, because hitherto his Majesty has
done you no more harm than I wished you, and you do whatever
you please. But you should remember the old proverb, that "there
happens in one hour, that which does not happen in a thousand
years;" and also that other saying, "Calenda Martina venerunt,
nondum præterierunt." All your scoffs at what I say cannot,
however, induce me to think otherwise, save that what it pleases
Divine Providence to do, for the punishment of malice and support
of justice, may also be effected, if indeed it be possible, for the
benefit and salvation of your body and soul; though certainly what
makes me fear very greatly for your soul, is your scoffing and gibing
at those who warn you of the many and great dangers whereby
you are threatened, for then it is that the malice of man has reached
its zenith, and this pitch of malice being accomplished, the scourge
of God cannot be far distant, nor its coming long delayed; but be
it throughout as determined according to the profound judgment of
his Divine Majesty.†
You then reply to what I said about the danger of having war
at one and the same time with two kingdoms, viz., France and
Scotland; and your Secretary makes this answer with such proud
disdain and contempt for those kingdoms, as if nothing was com-
moner than to beat them both, whenever you please, saying that
it is nothing new for England to have war, without defeat, with
both those nations. But really what you say is less common than
* "Essortandolo ad haverli ogni rispetto che non pregiudicasse et ripugnasse al
commodo di tutta la chiesa et del Regno et secondariamente raccommandandoli il commodo
del Regno."
(C
† At this part of the manuscript (p. 18 verso) there is a contemporary marginal note
in substance thus,-" When this reply was conveyed to England, the Protector was put in
prison, and shortly afterwards beheaded," The original words are, Quando questa
risposta fu portata in Inghilterra il Governatore fu posto in prigione et dopo pochi di tagliatali
a testa." The Protector was displaced on the 9th October 1549, and beheaded on the 22nd
January 1552.
1549.
261
1549.
to the
CARDINAL POLE the custom of Divine Providence to punish in their wars those who
PROTECTOR of make the greatest boast, and trust to their own power, holding
ENGLAND. their enemies in no account, and attributing past victories to their
(7th Sept.)
own ability and valour, not acknowledging that they proceed
from the hand and power of God, whose Divine Providence, which
in peace and war rules and regulates all things, has rendered the
realm of France so powerful, both by its extensive territory and by
the great obedience of its population, united by one tongue and one
religion, that I believe there are few kingdoms in the world of
equal power to repress the pride into which man from his vain
nature is apt to fall; whilst on the other hand the Almighty decreed
that England, which, as compared with France, is a mere span of
earth and an armful of men,* should very often be her superior in
war. But should this minor power choose to wax proud on account
of her victories, and despise the greater power, as if they had been
obtained by herself, and not by Divine favour, it is very credible
that his Divine Majesty will at length chastise her, withdrawing his
hand as he is wont to do, and as it is reasonable that he should do ;
Scripture (la scrittura) saying, that he will abase the proud from
their seat and exalt the humble.† How much better it would be
for you, having some advantage over your neighbours, who have
greater power, to endeavour with this opportunity to initiate a
firm and stable friendship with them, instead of thus seeking to
kindle hatred and enmity, which with time cannot but be very
detrimental and disadvantageous to you, it being reasonable that
the greater power in the end will worst and exhaust (consumi) the
lesser, and especially, as I said, when the lesser by its pride gives
cause to God to withdraw his hand.
And here I know that you will scoff at my counsel as that of a
man who is pusillanimous and of little courage; but to me, never-
theless, it seems very great courage and extreme wisdom on the part
of any ruler, to seek to live at peace with his neighbour, and above
all with one more powerful than himself, and strive to caress and
vanquish him by benefits, rather than in any other manner. Had
you acted thus by France and Scotland, as you had an opportunity
for doing, it would have been more in accordance with the profession
made by you about the purity of the Word of God, than what you
are now doing-daily devising fresh causes for dissension and
discord with the whole world, and augmenting them, which in
the end cannot but cause your ruin.
* Non è altro che un poco di terra, et un manipulo d' huomini.
†
"Exalt him that is low, abase the high." (Ezekiel, 21, 26.)
P
Your Secretary, however, finds an excellent remedy for whatever
inconvenience may occur, by making it appear that he neither holds
in account, nor is he aware of, those dangers which are manifest to
everybody and considered serious. He acts thus, either to evince
contempt for them, and to show that they are unworthy of con-
sideration, or else because he in fact deems them so, and believes
that they are unimportant; the prudence of which conclusions I will
leave to the judgment of others, the facts being notorious, as stated
262
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE in my instructions (instruttione). Your separation from all other
Christians in the affairs of religion, affords the readiest possible
ENGLAND. cause for any Prince, inclined to accept and assume so glorious and
(7th Sept.) at the same time so profitable an undertaking, to wage war against
to the
PROTECTOR OF
you, as for a Christian sovereign there is nothing more honourable
than the defence of the religion-a thing of which your Secretary
does not perceive any danger whatever.
Nor does he see the danger which I said might possibly arise
from dissensions within the kingdom itself, by reason of the
conflicting opinions entertained by the people in religious matters.
This he maintains most strenuously, and utterly denies there
being any dissension, saying that this report proceeded from Rome
where it was invented, and that I was ill-informed and unac-
quainted with the present state of affairs in England, which was
quite the reverse of what I stated, it seeming to him that the
bishops and all the others were well agreed; nor was he ashamed
to lie so impudently,* as if he did not know for what cause the Bishop
of Winchester, one of the chief bishops of the realm, is kept prisoner
in the Tower of London,† nor of the dissension amongst the other
bishops, the popular murmurs and insurrections on this account,
and of the concealed murder of certain commissioners. But it is
folly to say more about dangers which it is not chosen either to see
or to acknowledge; and if the opinion of the rulers is such as ex-
pressed in this letter, it is a manifest sign that God has deprived
them of all sight and knowledge of danger, that they may the more
easily fall into it and remain entangled in the snare, from which
I pray God of his great mercy to free both them and the whole
kingdom.
But I will now conclude my discourse and warning about dangers,
as although they are evident to all other persons, you comprehend and
esteem them so little, notwithstanding the very loving notice given
by me to you (a thing which perhaps few others in my position
would have done) of the peril there was, owing to the doubt raised
by the most sage and consummate jurists in canon law, with regard
to the King's title, he being born of a schismatic and excommuni-
cated King, and still persevering in augmenting the causes of the
schism, and therefore being in his own person justly excommuni-
cated. After this, I affectionately placed before your eyes the best
and easiest remedy for this, offering you my personal service and
mediation. And here your good Secretary says that I call in question
(che io metto in dubbio) the King's title, as if I was the first to
raise this doubt, or as if he who raises a doubt in any matter for
the purpose of finding a remedy in order to exclude all farther
doubt, offering to this effect his service and assistance, can or should
be deemed an enemy, rather than a friend. This thing, if asserted
with your knowledge, may well authorise me to accuse you of great
malice, for attributing blame to what deserves praise and infinite
* Di mentire così sfacciatamenta.
† Gardiner was sent to the Tower in June 1548, and remained a prisoner there until
after the death of Edward VI. (See Froude, vol. v. p. 106.)
Et d'alcuni commissionarij uccisi fosse nascosa.
1
263
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE thanks.
to the
PROTECTOR OF
ENGLAND.
(7th Sept.)
And this was precisely the course pursued by the late
King, to his extreme shame and ignominy; those who cautioned
him against any sin, or opposed his unjust desires, he considered his
enemies; as if when a man is in danger of falling over some frightful
precipice, he should consider the first person who points it out to
him, his capital enemy, for not having let him rush headlong to
destruction.
But you do not choose to acknowledge this to be a danger,
though, nevertheless, make light of it as you will, for a King to
be schismatic is the greatest danger that ever befell any Prince
since Kings commenced receiving the Christian faith; and of the
means whereby this danger is to, or can, be avoided, not one word
does your letter say, but, merely quoting the opinion of "the most
prudent Prince," styling him "the late King of most famous
memory," says, "If this is danger, that King had then just cause
to conceive hatred against the Roman See, as in like manner have
all other Princes, who cannot be sure either of their kingdoms or
their posterity if there be doubt with regard to the posterity of
the late King!"-as if all Princes were about to fall into those
horrible and abominable errors into which that King fell, as known
to the whole world; but they, by not falling, are therefore in no
danger, and to suspect them of falling is to do all the Princes of
Christendom dishonour, of another sort than that which your
Secretary says I did the Emperor, when I said that no league could
bind him so as to admit of his refusing, if called by the Church, to
chastise those who persecuted it. And so your Secretary thought
he had found a great escape from the danger which I said might
befall a son of an excommunicated King, he likewise continuing
under (perseverando nelle) the excommunications, by rendering the
danger common to all Princes, which cannot be, unless perchance
they likewise should become partners in the many iniquities perpe-
trated by this King's father; but in the other Princes the great
goodness and grace of God abounded, whilst in him from day to day
it failed, until at length all those who were not blinded by private
passion could perceive that the King was not only excommunicated
by the Pope, but accursed in the name of God himself (dal proprio
nome d' Idio.)
In this letter of yours, with regard to the Pope's excommunica-
tion, you boast and repeatedly pride yourself on its never having
been able to take effect against that King, as his prosperity and
successes showed very plainly that he was favoured by God, which
God of yours renders it manifest to any who may choose to ponder
the actions of that King, how very little knowledge you have of the
Word of God, of which you make such great profession and boast so
much in well nigh every part of your letter. And would to God that
you had reason to do so, for had you, as you say, true comprehension
of the Word of God, you would perceive that the course of events,
in conformity with the mind and desire evinced by the King, is
the greatest curse that can befall any human being, whatever his
condition; which curse is the identical one proceeding from the hand
of God himself, as confirmed by St. Paul, when he says, "Tradidit
264
1
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE illos in desideria cordis sui, in passiones ignominia, et in reprobum
And that this curse fell upon the King is as clearly
ENGLAND. demonstrated by his career as it was ever demonstrated by that of
(7th Sept.) any Prince or private individual whatever.
to the
Protector of
sensum."*
This is the great and horrible (grande et horribil) excommunica-
tion which God of his justice is wont to give, for the Papal excom-
munication and the temporary punishment which may then ensue
is a medicine, provided man receive it properly, rather than anything
else, being given by the Divine mercy in order that man may repent
and thus free himself from the great excommunication which the
Divine justice is wont to inflict on those who persevere and daily
harden in their wickedness. And as the medicine ordained by God
did not produce any good effect on the King, who, on the contrary,
daily continued more and more accomplishing and gratifying his
desires, it is a very sure sign that he was totally rejected by God,
who, excluding him from his mercy, left him for punishment in the
hands of his justice.
But you, my Lord, do not perceive the misfortune and misery
of that Prince, and indeed are rather of opinion that he lived in
very great felicity, as shown by your letters styling him "most
prudent Prince and of very famous memory ;" and this conviction
in you, who have the protectorship of the young King and of the
whole realm in your hands, is the more perilous, and may prove more
detrimental to the kingdom than all the other dangers collectively.
Therefore, and as I have not said a word about it in my instructions,
reserving the matter for oral discussion had the conference proposed
by me succeeded, I will not omit to say something about this your
conviction now that the praises bestowed by you on the King give
me so great an opportunity, especially as I am very certain that
few and perhaps no one within the realm will venture or dare to
speak about it, although the matter be of such great importance as
it is, since England can be subjected to no greater danger than that
of having an infant King (il Re giovane), and being ruled by one
who is of opinion that the late King was either fortunate (felice)
or prudent, or that he enjoyed honourable repute (ò che sia vissuto
in stato honorato). That opinion necessarily implies imitation of
his life and all his actions, thus causing the total ruin of the realm
and its rulers at the same time, as is evident, for the principal cause
of all the troubles and commotions which have occurred since the
death of the late King until this hour, proceeded from following
and imitating his example and actions. And therefore as your letters
which praise him so much, afford me such a fair opportunity for
writing to you on the subject, you shall hear from me that which
(according to my belief) few other persons abroad will take the
trouble to tell you, whilst no one within the realm will perhaps
dare to do so, although it is extremely necessary that you should
know it.
I had written thus far,-and to this I can bear witness before
God,--not knowing anything of what I now hear has taken place,
* St. Paul to the Romans, chapter i. verses 26, 27, 28.
1549.
265
·
1549.
to the
CARDINAL POLE namely, the great popular insurrection,* which was always feared by
PROTECTOR OF me; and upon receipt of this intelligence I hesitated whether I ought
ENGLAND. to send these letters, and write what I had intended to add in reply to
(7th Sept.) the point lately mentioned by you, which I had already commenced
discussing, and whether I should give an answer to the other two
remaining points respecting your wish to know my opinion of the
Book sent me, setting forth the whole ritual (ordine) observed by
you in the affairs of the religion,† and to the offer which you make
me to be the medium for procuring my restoration (restitutione) if
I will accept what you say is the King's order about the religion.‡
And to these two articles (capi) I was in the act of replying when
the news arrived of these insurrections, which caused me to stop
writing in expectation of farther intelligence, and to reserve my
declaration about these matters for the close of this letter, merely
adding a conclusive and more manifest explanation of my opinion,
so that, whatever may happen, you may be certain of the mind in
which you will find me.
And the conclusion is this, that the affairs of the kingdom being
in their present confused and discordant state, I pray and exhort
you by all that love which you are bound to bear God, your country,
and last of all yourself, not to persevere with such obstinacy and
violence in what you have commenced, but rather, in all matters
desired by the people and compatible with the honour of God and
the advantage of the realm, adhere to the common concord (vi accos-
tiate alla commune concordia) for the universal welfare and safety
of the entire kingdom, and for your own quiet and security. And
believe not, my Lord, that things accomplished according to our
wishes by force of arms, rather than by popular consent, can be of
long duration; and consider that although the victory may now
remain on your side, yet are you the loser, not only because civil
and intestine war exhaust the strength of a kingdom, and render it
the prey of any invader, but also, as although your authority may
remain, you can never be sure of the people, who, if denied their
just demands, will always rise against you and side with any one
who may promise them assistance; and should all others fail them,
though, for the honour of God and personal advantage, it may be
supposed that there will be no lack of many who will favour and
assist them, I, to speak clearly and frankly to you, as is my wont,
will never fail endeavouring (if required and requested by them), by
every effort and all the means in my power, that they be not
abandoned and unassisted, provided they contain themselves within
the limits of their just and religious demands, as I see they have
done hitherto.§ And this I have chosen to tell you for the following
reason, that should God, through the admonition which of his
goodness you have received by means of the present public and
*The rising of the West, and in Norfolk, June, July and August 1549. (See Froude,
vol. v. pp. 169, and following, ed. London, 1860.)
The draft of the first English Prayer-book was presented to Parliament in November
1548. (See Froude, vol. v. pp. 141, 142, 144.)
Act of Uniformity, 7th of January 1548. (See Froude, vol. v. p. 144.)
The fifteen articles in which the Commons of Devonshire and Cornwall required the
restoration of the Catholic faith were first printed in Strype's Cranmer, and may be read
in Froude's English History, vol. v. p. 177, and following, ed. 1860.
266
¡
1549.
1549.
CARDINAL POLE private danger, grant you the grace to repent, and thus submit
to the yourself to some form of concord; and if, as I have been named
ENGLAND. by the people,* you might think me fit for this purpose; you may
(7th Sept.) safely promise yourself that in that case I will act for the benefit
PROTECTOR OF
of your honour and dignity, the same as I would do for myself, so
far as is consistent with the common weal and advantage; nor ought
you to desire anything more, as neither do I ever wish anything
more for myself.
By this you can most clearly perceive my goodwill, as after
having been so ignominiously refused, when I made you the same
offer in my former letter, I now, nevertheless, again offer myself,
moved by no other cause save that should these matters be decided
by force of arms, I foresee that the whole kingdom will suffer
greatly, and escape with difficulty from becoming the prey of a
third party, as has happened heretofore under similar circumstances,
when a foreign power, called in for the assistance of one of the parties,
has subsequently crushed them both. So should the Divine goodness
give you the means of coming to concord amongst yourselves, for
the love of God accept it, and do not refuse this second offer, as
God will perhaps not allow the third to be made you; for had
you accepted the first offer, and if I had been conferring with the
King's ministers about the restoration of the Catholic religion, it
might perhaps have been the means of removing all cause for
making the people rebel, or of pacifying them speedily, had the
rising commenced. They would then have known that for the
benefit of the realm and the establishment of the religious worship
(per stabilimento dell' uso della religione), you had commenced a
conference, and that I, in whom by their demands they seem to
have some confidence,† was personally present at it. But what is
already done cannot be undone, and at that time it was difficult
to persuade you to do what I have already said, as you refused to
admit that there was danger of any sort, attributing to ignorance
of the state of English affairs, the fear expressed by me of tumults
and popular risings. That fear, then considered by you vain, is
now by fact shown to be the contrary. Nor is it any longer I who
speak, but the thing itself, and thereby God speaks with you, for
love of whom I again return to entreat you with my whole heart
to take this course which presents itself to you for arriving at
concord of your own accord by means of those who are your
countrymen, to whom God has given the will, devoid of all passion
and desire, save that of the common weal of both parties; the which
concord, should you choose, will I hope be a very great comfort to
one side and the other.
This is what I desire above all things, but should my desire not be
gratified, I will nevertheless rejoice and acknowledge myself obliged
to you for having afforded ine this opportunity of manifesting my
wish, a thing I have hitherto been unable to do, so that the whole
* The twelfth of the fifteen articles mentioned above, is of the following tenour.
"12. We think it meet, because the Lord Cardinal Pole is of the King's blood, that he
should not only have his pardon, but also be sent for from Rome, and promoted to be of
the King's Council." (See Froude, vol. v. pp. 178, 179, ed. 1860.)
† See the foregoing note.
1549.
267
Sept. 12.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 111,
tergo.
1549.
to the
CARDINAL POLE World may know (whatever be the end of these disturbances in the
PROTECTOR OF realm) that I have ever sought the quiet of all parties, and that
ENGLAND. should it chance otherwise, or that one side, or even both be
(7th Sept.) crushed, which may God of his mercy avert, it may be seen whence
the fault proceeds. And if in these matters those who have the
best intentions are to have the best success, I trust that nothing
but good can befall me. But in whatever way the providence of
God shall terminate these tumults and troubles, this letter, demon-
strating my mind, as in conformity with all my other actions, will
render perpetual testimony to all men of my good and sincere in-
tention; I, with regard to my country and myself, desiring no other
grace of Omnipotent God than what is for their (loro) safety, and
for the honour of his Divine Majesty, whom may it please ever to
have under his merciful protection, you and the whole kingdom.
Rome, 7th September 1549?
[Italian.]
576. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTAN-
TINOPLE.
Sept. 14.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Sept. 18.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xix. p. 62,
tergo.
By letters from England down to the 30th July, understand that
some of the people of that kingdom have rebelled, and that the
English are also preparing for an attack on Scotland, and on the
borders of Picardy towards France; and by letters from France
down to the 24th August, the Signory is informed that the most
Christian King has mustered a large army of cavalry and infantry,
with many pieces of artillery towards Picardy, his Majesty having
joined the army in person. He is advancing against certain
fortresses near Boulogne, which are held by the English, with the
intention of recovering them, as he says they belong to the French
Crown; and according to advices sent by his Majesty from the
camp to Venice, he is said to have taken two of the fortresses, and
to be marching with his army towards Boulogne.
Ayes, 171. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
577. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
With regard to English affairs, it seems that his Holiness is not
much inclined towards them, awaiting ulterior advices; and he will
rather employ Cardinal Pole in the congregations and consultations
relating to the Council, instead of doing anything further about the
matter of England.
Rome, 14th September.
[Italian.]
578. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the act passed by the Council of the glass trade of Murano,
on the 7th instant, now read, be confirmed by this Council.
And as certain artificers have gone to work, out of Murano,
contrary to the orders of this Council, which enacted pecuniary
penalties against such as disobeyed them; and as these fine
cannot be levied on such as have no property, who thus remai
268
1549
1549.
Sept. 28.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
npunished; be it therefore carried to summons name by name from
the Edict steps at St. Mark's, at Rialto, and at Murano, all men,
both masters and artizans, now at work out of Murano, those who
are in foreign parts being ordered to return to work at Murano
within eight months, and those who are in the Signory's towns
within four months; on the expiration of which term, should they
not have obeyed, be the penalties ut supra enforced against them.
Those from whom the fine cannot be obtained, if captured, to be put
to the oar on galley-board, there to remain for four years, and this to
be repeated as often as they transgress; and they may be seized in
all the towns and places of the Signory, and those who shall take
and consign them to the armament chamber (camera de armamento),
to receive from said chamber 100 livres for each man presented.
After each presentation, the men not to be released from the galleys,
unless they pay said 100 livres; and should it be proved that any
one have not the means to pay, he must then remain another year
on galley-board. And those who for the future depart hence, and
go and work in foreign parts, to incur a penalty of 400 livres, and
to remain four years on galley-board.* Nor may the masters employ
either to tend the furnaces, or to work in said art-any foreigner,
but must use solely the sons of native Venetians or Muranese, under
penalty of 400 livres, to be divided between the bailiff [of Murano],
the accuser, and the poor craftsmen of the art. And each time
that any of the above-written artizans shall leave Murano to go
and work elsewhere, be the warden (Gastaldo) bound to inform the
Chiefs of this Council, and the Bailiff of Murano, under penalty (for
each omission) of 400 livres, to be divided ut supra. Nor may
the masters or artizans of this art admit as workmen in their
shops, any one who may have been to work abroad, until he shall
have paid the fine, or served his time in the galleys, under the
penalty above written.
Ayes, 14. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
579. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
Letters from the Court of France, dated the 15th instant,
announce the arrival of his most Christian Majesty at Compiegne.
Mons. de Chatillon was battering the wall fronting Boulogne har-
bour, out of which two large ships sailed, conveying women and
children to England; and the [French ?] galleys detained in Zea-
land, having been released by the Emperor, fell in with two
[English ?] vessels (urche) which were conveying infantry from Guines
(Chines) to Boulogne, nor could they prevent the passage of a part
of them; some victuals likewise being sent thither. By letters from
London of the 3rd, it is heard that the insurrections have been
entirely suppressed, but by means of the slaughter and destruction
of 10,000 or 11,000 natives. The English forces were all being
directed towards Scotland, but on attempting to succour Haddington
they were repulsed, many infantry and cavalry being killed; and
* Et di star quattro anni in galia.
1549.
269
1549.
Sept. 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Oct. 5.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Oct. 19.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
they were made to retreat for a considerable distance, so that they
greatly fear losing Haddington.
Rome, 28th September 1549.
[Italian.]
Oct. 3.
581. The SAME to the SAME.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
Received lately his letters of the 26th August and 2nd September,
File no. 18. giving them very full accounts [of English events?], which although
on the one hand displeasing to them, as they perceive that the
most Serene King of England and the kingdom of France are quite
bent on war, contrary to the constant wish of the Republic, whose
policy being instinctively pacific makes them desire peace and
goodwill for all potentates, and especially between those two
crowns; so on the other hand they are much comforted to hear of
his Majesty's successes against the rebels, in conformity with the
announcement made to them by his ambassador.
580. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the Venetian Ambassador in
ENGLAND.
Send him a summary of their last advices from Constantinople for
communication as usual.
[Italian.]
The Republic's affection for the English crown made them greatly
regret the rumours in circulation about the rebellion, so they
rejoice to hear it was suppressed by the King's forces, and owing
to the good steps taken by the most illustrious Protector, both of
whom he is to congratulate in the Signory's name, assuring them
of the interest taken by the State in all the successes of his
Majesty and the kingdom, in the same prudent form as adopted
by him (the Ambassador) with the Protector, when performing the
office mentioned in his last letter, for which they greatly commend
him.
To persevere in this system, and to keep them diligently advised
of all the events in those parts.
Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
Ayes, 23.
[Italian.]
582. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
There are some advices from France, but not letters on which
much reliance can be placed, announcing the surrender to his most
Christian Majesty of Haddington in Scotland.
Rome, 5th October 1549.
[Italian.]
583. The SAME to the SAME.
Cardinal Farnese has received letters from the Court of France,
dated the 7th. Boulogne has been succoured, nor can they prevent
this, without having command of the Port, which is very difficult
on account of the tide. The Emperor complains somewhat, because
amongst the fortresses taken by his most Christian Majesty, there
270
1549.
1549.
Oct. 19.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 113,
tergo.
Nov. 2.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
is at least one, dependent on Calais, of which, according to the
Emperor's treaty with England for the maintenance of what she
held heretofore, he must endeavour to obtain the restitution.*
Rome, 19th October 1549.
[Italian.]
584. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
By letters from France down to the 21st ult. are advised that the
most Christian King has been with his army in Picardy towards
Boulogne, at no great distance from which city he took certain
fortresses from the English who were said to have occupied them
(although they belonged to him);† and his Majesty having left a
good number of troops in those parts, both for the custody of his
said fortresses, as also to prevent the entry of troops or victuals
into Boulogue, has returned to Paris.
By letters from England down to the 2nd instant, hear that on
the insurrection of the peasantry in two parts of the country, the
Government sent their commanders against them with troops, by
whom the peasants were routed, many of them being killed, so that,
according to report, the insurrection was quelled; and the English
were continuing to make provision against the Scots, who were
doing the like against the English.
Ayes, 160. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
585. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
The Duchess‡ having gone to the Pope on Sunday, and asked him
to pardon the Duke, returned on Monday with Cardinal Farnese,
requesting his Holiness, besides the grant of pardon, to allow her
husband to enter Parma, and hold possession of it as his own, he
having inherited it, and being styled Duke. They were together
from the 17th until the 20th hour, and on coming forth, she was
seen to be weeping bitterly. Although it was bad weather, the
Pope then got into his litter for La Magliana, and she remained
with him until the morrow, when as it rained heavily they returned.
The Duke's affairs seem in a bad way, as his Holiness will grant
him nothing, unless he comes to his feet to beg pardon, whereas he
seems determined not to depart unless Parma be restored to him,
and at the same time his honour, which he considers lost, by having
entered [the city?], and being unable to obtain possession of it.
Concerning this matter his Holiness seemed to me today very
determined as it were not to satisfy him by any means, and I also
thought he was dispirited about this business, not indeed that the
result displeased him, for he demonstrated to me that it was beyond
measure most agreeable to him, saying that not only crime, but the
* Che per il debito dello capitulatione che ha con il regno de Inghilterra per la con-
servatione di quello che possedeva per inanti, convenca procurar che gli fusse restituito.
† Che li erano stà occupati da essi Inglesi.
Margaret of Austria, Consort of Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma.
1549.
271
1549.
Nov. 9.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
suspicion of crime was to be avoided, and that although truth is the
daughter of time, he was extremely pleased at its being known so
soon. He bestowed great praise on Camillo Orsini, who he said was
a man of honour, and a most excellent commander, and that he had
treated the Duke with the greatest mildness (modestissimamente),
and shown him much honour, having in short on that evening chosen
the Duke to give the watch-word, though he, the Duke, gave it
back to Camillo, etc.
His Holiness also spoke to me about the disturbances in England,
it being heard by letters from the Court of France, dated the 16th
October, not only that the popular commotion continued, but that
very great dissensions prevailed amongst the chief nobles and that
the Earl of Warwick having driven the Protector out of London,
Somerset took the King [from Hampton Court?] to a certain castle
[Windsor Castle?] at a short distance thence, the name of which
the Pope could not tell me.
Rome, 2nd November 1549.
[Italian.]
586. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
On Sunday, when his Holiness gave the banquet for the anni-
versary of his coronation, he was much less cheerful than usual
on similar occasions, and instead of music and amusements, trans-
acted business well nigh during the whole time, and on Tuesday
remained secluded at St. Peter's, having given orders for no one to
ask audience of him, so that at the vesper hour the Ambassador
from Ferrara was with great difficulty admitted, announcing that he
had important news to communicate about Parma; and he then said
that his Duke [Hercules II.] sent him word from Mantua that Duke
Ottavio* had asked assistance from Don Ferrante.† Later in the day
the Pope received letters from the Right Rev. Legate of Bologna,
purporting that he had conferred with Duke Ottavio, from whom
he could obtain nothing but words, which, however respectful,
signified that he could not in honour renounce Parma; so the
Legate‡ not only gave the Pope no hope of making him retract,
but recommended his Holiness himself to give way.
On Wednesday morning, the cold being intense, his Holiness
before sunrise went from St. Peter's to Monte Cavallo, and after
having dined with excellent appetite, Cardinal Farnese read to him
a letter from Duke Ottavio, containing many apologies to his
Holiness, but saying he could not in honour move from where he
was [under Parma] unless he got Parma, to obtain which he thanked
God he should have no lack of friends,-that from the Cardinal of
Trent§ he had already received 10,000 crowns, that Don Ferrante
cas
* Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, which city Paul III. had determined to restore to
the Church, and to form an alliance with France, contrary to the wishes of Ottavio and his
other grandchildren, who were Imperialists.
† Ferrante Gonzaga, Governor of Piacenza, appointed by Charles V.
Cardinal del Monte.
Cristoforo Madrucci.
272
1549.
1549.
promised him assistance, and that he found him to be a good honest
man. On hearing these words the Pope became so enraged against
the Duke and Cardinal,* complaining with such bitterness of his
Right Rev. Lordship, that he was seized with a fit (which compelled
them to place him on his bed) followed by fever, and then, per
vomitum et recessum, he had a copious evacuation.
On that evening, Cardinal Farnese despatched a number of
expresses keeping all the gates of Rome closed, not only during the
night but also throughout the morrow, forbidding the posts to
supply any one with horses, so that no one had egress; and the
Cardinal of Ferrara and all the ambassadors, even Don Diego, were
in despair, nor could any of them send off despatches until late on
Thursday; and the Flanders mail on its way to Naples was stopped
at Velletri, about which Don Diego made a great noise. Cardinal
Farnese went to Castle St. Angelo, with a reinforcement of 60 paid
soldiery (provisionati) under Nestor Baglione, and made them
swear allegiance to him in the presence of the warder, much to
his scorn. He sent commanders to raise 5,000 infantry in the
neighbourhood of Rome, and forbad the sale of arms here to any
one, as all these houses were providing themselves. At the 4th hour
he sent an envoy express to Camillo Orsini [at Parma?] to assure
him that the Pope, in case of his death, chose Parma to belong to
Duke Ottavio, and to ascertain from Camillo himself what he
meant to do; and the French likewise sent to encourage said
Camillo with all their might. But his Holiness, after having taken
some nourishment at daybreak, found himself better.
Cardinal Farnese was much blamed for having taken these steps,
it being said that he ought not to have acted on his own account,
but in the name of the Sacred College. It seems that he has turned
a thorough Imperialist, and has allied himself with Don Diego,
being of opinion that his own welfare (salute) and that of the
Farnese family depends solely on that quarter, and that they will
thus be secured against the Colonna and Orsini factions, whom they
have offended mortally; and with this favour, he also hopes to
make himself Pope, or at least to elect one after his own fashion
and that of the Emperor at the same time. For this purpose, he
sent the Prior of Lombardy (who came hither on a summons from
his Holiness about the restitution of the Jews' merchandise) to
make himself master of Cività [Cività-vecchia ?].
At the 22nd hour [on Thursday], the Pope supped heartily; but
at the third hour [of the night], the fever (from which it seems
he was free throughout yesterday) returned, and at the 12th hour
he chose to receive the Holy Communion, which he took very
devoutly, the few persons present being moved to floods of tears.
by the very holy words he uttered. The Bishop of Pola was
despatched with cogent briefs to Camillo Orsini, desiring him to
consign Parma to Duke Ottavio, and to retire with his troops to
garrison Bologna, but they still doubt whether he will obey; and
then the Pope sent for all the Cardinals, to go and hold Congrega-
* In his report of Rome, Matteo Dandolo mentions that on this occasion the Pope
snatched the Cardinal's cap out of his grandson's hand, and dashed it on the ground.
1549.
273
1549.
Nov. 10.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
tion, which was attended even by Cardinal Sta. Croce with his
treble quartan ague,* although it rained.
Cremona was conferred on Sfondrato, whose see of Capaccio
was given to Verallo; Naples to Cardinal Chieti, Giovanni Pietro
(Caraffa); Chieti to Maffei; and the abbacy of Canal Nuovo in the
Polesine to the Cardinal of England [Reginald Pole]; all which
benefices fell vacant by the death of the Cardinal of Ravenna; and
a pension of 2,000 crowns, to be derived from them all together,
was assigned to the nominee of Cardinal Farnese.
Rome, 9th November 1549.
[Italian.]
587. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Today at the 20th hour, I sent your Serenity the originals of
the accompanying duplicates, and have heard since that when the
Holy Oil was presented to him, the Pope, on perceiving it, said
"Non adhuc ;" and when Madame (Madama)† entered the
chamber, he recognised her, and seemed pleased with the boy
(putino),‡ giving him his blessing several times. He was so ex-
hilarated by this, that he took two fresh eggs and half a glass of
wine with very good relish; so it is thought that he will also
survive this night, but the catarrh is what they most fear.
-
Cardinal Durante sent to me this morning to request I would
beseech your Serenity to grant him possession of some vacant
benefices in the Brescian territory, for which he will send the bulls
so that should possession of them be asked by others, you may be
pleased to have a little patience until the arrival of his agent with
his reasons; and he is writing about this to the Legate at Venice.
;
The Abbacy of Sta. Maria di Gavello, or of Canal Nuovo in the
Polesine, was given this morning to the Right Reverend Cardinal
of England, as written by me. But before he entered Congregation
the Cardinal of Trani [Giandomenico de Cupis] asked for it, as
it is under his diocese of Adria, and on being answered that it
had been given to Cardinal Pole, not only did he acquiesce, but
commended the appointment, saying that in addition to it, his
Right Reverend Lordship deserved the benefices held by himself
and others,§ so that he received it with very general approbation.
His attendents have informed me that the noble Pietro Contarini
will present himself to your Highness, to have possession of it,
requesting there may be no delay, owing to the nature of the
*«Con le sue tre quartane." The Cardinal of Santa Croce in the year 1549, was
Marcello Cervini, who became Pope with the title of Marcello II., A.D. 1555, April 9.
(See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 225.)
† Margaret of Austria, natural daughter of Charles V., consort of Ottavio Farnese,
Duke of Parma.
This boy, the Pope's great grandson, and whose maternal grandfather was the
Emperor, became one of the most famous military commanders of the 16th century; and
when Paul III. on his deathbed gave him his blessing, Allessandro Farnese, Prince of
Parma, was five years old.
§ Cardinal de Cupis was said by his contemporaries to be the "best of men" and the
"mirror and ornament of the Sacred College," so his tribute to the merits of Reginald
Pole is worth recording. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 18.)
5.
S
274
1549.
1549.
Nov. 13.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
present times. Your Serenity should know that his Right Reverend
Lordship is styled " Angelical," rather than Anglican;* nor did he
ever ask for this, or anything else; and his fixed incomet has
always been 200 crowns per month, given him by the Pope.
The wagers at the bankers' shops are as follows :—20 in favour
of Cardinal di Monte,§ who is expected from Bologna; 18 in favour
of Cardinal Salviati, who is expected from Florence; 16 in favour of
Cardinal Ridolfi ;|| and 15 in favour of Cardinal Pole.
Having written thus far this evening, and it being now the
14th hour, I am assured from several quarters, that his Holiness
has just now expired. May God give rest to his soul, and may
his successor prove no less friendly to the Republic than he was.
Rome, 10th November 1549.
[Italian.]
588. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On the 10th, at the 13th hour, I announced to your Serenity
the death of Pope Paul, whose last orders were to repeal the taxes
on grist and contracts, T much to the satisfaction of this entire
city; and he desired Cardinal Sta. Fiore to restore the goods
belonging to the Jews,** but his brother the Prior made himself
master of Cività [Vecchia ?], expelling the warder who had them
under sequestration. He also ordered the restitution of their
money to those who had lent it him in the hope of being made
Cardinals, as written by me at the time; and it was given back to
them in the same bags in which they delivered it. He ordered
nothing whatever about his burial. And then, of his own accord,
he desired that the Holy Oil should be administered to him, during
which ceremony he recited some very beautiful Latin prayers
composed by himself at the moment;†† after which, his tongue
swelled, and the only intelligible word he uttered was "Parma,"
but he seemed to attend to the recommendations addressed to him.
for the salvation of his soul. The physicians were surprised at
his vitality (vivacità), of which they had proof, for on opening the
body, they found it sound throughout, save at the heart, around
which there were some drops of blood, extravasated by the fit of
anger, but for which he might long have survived. Not only was
he not deserted, like many of his predecessors, but both his body
and soul having been most admirably tended until death, he was
then accompanied with floods of tears from Monte Cavallo to St.
* "Porta più presto nome di Angelico che di Anglico."
f "il suo fondamento."
"Le scomesse in banchi vanno, etc."
Panvinio prints his name Di Monte (Sansabino); Cardella (vol. iv. p. 159) styles him
Gianmaria Giocchi, denominato del Monta. Cardinal Pole wrote the name "di Monte."
Panvinio writes the name Rodolfo; Cardella, Ridolfi. The Christian name of this
prelate (the nephew of Leo X., who gave him his hat), was Niccolò.
"La gabelle et della masena, et dei contratti,"-query Monopolies ?
** Merchandise seized at sea, belonging to Venetian Jews.
†† In his report of Paul III. made to the Senate, Matteo Dandolo said that the Pope
spoke very slowly because he would never utter a word which was not elegant, whether in
Italian, Latin, or Greek, priding himself on his scholarship in each of those three languages,
and we now know that he was classical to the last.
1549.
275
1549.
Peter's, into the Consistory hall, whither he was carried immediately
in a litter, through Transtevere, with 60 torches, 100 horse, and
I know not how many infantry. He was 83 years old; had made
60 Cardinals, and outlived half of them.
!
In the afternoon, the Cardinals assembled in the Palace; the
French ambassador presented himself to them, offering the love
and power of his most Christian Majesty for whatever they might
require. As he was the only one who made this demonstration,
I also abstained from it, to avoid the suspicion of any mutual
understanding; but should the Signory wish to give me any other
commands, by writing immediately they will arrive in time, as the
obsequies are to last nine days; and they will perhaps not shut
themselves up in conclave until the tenth or eleventh; nor will the
obsequies commence before Friday.
In that Congregation they broke the ring, and all the other seals.
They also appointed the governors of the city, the Borgo, the Cam-
pagna, and Viterbo. Then, accompanied by Congregation, the body
was taken into Christ's chapel at St. Peter's; and although it rained
hard, there was such a crowd of people of all sorts to kiss his feet,
that they stood outside the grating, crying peccavi mea culpa,* and
making those within touch the corpse on their behalf, a thing
unheard of. This continued throughout yesterday, and this morning
the body was placed on the ground in a vault there.†
On the morning before last, another more minute inventory was
made in Castle St. Angelo, and the crowns were found to amount to
little more than two hundred thousand, whereas they expected to
find from a million and a half to a million and seven hundred
thousand at least; and included in this sum there are also sums paid
in advance on account of the alum works, and other sources, which
must be levied by the future Pontiff.
In the afternoon, Congregation administered the oath to Duke
Horatio [Farnese] as Prefect of the city, and when they proposed
doing the like by Alessandro Vitello, he declined taking it, saying
he could not do so without asking leave of Don Diego, which seem-
ing strange to many of the Cardinals, he reminded them that he was
Pope Paul's general of the infantry by permission from the Emperor,
to whom he was bound; but it seems that the chief reason for his
acting thus was that he does not choose to compete with Paulo
Vitello, his junior, who is a great favourite with Duke Horatio.
As Don Diego had issued proclamations throughout the city,
desiring all the Emperor's Spanish and Siennese subjects to assemble
on the piazza in front of his dwelling, under penalty of being
punished by his Majesty, the Cardinals let him know that they dis-
approved of the circulation of edicts in his name, and he apologised
by saying that he saw so many weapons in the hands of the French,
the dependents of Duke Horatio, the captains who raised the
infantry in Rome being the dependents of the Cardinal of Ferrara,
that he [Don Diego] likewise was obliged to look to himself. The
Cardinals rejoined that he might provide what was necessary for the
* "Chiamandosi in colpa."
† "Et questa matina è stato posto in un deposito lì in terra."
Piazza di Spagna.
GA
s 2
276
1549.
1549.
safety of his own dwelling, but that if he exceeded that limit they
would not put up with it, using very resentful language.
As compared with former vacancies of the Apostolic See it is never-
theless singular how few outrages are committed, although every-
body is in arms, both at home and abroad, with wheel-lock harque-
buses in their hands instead of handkerchiefs, everyone relying on
himself. But I am very sure that those who do not approve of your
Highness's [police] regulations, were they to see those of this city,
would perhaps change their minds, for they are no better than those
of the Friuli used to be. And these Roman barons who come into
the city are attended in like manner by armed followers; so a good
number of infantry has been raised from amongst the Roman popu-
lace to satisfy the Conservators, and some are being sent to places
in the environs. Considerable levies have also been ordered in the
territories of Spoleto and Perugia, to which last named place they
have sent Hector Baglione to counterbalance Rodolfo, the Legate
likewise having mustered 1,000 and placed them at the gates, so
that he is quite safe.
Another reason for this tranquillity is that the two factions
[Colonna and Orsini] have no longer influential chiefs, and but
little is heard of the Colonnas, as they are divided even amongst
themselves. Camillo Orsini has sent an ambiguous reply to Cardinal
Farnese from Bologna; letters which I have seen state that he is
in want of money, but the Cardinals here will not supply him
until they hear that he has executed the orders conveyed to him by
the Bishop of Pola.
*
The wagers at the bankers' shops are twenty-four in favour of
England, nor does any other cardinal get near him; but the Pope,
please God, will be created in conclave [and not in the market-
place?] by a majority of two-thirds of the cardinals.
I have deemed it my duty no longer to delay writing this to your
Serenity, to whose favour I humbly recommend myself.
Rome, 13th November, at mid-day.
[Italian.]
589. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
Nov. 13.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 118,
tergo.
Acquaint him with the important news of the death of the Pope,
which took place on the 10th instant.
Have heard from France that a number of ambassadors had
arrived there from the Switzers and Grisons, to ratify the League
stipulated with his most Christian Majesty, who thereupon made
them considerable presents, and they returned home.
The French have made themselves masters of a wall between
the river and the harbour of Boulogne, of which city they were
continuing the siege, and the English had again succoured it; and
the Revd. French ambassador informs the Signory that in Scotland
the French have recovered Hadington.
By letters from England down to the 15th ult., are informed that
the King's Council,-perceiving the supreme authority arrogated to
himself by the Protector, who ordered and governed everything in
* "Le scomesse de' banchi vano a 24 per Inghilterra, ne alcun' altro se gli accosta.”
1549.
277
1549.
Nov. 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi. p. 119,
tergo.
Nov. 19, 20.
MS. St. Mark's
his own fashion, and contrary to the will of the Council, usurping
the revenues, dispensing the offices, and doing other similar things
which savoured of tyranny (che haveano del tirano),-assembled
together and judged and proclaimed him a rebel and traitor to the
King, causing him to be arrested and brought to London and placed
in the Tower (in Castello); the King being replaced in the hands of
his own guard, whereas hitherto he had been guarded by the Pro-
tector's guard. So it was supposed they would put him to death, and
that affairs would assume a better form for the good administration
and government of that kingdom.
Ayes, 189. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
590. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
To inform the Cardinal of England [Reginald Pole] that imme-
diately on receiving the letters from the Cardinal Sta. Fiore, they
wrote to their governor of Rovigo and performed the office desired
by his Right Revd. Lordship concerning the abbacy of Gavello, or
Canalnuovo, and that whenever an opportunity presents itself for
doing what may be to his honour and advantage they will always
avail themselves of it, as they love and esteem him especially.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 7. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
591. CARDINAL POLE to CAMILLO ORSINI.
Most Illustrious Lord,-Your Lordship's son Paulo was the first
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. person who told me, three days ago, that you had despatched a
Library,
messenger, but without any letter, to hear my opinion (together
with that of others) about the restitution of Parma to Duke
Ottavio; in which matter it not seeming fit to me to interfere, as
the affair is one of State, and I a private Cardinal, I answered
him accordingly; and to the personages here (questi signori) who
made me the same request, I also said in like manner that I
would not meddle with the business, requesting them to pardon
me for not complying with their wishes, and recommending them
to keep the royal road, namely, to propose the matter to the College
[of Cardinals], as was done this day, and produced such result as
your Lordship will learn by the letter which the College itself is
writing to you. The particulars of the votes given on this occasion.
your Lordship will hear from your [agent] Messer Battista [Piovene]
the bearer of this letter, to whom I have communicated the whole
for your sa isfaction, merely telling you besides, from the Christian
love I bear you, that I exhort you as earnestly as I can, with regard
to what remains to be done, in conformity with the will of his late
Holiness, and of the Sacred College, about restoring Parma and the
citadel to Duke Ottavio, to regulate yourself in such form (should
you act otherwise), that no one can suspect you in the least of
being moved by passion or partiality; thanking God for having
hitherto given you the grace to act as completely according to your
desire and honour both before God and man, as could possibly be
278
1549.
1549.
Nov. 20.
Original
Letter-book,
Venetian
Archives.
desired by anyone;* and by acting thus, as I am certain you will
do, the general suspicion caused by the mistake of your last messen-
ger who applied to Signor Paulo, and not to your [agent] Messer
Battista, will be entirely removed. And thus your Lordship will by
facts prove clearly to everybody your intergrity, by obeying this
order of the Sacred College without any evasion or delay, as I again
earnestly exhort you to do, by so much the more as you can dismiss
from your mind any scruple which might have arisen, either about
the letter of the Bishop of Como or of Cardinal Farnese, seeing that
they are now approved in the Congregation General of the Cardinals;
and I pray God to have you constantly under his protection.
Rome, November 19th.
Postscript.-Having detained this letter until today, the 20th,
these chief personages (questi signori), as an additional proof of the
Pope's intention, have shown me and many other Cardinals the
judicial examination (essamine fatto giuridicamente) made in
the presence of the "Auditor della Camera" and of the " Fiscale,"
and of two witnesses, the Bishop of Como and the physician Messer
Tiberio, who testified in conformity, under oath, to the validity
(la virtù) of the brief, and that they saw it signed by the will and
in the presence of his Holiness; the like testimony being borne by
the Pope's
"Cameriero intrinseco," Messer Eurialo, who is now
dangerously ill.
Any particulars about this matter which your Lordship may
wish to have, and the reason why this letter was not sent sooner
with your [agent] Messer Battista [Piovene], will be given you by
his own letters, to which I refer myself, exhorting you most
earnestly, as aforesaid, so to act in this matter, that no one can
justly accuse you of any passion or partiality. And thus may our
Lord God grant you the grace to do, for the public quiet, and that
of yourself individually.
Rome, 20th November 1549.
[Italian.]
592. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
This evening I sent my secretary to the Palace to tell the Car-
dinal of England what your Highness enjoins me about his abbacy.
He answered him, that he returned infinite thanks, saying he shall
place this by the side of the other endless obligations for which he
is debtor to the State.
Rome, 20th November 1549.
[Italian.]
Nov. 20.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
593. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summaries of their last advices from Constantinople for
communication as usual.
* "Che nessuno possa havere una minima sospettione che ella sta (sic) mossa da
passione ò partialità alcuna quando ella facesse altramente, ringratiando N. S. Idio che fin
quì gli habbia dato gratia di satisfare si pienamente al desiderio et hor suo appresso Dio
et appresso gli huomini quanto più si potesse desiderare da alcuno."
1549.
279
1549.
Nov. 30.
Original
Letter Book.
Venetian
Archives.
A similar communication to be made to the English secretary
[Sigismund Harvel] on his presenting himself to the College.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
Nov. 22.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Early yesterday morning, the Signor Paulo Orsini, son of the
Archives. Signor Camillo, sent one of his gentleman to say that he had not
conferred with me, knowing that his father's agent Messer Battista
da Piovene had not failed doing his duty by me.
Contrary to what I wrote in my last, the Right Reverend
Deputies" did not meet on that evening in the house of the
senior Cardinal (Revmo Decano); but yesterday morning the "Con-
gregation” determined on the first letter to the Signor Camillo-
namely, the one without the order for his removal to Bologna-
whereby the College informs him that the Pope deceased on Sunday
at the 13th hour, and moreover authenticates (et gli fa anco fede)
the brief sent to him by his Holiness for the consignment of Parma
to the Duke Ottavio, which they exhort him to execute. This
letter was signed by 32 Cardinals; but the senior Cardinal (il
Decano) and Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa] refused their signatures.
They despatched it by the Bishop of Pola, but yesterday morning the
senior Cardinal (il Rermo Decano), passing through "Borgo," desired
Piovene* to tell the Signor Camillo in his name as senior Cardinal
(come Decano), not to consign the place, and Piovene sent him an
express accordingly; but it is nevertheless expected that he will
make the consignment, because the Cardinal of England, besides
having signed the letter, wrote to him in his own name; the Signor
Camillo depending on Cardinal Pole, as he is very devoted to him
(dal qual esso Signor Camillo depende che gli è molto devoto).† So
had Pole alone written to him thus, it is thought that he would not
have hesitated to make the consignment; but his Right Reverend
Lordship did not choose ever to act or speak about the matter, save
in public, that is to say in the Congregation, alleging many reasons
why the Signor Camillo neither should nor can do less than obey
the brief.
Rome, 22nd November 1549.
[Italian.]
(C
594. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
ww
595. The SAME to the SAME.
Today at the 22nd hour, after very diligent search had been made
[at the Vatican], seven individuals were discovered, besides those
authorised to be there (oltre gli ordinati); and having been thrust
* Battista Piovene was Bishop of Pola.
† Camillo Orsini, son of Paolo, who was strangled in the Castle of La Pieve by order of
Cæsar Borgia, on the 18th December 1502. Camillo followed the profession of his father
and distinguished himself in it; he was the senior by eight years of Cardinal Pole. I do not
know when the friendship between the soldier and the churchman commenced, but it had
not ceased in 1556, for it will be seen by a letter under that date that Cardinal Farnese
then requested Cardinal Pole to intercede for the beautiful trees of the "Orti Farnesiani,
which Camillo Orsini at that time destroyed, being employed as military engineer by
Paul IV. for the fortifications of Rome, then threatened by the Imperialists.
""
280
1549.
1549.
Dec. 5.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
out through the wicket (fenestrella), the closing of the Conclave was
completed. At the bankers' shops, the odds are greater than before
in favour of the Right Reverend of England, which election, should
it take place, may be believed to proceed from God, as although
urged by many of the Cardinals to assist himself on this so great
an occasion, he answered them that he would never utter one single
word, even were his silence to cost him a thousand lives, not
choosing to deviate from his ancient maxim, which enjoined him to
follow the Lord God, and to desire nothing but his will.
Rome, 30th November 1549.
[Italian.]
596. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
Yesterday morning, at the 13th hour, Cardinal Pacheco arrived,*
and owing to his long journey he entered the conclave more dead
than alive, thus perhaps causing the election of a Pope to be delayed;
for it was expected to be made in the person of the Cardinal of
England, who immediately went up at the bankers' shops (in
banchi) to 40 per cent. It may be supposed that the election was
deferred in order to have Pacheco's vote, who was apparently
obliged to go to bed; so yesterday it behoved the Cardinals to wait
for him.
At the 16th hour the French ambassador came to the wicket
(fenestrino), and desired the masters of the ceremonies to protest in
his name to the Cardinals, that unless they waited for their French
colleagues, who, he understood, were in Corsica, his King would not
ratify or confirm the election of any Pope made in their absence.
At the 17th hour he returned, and sent for the Cardinals, who
went to him, including the "Deputies," Ferrara, and Farnese, and
also some others, to whom he said that he had moreover heard from
one of his gentlemen well known to the Cardinal of Ferrara, that
the French Cardinals were at Leghorn; and he again insisted on
their being waited for, at least until Monday, as otherwise, etc.
The senior Cardinal (il Revmo Decano) and the other "Deputies
answered him that his Cardinals had had a good many days (che
haveano havuto giorni assai), but that they would not fail in what
was due to the regulations (constitutioni) admitting his protest si
et in quantum, and Cardinal Farnese said they were in too bad a
lodging to delay their stay there longer than was due.†
Shortly after they had shut themselves up above stairs, Don
Diego arrived, in a passion; and he in like manner sent for their
Lordships, and protested to them mildly and lovingly, that they
must observe their due rules and regulations, and not attend to
anything else; whereupon at the bankers' shops, England got up
(passò) both beyond 46 and 50, so that at the second hour [of the
night?] he was at 80 per cent., and 30 per cent. was wagered that
he would be proclaimed this morning. Salviati was at one (a uno),
* From the Imperial Court at Brussels?
† "Che erano in una mala stantia da tardarvi oltre il dovere.”
""
1549.
281
1549.
Dec. 7.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
and Sfondrato at two (a doi). At the eighth hour there were
so many sure votes for the Right Reverend of England,* that they
were on the point of adoring him (per adorarlo), and they had
already commenced unnailing the cells, but the Cardinal of Trani
[Giandomenico de Cupis], and his other opponents, commenced
exclaiming that in this way any one might promote a schism,
unless one scrutiny at least were made. Cardinal Pole himself
was in like manner very averse to the adoration, telling them to be
calm, as at any rate he was not to become Pope by any other hands
than those of God, and, should He thus will it, his election would
take place this morning; and he went up to 95. It is therefore
more than clear that the merchants are very well informed about
the state of the poll, and that the Cardinals' attendants in Conclave
(i conclavisti) go partners with them in the wagers, which thus
causes many tens of thousands of crowns to change hands. Every-
body armed, and until after the 18th hour we remained awaiting
the announcement of this election; but then the Cardinals ordered
the dinners, and people drew breath, for no one can imagine how
very unpopular it is,† as they consider it certain that the whole of
this Court would have to lead a new life, and withdraw to their
own spouses (alla sua sposa); but the minority wishes for it greatly.
One of the causes of this delay is supposed to be the French protest
of last evening, most especially as this morning there was a faint
gleam of sunshine, with which the Cardinals from France might be
expected; but nothing is known of them, and the weather continues
stormy. It is true that Cardinal Pole remains at 40, nor is any
other person whatever mentioned. When the captains asked for
money for the pay of the troops which becomes due today, the
Cardinals answered that they would supply them tomorrow after
the scrutiny.
Rome, 5th December 1549.
[Italian.]
597. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Yesterday morning the French ambassador appeared at the
wicket, and asked to see the Cardinals, many of whom went to
him, and he gave them letters from the Cardinals of France, who
were left on the "Riviera" of Genoa, with the Cardinal of Vendôme,
who was dangerously ill; and the ambassador wished to have the
letters read to the rest of the Cardinals, that they might wait for
his countrymen. At the 22nd hour, the Right Reverend Deputies
also went to the Cardinals, that they might give the order for the
payment of the garrison in Castle St. Angelo, which was due on the
6th, and the 10th will be pay-day for well nigh all the rest of the
troops; and the Right Reverend the Deacon (Decano) [Senior
Cardinal ?] said they were to be of good cheer, that a Pope would be
*"Et alle otto ore furono conclusi tanti voti per il Revmo de Inghilterra."
†
Che è cosa incredibile come è malissimo sentito."
"Evero che esso Revo d' Inghilterra se intertien a 40, et che altro alchuno non è
nominato."
afs
282
1549.
1549.
Dec. S.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxvi. p. 175,
tergo.
Dec. 11.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
elected, and that he would be a man of worth, religious, and agree-
able to all the princes. After this, it was heard that they made a
scrutiny and gave 15 votes to Veruli [Gieronimo Verallo? a Roman,
created Cardinal by Paul III., on the 8th April 1549], and 24 to
England [Reginald Pole], who at the first ballotation had 26, which
caused many to repent, on seeing the votes counted.
The Cardinals have had a quantity of things brought into the
conclave, especially linen; and gave out what was foul, there being
already a great stench.
As yet, nothing more is known about the French Cardinals.
Rome, 7th December 1549.
[Italian.]
598. PRESENT from EDWARD VI. to the VENETIAN AMBAS-
SADOR BOLLANI.
Motion made in the Senate by the Procurator, Tho. Mocenigo,
sage of the Council, and by Nicholas Zeno, sage for the mainland.
Our beloved nobleman, Domenego Bollani, knight, has evinced a
great wish to employ himself in the service of the State, and in
the Legation of England, from whence he returned lately, constantly
conducted himself prudently and diligently, regardless of all cost
and toil, as understood from time to time through his letters, and
by the copious and detailed report now made by him.* Therefore
on account of his own deserts, and by reason of what becomes the
liberality and graciousness of this Council, it would be unfitting to
omit making such demonstration towards him as has been made
towards certain other ambassadors of ours.
Put to the ballot, that the chain and the doubloons presented by
that most Serene King to the aforesaid Ser Domenego Bollani,
knight, be freely given him by authority of this Council.
Ayes, 196. Noes, 9. Neutrals, 3.
1549, 9th December, in the College.
Ayes, 23. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
599. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
At the last scrutiny, Cardinal Santa Croce [Marcello Cervini],
not only acceded to England† [Reginald Pole], but also delivered a
very fine oration in praise of him, so that it is said that both Don
Diego and Cardinal Farnese have written to the Emperor, giving
him particular account of what has been done, and wishing to
know whether, as they cannot obtain success for England (far
riuscire Inghilterra), his Majesty would approve of their favouring
Sta. Croce (si tendesse a Sta. Croce), towards whom he heretofore
showed himself hostile; and although on this account he is supposed
to be in the French interests (è reputato Francese), yet is he con-
sidered a very worthy man, of great experience, and one of the
*This report does not exist. The MS. in St. Mark's Library, which was supposed to
be a copy of Bollani's report, is in reality the report made by Daniel Barbaro on the 30th
April 1551, the date of which I derive from the late Mr. Turnbull's Calendar.
† Non solo accesse ad Inghilterra.
1549.
283
1549.
:
most trusty adherents of the Farnese family. At any rate it may
be supposed that they will await news from the Emperor, as Don
Diego himself announced yesterday that the Cardinal of Lorraine
was near Milan.
On Monday, in Congregation, the Right Reverend Cardinal of
England made a most eloquent speech, thanking those right
reverend fathers who had wished to honour him with a grade so
very illustrious as the Popedom; and saying that he could not but
be obliged to them, seeing himself so greatly esteemed by their
right reverend Lordships, though he was no less grateful to those
who had rejected him, nor did he remain less obliged to them, but
on the contrary, much more so, as they knew him to be, what he
himself knows he is, viz. inept for such a burden, and too weak
to be able to bear it. And not only did he make this confession for
his conscience sake, but, from the same motive, felt bound to exhort
and pray their right reverend Lordships-one and all-no longer
to keep this so necessary and holy an election impeded on his
account (con la persona soa), but to propose another candidate, who
can never fail to be more worthy than he is; and that they should
no longer delay, the reproach being already so great and universal,
and so great the peril of the Papal territory and the city of Rome,
and of many persons, owing to the multitude of inconveniences
which may and must occur daily from their continuing locked-up
there (dal loro continuare li serati); and that they might now be
more than certain that the Spirit had not elected him. In conclusion
he said that to leave them more at liberty to speak about him, and
determine on taking another candidate in his stead, he would retire
in order to give them greater convenience; praying and beseeching
them no longer to lose time about him, but to make this holy
and necessary election in some other person; and with this he
departed.
After a brief interval, being made to return, they answered him
in terms of great honour (molto honoratamente) with regard to his
goodness and piety, assuring him that this was the usual course of
events, and that on most occasions the conclave lasted upwards of a
month; and that he ought not to rely on interpreting in this form
the will of the Spirit, but rather believe, and consider it certain,
that in like manner as he is not at liberty to assume to himself the
office, so is he neither at liberty to divest himself of it;* urging him
to be pleased, together with them, to wait yet a while so as to give
way to the Spirit, that they may make this election according to
His holy will. Thus do they delay, awaiting these blessed French-
men (questi benedetti Francesi), who already last Sunday evening
were at Leghorn, as known through their courier and by letters
from the Duke of Florence, who chanced to be in the castle there.
It was heard last evening that should the weather serve, they
will come on by sea, if not, by land, so that they are expected
most certainly tomorrow. They are four in number, namely, Guise,
Vendôme, Châtillon, and Bellai. Tournon, Annebault, Boulogne,
* "Anci devea credere, et tener per certo, che si come non è in libertà soa di vestirsene,
manco deve esser in libertà soa di spogliarsene."
I
284
1549.
1549.
Dec. 14.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
and Lorraine are expected to follow. His most Christian Majesty
has spared Bourbon, Giuri,* and Roan,† by reason of their [advanced?]
age. The Florentines here are informed the King has ordered
the French Cardinals to favour Ridolfi, which caused him to rise
at the bankers' shops to twenty, the same odds being given in
favour of England. But it is suspected that even after the entry
of the French Cardinals into the conclave, matters will be pro-
tracted, as they will not be in sufficient number to elect the Pope.
Although England would require more votes, those he has, will
however remain firm; nor
nor can it be imagined what person the
Farneses could have to propose in his stead, it not being believed
that the Emperor will consent to Sta. Croce. So I suspect that we
must pray the Lord God earnestly to stretch forth his holy hand;
and in the meanwhile these [Farneses ?] are ruining themselves, for
it is said they are spending four thousand crowns per diem, so that
they have but a small residue of those which they found in Castle
St. Angelo.
Rome, 11th December 1549.
[Italian.]
600. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
My last despatch was dated the 11th, at the fourth hour [after
sunrise?]; at the eleventh hour, the French Cardinals arrived at
the house of their ambassador, and at the thirteenth hour, they
entered the Conclave, being received at the door by all the Cardinals
with great demonstration of joy; and at the fourteenth hour
Cardinal De Tournon arrived, entering the Conclave in like manner,
so that it consists of forty-seven members, which is the fullest
Conclave upon record.
I send your Serenity copy of the Emperor's letter to the Sacred
College [dated Brussels, 20th November 1549]; and also of a
memorandurn (polizza), asserting that should all the French
Cardinals come as they say they will, thirty-six Cardinals will
be required to elect the Pope, and God knows whether they will be
able to agree, or whether a schism will take place. Never were the
times more perilous, nor the Conclave fuller, nor more divided
(disordinato). The number of candidates for the Popedom
(Papanti) is great; the members (gli huomeni) of very opposite
opinions (diversissimi), and powerful. The French [Cardinals]
have said that were they to rot they will conquer, and so say the
others; but either Montes or Sta. Croce [Marcello Cervino] can
be made by Cardinal Farnese immediately, whenever he chooses to
secede from the Imperialists, as the French would then join him;
* Claude de Longuy, of the baronial family de Giury, created Cardinal by Clement VII.,
7th November 1533. (Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 132, 133.)
† George d'Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen, created Cardinal by Paul III., 16th
December 1545. (Cardella vol. iv. p. 273.)
"I Francesi hanno detto, che si dovessino marcire la voglian vincere, et cosi dicano
gli altri."
§ Gianmaria Ciocchi, called del Monte, made Cardinal by Paul III. on the 22nd December
1536. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 159.)
1549.
285
1549.
Dec. 19.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Dec. 21.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
*
but he will not ally himself with them if able to avoid it by electing
one of the old Cardinals from amongst those who are not the
creatures of his grandfather.*
Rome, 14th December 1549.
[Italian.]
601. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send him the enclosed summary for communication as usual.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
602. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On Thursday morning Cardinal Veruli was to have re-entered
Conclave, but on Wednesday night being suffocated by catarrh, he
went to another place, where he will remain longer. Had he been
content to remain at home, he might perhaps (facilmente) have
obtained the object for which he came, as was the case heretofore
with Adrian, who was at a much greater distance, but possibly God
chose to provide better for him. It is suspected that the like may
befall Santa Croce [Marcello Cervino], who is so ill of his quartan
ague, that tomorrow he also is to be taken out of Conclave. Many
conclavists, men of experience and good intellect, have quitted the
Conclave from illness, nor can any one of them tell who will be
Pope, more than we can, just as if they had not been there. I
might have sent your Serenity the particular scrutinies of many
days, but independently of those already advised by me, all the
rest had only one or two votes, the announcement of which was
unnecessary.
On the evening before last the prelates presented themselves at
the wicket to urge the Cardinals in favour of despatch. The Arch-
bishop of Spalatro was spokesman, and made a very suitable dis-
course. The Cardinals replied that they would not fail doing their
duty by them, giving hope that they would soon have a good and
acceptable Pontiff; but the senior Cardinal told the prelates never-
theless that they must diminish the Cardinals' food, and Cardinal
Farnese said it ought to be nothing but bread and water.
Yesterday morning it seems that they scrutinized (che scorti-
nasseno) Cardinal Sfondrato, but he obtained only 15 votes, and
England apparently (par) got as many as 25, which would verify
what was said the evening before last, that the Cardinals Burgos
[Juan Alvarez de Toledo, Archbishop of Burgos]'and Cibo had also
gone over to him. In that case the usual 23 would become so
much the more obstinate (duri), for I was informed on very good
* "Mai lui non concorrerà già con loro, si potrà far di mancho, in far elletione di un de'
Cardinali vecchi, che non sijno creatura de suo Avo." As seen by former letters, Paul
III. had quarrelled with his grandchildren about Parma, which he wished to restore to
the Church, and Duke Ottavio sought to keep it for himself, through the assistance of his
father-in-law, the Emperor. Cardinal Farnese supported his brother, and therefore
opposed the election of any Cardinal supposed to share the dying wish of the late Pope.
286
1549.
1549.
Dec. 23.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Dec. 24.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
authority that they have signed a paper (essersi firmati) pledging
themselves not to give way. But last night at the seventh hour
loud voices were heard at the door of the Conclave, and amongst
them that of the Cardinal of Trent [Christopher Madruccio], and
according to conjecture they were on the point of going out of their
cells to Salviati,* for whom Mantua [Ercole Gonzaga] on the part
of Farnese, and Ferrara [Ippolito d' Este] for the other side, are
canvassing with all their might. This morning they were to have
scrutinized him (scrutinarlo), but the scrutiny did not take place
because Salviati, being very shrewd (molto accorto), will not start
(non voglia correre) unless in great force, having agreed with his
cousin Ridolfi, that the one who has not a sufficient majority is to
cede his votes to the other.
Rome, 21st December 1549.
[Italian.]
603. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On Sunday, after the scrutiny, Cardinal Sta. Croce [Marcello
Cervino] was taken out of the conclave, in a litter, to the apart-
ments of Cardinal Farnese at San Lorenzo, being very ill of his
quartan ague.
In the scrutiny, the Cardinal of England had his 23 votes, and
20 were in favour of Chieti [Giampietro Caraffa], who then delivered
a very fine discourse to the Sacred College, thanking his voters and
persuading them to let him alone (a lasciarlo stare), and support
some other candidate with a greater chance of success.
Rome, 23rd December 1549.
[Italian.]
604. NEWS-LETTER from a "CONCLAVIST" (alias attendant in
the service of one of the Cardinals in Conclave) enclosed in
the despatch of Matteo Dandolo, dated 24th December.
Down to this time there have been 19 scrutinies without any
decision whatever; day after day they continue uniform. England
has still the majority of votes, but the great difficulty of his election
is evident. Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa] was within three of him,
yesterday, and today he is but one below him. He said yesterday
that he no longer wished for any votes, releasing those who had
given them to him, and explaining in very elegant language that he
would not be the cause of keeping the Church in suspense. England
also said his say (Inghilterra disse ancho esso la parte soa) in a
style which was much commended, although he would not release
his votes, seeing that he had not canvassed them, offering to cede
his hat, but not choosing it to be said that he had given way either
to hope or fear.†
Rome, 24th December 1549.
[Italian.]
* Giovanni Salviati created Cardinal by Leo. X.
† "Benchè non volesse liberare i suoi voti, come colui che non gli havea procurati,
tuttavia offerendosi cedere il capello, non pur alla speranza ò timore che dir si possa."
1549.
287
Dec. 26.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1549.
Dec. 24.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
605. NEWS-LETTER from a "CONCLAVIST," enclosed in a despatch
from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 26th December.
What we are doing here is a repetition of what we have been
Archives. doing hitherto, and your Lordship may rest assured that we have
not a glimpse of any future event, not even at the distance of a
thousand miles (et sia certa vostra Signoria che non si vede lume
alcuno di cosa che si habbia a fare ne ancho lontano mille miglia.)
As yet with regard to Ridolfi and Salviati there has been no
indication that either one or the other will be [proposed?] shortly,
as they do not "run" (non correno), and with regard to individual
chances I know not how they can be discussed, as you are aware
that between word and deed the difference is great. At present
the contest is between Chieti [Caraffa] and Pole, and although
yesterday they both spoke most eloquently, I believe matters will
remain thus a long while, unless the Almighty intervene, for there
are strange humours on one side and the other (per chè ci è de' strani
humori da l' una parte et l' altra).
Rome, 26th December 1549.
[Italian.]
What
606. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On the 24th I sent copy of a news-letter then received out of
Conclave, and should prefer doing so always, but these advices are
sometimes so obscure that it behoves me to embody them in my
despatches, and your Serenity must be satisfied with what I can
get, as it is not lawful for me to add anything of my own.
I now
send another, also of the 24th.
Yesterday morning, from a certain window overlooking the Court,
where the Cardinals often show themselves, Cardinal Farnese said
to the Archbishop Cornaro, who was urging him at length to elect
the Pope, "You do not choose to limit us to bread and water, and
you ought to give us swords and daggers, as I see no other means
for our coming to a decision."
Today, when at the wicket, after having addressed the College,
as already mentioned, a crowd of barons and prelates who were
standing by besought me to pray their Right Reverend Lordships
to form a resolve about the Pope, so I could not avoid saying to
them gently (modestamente), with a smile, "Most Illustrious and
most Reverend Lords, I have hitherto been here [at the wicket]
as ambassador from my Venetian Republic, and you now see how I
am compelled to be the ambassador of the entire Christian common-
wealth. There are men here of all nations and of every grade, who
force and press me to pray and beseech you to give us at length the
most holy Pontiff, and by Christ's passion no longer to delay [the
election of] the Vicar." The Right Reverend the senior Cardinal
(il Revmo. "Decano) answered with a most joyful countenance, that
although they always received me they were moreover especially
glad to do so on the present occasion, and that we were to be of good
cheer, and that they would give us a good one, and speedily, but
that we also were to do our duty in this matter, so that they might
288
1549.
1549.
Dec. 26.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
accomplish it, by stopping their food; whereupon all the Cardinals
with one voice urged, and the majority commanded us, not to let
anything but bread and water enter the Conclave. Cardinal Cibo
spoke most earnestly, and wished the poor old Cardinals to have
wine, but with bread alone. Pacheco put his head out [of the
wicket] almost in a rage, protesting that nothing should be given
them but bread and water. To this I made answer that I would
do my duty by writing what their Right Reverend Lordships had
enjoined me, leaving charge of the rest to the others who remained
there; and I then took leave, being most firmly convinced from the
gests and wrangling witnessed by me at this display (atto) that they
are more obstinate (indurati) than ever. Although tomorrow,
when it is my turn to mount guard, I will not fail to go there, I
shall not interfere further about what is to be given to, or taken
from them, this office appertaining to the prelates; but were the
business mine, I know how I would serve them.
Rome, 26th December 1549.
[Italian.]
607. Copy of a letter written from the CONCLAVE [by the
attendant of some Cardinal, to one of Cardinal Pole's backers],
contained in Matteo Dandolo's despatch, dated 28th De-
cember.
The result of the late affairs, which caused loss to your Lordship
and others, has constantly warned me to be very cautious in not
giving similar advices, unless I be more certain than I was then.
The news was so generally considered true, that I know not how
hereafter anybody can ever risk writing of other candidates destined
to become de facto Pope, that which was written of the English
Cardinal Pole, whose 23 votes are still firm and constant, yet most
persons believe that they will not succeed. Who else it is to be
seems very uncertain, although the French give their 18 or 20 votes
to the Sabine Chieti (al Sabinen Chieti)* [Gianpietro Caraffa], as it
seems that the decision is to come from the Emperor, so that some
persons incline towards Salviati.
The French [Cardinals], contrary to their nature, seem well
pleased to stay in Conclave, and say that their Court is subject to
much greater inconveniences than these, and that they think them-
selves in Paradise, where they will tire out all the others, so as to
give the papal tiara to one of their own creatures. The opposite
party in like manner bravadoes, and says that when all the French
shall have made their appearance, 17 votes will suffice to impede;
but that neither length of time, nor hardship, nor any accident will
have sufficient force to deprive England even of one single vote, or
to make them change their candidate, though this is scarcely cre-
dible, as their mutation seems dependent on the Emperor's resolve,
which is expected hourly.
Rome, 26th December 1549.
[Italian.]
* The title of Sabinese was held by Gianpietro Caraffa, as third Bishop. (See Venetian
Calendar, vol. iv. p. 398.)
1549.
289
1549.
Dec. 27.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Dec. 28.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Dec. 28.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Dec. 28.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
608. NEWS-LETTER from a CONCLAVIST," enclosed in a
despatch from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 27th De-
cember.
(C
Each day convinces me more and more that matters will be
protracted.
Rome, 27th December, 1549.
[Italian.]
609. NEWS-LETTER from a " CONCLAVIST," enclosed in the
despatch from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 28th De-
cember.
We continue in the same state; little do they think here of a
Pope. England remains with his 23 votes; today Burgos [Juan
Alvarez de Toledo] had 20 votes; and Trani [Giovandomenico de
Cuppis], 21; they are jeering each other. This reply [from the
Emperor] will arrive, and something will be settled. I believe
all means will be prevented, so that we shall be unable to send
news-letters (credo che si levaranno ogni modo, che non potremo
mandar polizze).
Rome, 28th December 1549.
[Italian.]
610. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
I enclose copies of news-letters from the Conclave, dated 26th,
27th, and 28th, and by this last it seems that their circulation
will be prevented. They have also walled up the small windows
fronting the court, from which some of the Cardinals used often
to show themselves.
[Italian.]
5.
The Cardinals of Amboise and Boulogne arrived this afternoon ;
the former will enter Conclave immediately; the latter being indis-
posed will delay until tomorrow; and tomorrow or next day,
Lorraine is expected. It is also said that Giuri and Bourbon are
coming.
Rome, 28th December, 1549.
[Italian.]
611. ARCHBISHOP CORNARO to
I have seen the Cardinals Amboise and Boulogne enter Conclave.
They were received joyfully by the entire Sacred College; and
when the French ambassador asked the senior Cardinal to delay the
scrutiny till tomorrow, as those two personages were tired, he
replied, "I cannot promise you, because we intend to despatch
you" (vogliamo spedirvi); and he then whispered to Messer Jacomo
Crescentio, "Be of good cheer, for we will despatch you speedily
and well." Yesterday the Cardinal of Lorraine passed La Scala
on his way hither, so that they expect him on Monday, or Tuesday
morning.
Rome, 28th December 1549.
T
290
1549-1550.
1549.
Dec. 28.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1550.
Jan. 1.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 7.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
612. NEWS-LETTER from a “CONCLAVIST," enclosed in a
despatch from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 1st January
1550.
If the words of Cardinal Farnese can be credited, we shall soon
get out of Conclave. Your Lordship must hasten Duke Horatio
[Horatio Farnese, Duke of Castro], as unless they [the Farnese]
are quick, and form some good resolve, a Pope may be made without
them; and Cardinal Farnese should arrange all his family affairs,
and elect a Pope who will be his friend.
When these French Cardinals made their entry, Amboise* made
all the Cardinals laugh, solely by his appearance.
Rome, 28th December 1549.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1550.
613. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
In order to do all that can be done to make the Cardinals hasten
the election, they only allow one single dish, either roast or boiled,
to be taken into them by their carvers (schalchi.)
On Sunday, the Emperor's reply to the letters written to him
on the 8th ultimo, announcing the first scrutiny of the Cardinal
of England, arrived here. They reached him on the 18th December,
and this answer, the contents of which your Serenity will find in
the aforesaid copies, is dated the 19th.
Rome, 1st January 1550.
[Italian.]
614. NEWS-LETTER from a "CONCLAVIST," enclosed in the
Venetian Ambassador's despatch, dated 11th January.
We are more in the dark than ever, and the proceedings are
such, that not only may we rely on remaining here another
40 days, but after the second and third quarantine, we shall come
out without a Pope, unless God of his mercy provide against it;
so great is the obstinacy of those who govern. I do not write
the details, as I should have too much to do, and for the salvation
of my soul would fain forget them; and as your Lordship mentions
the Cardinal of Trani [Giovandomenico de Cuppis], two evenings
ago he thought he had something good in hand, but I knew he
was deceiving himself, nor will anything but the utmost delay and
desperation gain him voters; whereas owing to the last step taken
by the "bench" (bancha), concerning the affairs of Parma, Farnese
* Georges d'Armagnac, born A.D. 1500, died in 1585. (See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 254-
255.)
1550.
291
1550.
Jan. 7.
Cerimoniali
della Chiesa
di S. Marco,
p. 125,
Venetian
Archives.
•
would approve of Monte,* though he does not mention him. But
several of Farnese's adherents, and all the French Cardinals object
to this candidate, so that little hope can be placed in him, and none
at all as yet in anyone. Those who in my opinion have the least
bad chance of all, are Pole, Sfondrato,† and in the long run (al
longo andar), perhaps possibly, (forse forse), Monte; and be this
taken as a recompense for Marino's prognostic, and not as an opinion
to be relied on.
Rome, 7th January 1550.
[Italian.]
615. FUNERAL of the AMBASSADOR from ENGLAND [SIGISMUND
HARVEL.]
Expended for the funeral of the most noble Lord Ambassador of
England, the Lord (il Signor) Sigismund Harvell, at S. Geremia ;
and he was carried to [the church of] Saints John and Paul.
For torches weighing 6 lbs. each, for the "Gesuati "‡
For torches weighing 3 lbs. each, for the "Scola" (confra-
ternity) of St. Mark
For four torches weighing 10 lbs. each at [the church of] San
Geremia, two at the head, and two at the feet of the
canopy -
For little candles for the chapter of St. Mark, and that of
San Geremia, to perform the office [in the church of] San
Geremia -
-
No.
40
40
4
20
For the two canopies, one at San Geremia, and the other at
Saints John and Paul, candles weighing 4 ounces each 800
And on the sides, weighing 1 lb. each
30
The which above-written wax lights were bought (tolte) of the
most noble Messer Alvise Dolfin, grocer (spicier), at the sign of
"the Well," and he was paid by the most illustrious Signory, namely
by the office for old accounts (dalle Rason Vecchie.)
The four torches at Saints John and Paul, two at the head and
two at the feet of the canopy, and the six torches in the choir for
the oration, were paid for by the [Ambassador's] household (la casa
li ha pagati).
The four weighed 12 lbs. each, and the six 6 lbs. each.
The cloaks for the mourners were made by the [Ambassador's]
household (la casa li fece).
The other expenses, viz., hatchments, black linen, and the costs
of the platforms for the canopies, were defrayed by the [Ambas-
sador's] household.
For the vault (deposito) at Saints John and Paul, the [Ambas-
sador's] household, by agreement with the Friars,§ paid them
ducats ready money, and 200 "cara" of firewood.
* Gio. Maria di Monte, elected Pope on the 27th February 1550.
† Francesco Sfondrato created Cardinal by Paul III.
A religious order confirmed in the year 1367, by Pope Urban V. (See Storia degli
Ordini Monastici dal P. Giuseppe Francesco Fontana, vol. iii. p. 451, Ed. Lucca, 1738.)
The order of the Jesuits was instituted in 1534.
§ The church and monastery of Sts. John and Paul belonged to the Dominicans.
T 2
292
1550.
1550.
Jan. 8.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
The [Ambassador's] household paid the chapter of San Geremia.
The oration was delivered by a scholar of the Reverend M. Don.
Francesco Erizzo, Messer D. Antonio Stella, and he was paid by
the [Ambassador's] household.
The costs of the Master of the choir of St. Mark, for boat-hire
and singing-boys (zoveni), who assisted at the funeral, were paid
by the [Ambassador's] household.
N.B. (Dechiarando). The most Illustrious Signory did not ac-
company this funeral, as they usually do by all Ambassadors,
because the aforesaid was not a real (vero) ambassador, but as it
were an envoy (nontio) and vice-ambassador.
[Italian.]
616. LETTER from N. to CARDINAL FARNESE, enclosed in a
despatch from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 18th January.
I write this evening to your Right Reverend Lordship solely
to inform you that the Emperor's reply about Santa Croce [Marcello
Cervino] has arrived, and is such as I imagined, for he does not
intend to revoke the election in any way,* but continues firm in
excepting Santa Croce, Ridolfi, and Salviati, and is staunch to
Burgos [Francisco de Mendoza] and Pole.
My duty as a true friend makes me also tell you that I know
who ruins matters at the Imperial Court, and who manages them;
and your Lordship must beware of thwarting this exception made
by his Majesty, as it would be your ruin, for not on my own autho-
rity but from very sure advices from said Court, I inform you that
the whole doubt is, whether you may not choose to say one thing
and do another. This has been already suggested by those who
base their suspicion on the mode adopted-your Lordship will
pardon me-by the late Pope; and they think that being governed
by the same counsels, you must operate in the same manner, and as
this policy was the chief cause of the misunderstanding between
his Majesty and his Holiness, so will it be your manifest ruin if you
think of following it at present. I am unable to be more precise
with your Lordship, nor do I believe you to be following this course;
but, nevertheless, out of brotherly affection I remind you that not
only is it contrary to your interests to do so, but that you ought
not to give even the slightest hold (apicco) to your enemies, whereby
to reproach you with this to his Majesty, but to continue sincerely
and freely to support your two candidates Burgos and Pole, and
not give cause to think otherwise. If you allow yourself to be
turned the other way, you will see whether I have spoken truth;
and should my advice not be followed, you will commence witnessing
your ruin immediately on quitting Conclave. I very much wish
that Burgos had not been named, to enable me more freely to enter
into many details which I omit for his sake, as according to what
little I know, I would fain pass in review all the Cardinals likely to
become Pope (che possono esser Papa), and state, one by one, how
they would affect your Right Reverend Lordship's interests, in order
*Non vuol intender niente di revocar la ellettione.”
N
**
1550.
1550.
Jan. 8.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
293
that you should preserve my prognostic, to see on a future day
where I have hit the mark, or missed it. I believe, that after
pondering the matter, you would think, as is the fact, that because
in the lifetime of Paul I said I would be the friend of your family,
(di voler esser loro amico), this alone sufficed to make me declare
myself, and manifest whatever may benefit your Right Reverend
Lordship and your house (casa); this being my chief reason for
acting in this manner.
Your Lordship will attribute this discourse to the good love which
may be expected from a true friend, and from day to day you will
know, what you will perhaps not be able to perceive at present,
owing to the variety of counsels given you, and God grant they
be as sound as mine; nor will I now importune you farther, and
may God give you what you desire.
Rome? 8th January 1550. Di N.
[Italian.]
Jan. 8.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
The reply from the Imperial Court has been received; his
Archives. Majesty will not hear a word about Santa Croce, and is very
determined [against] Salviati and Ridolfi, and on the election of
Burgos and Pole; so the [Imperial] Cardinals, if they wish to show
how much they are the Emperor's servants, must proceed steadily
on this road, in which, if they persevere, I think they will be
victorious; but they must none of them suppose that they can feign
one thing and do another, for I vow to you that his Majesty will
know even whether they make water in this Conclave (che vi giuro
che sua Maestà saperà sino se si piscia in cotesto conclave).
Rome?, 8th January 1550.
[Italian.]
617. LETTER from N. to CARDINAL FARNESE; enclosed in the
despatch dated 18th January.
618. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Everybody is of opinion that there is not the slightest hope of
having a Pope, not even in the course of a month, so the wagers at
the bankers' shops continue to be very brisk. The Cardinal de
Bourbon was left on Sunday at Florence, and comes on his journey
bespattering (squazando) the whole world, for it is impossible to
imagine worse weather either above or below, owing to the late
heavy rains, so that here the Tiber has commenced alarming people.
Nor do I know whether after Bourbon's entry, the Conclave will
decide, for there is no such appearance, as both factions have again
taken oath not to yield one to the other; and the Imperialists swear
they will die with Pole on their lips, and never propose any one but
England, to whom they all give way, and every morning they
continue giving him their 23 votes. Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa]
has 22, the French saying that they also will die in Conclave.
The French faction, however, has many candidates, though they
obtain but few votes, save such as are given in jest, which on two
occasions caused them such alarm, that now they will not even hear
294
1550.
1550.
Jan. 10.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
of it; so that Medon (sic), who yesterday had one single vote,
complained of Trent [Madrucci], saying that at least had he given
him his vote, he [Medon] should have had 31 votes, and been thus
made Pope. They delay starting (correr) their first-rate candidates
(i grossi) until the arrival of Bourbon, and they are so many in
number, and of such a sort, that they might therefore come to a
rupture, though even these Imperialists have used foul language to
each other-Crescentio to Pacheco,*-because Pacheco wished to
propose to him Trani [Giovandomenico de Cuppis], who is of the
French faction, and perhaps as a joke, had 21 votes. Farnese and
Santa Fiore also abused each other because Santa Fiore chose
strongly to favour Salviati; and Sermoneta, who is of the French
faction, in like manner vituperated Farnese. The language is said
to be of such a sort, that I hope it is not true, and that the
Conclavists being tired, narrate the worst they know.
They moreover played a practical joke on well nigh all the
Cardinals, who having assembled in the "Loggia," the two factions
-(one at one end and the other at the other)-took the aforesaid
oath, and found themselves locked in during upwards of three hours,
being told that they should not be let out, without their Pope; and
had not the master of the ceremonies chanced to have another key,
they would have made them stay there a long while. It is now
41 days since they were shut up in Conclave, and the Cardinals
there are in number 46.
Rome, 8th January 1550.
[Italian.]
619. NEWS-LETTER from a "CONCLAVIST," of the Farnese
faction, enclosed in a despatch from the Venetian Ambas-
sador, dated 11th January.
This morning, Pole lost two votes, and was on a par with Chieti
[Gianpietro Caraffa], who since many days has always 21 votes,
which is not surprising, as your Lordship knows that our side
always reckoned on the loss of four votes, including these two of
Visco (sic) [Crispo ?] and Cibo. Doria and another were also to do
the like, but even they will not suffice by their seccession to prevent
the designs of the opposite party from being thwarted. The
obstinacy of the latter and the perseverance of the former is such,
that we have no longer any hopes of getting out of Conclave,
unless it be without a Pope; and you other reverend prelates, who
see these disorders, and whose business it is to apply a remedy,
disregard them, without attempting to devise any good scheme for
their dispersion, before yet greater disturbance arise; but all may
rest assured that if man will not provide, the Almighty will,
infallibly.
Rome, 10th January 1550.
[Italian.]
*“Sono stati tra loro a brute parole, Crescentio con Pacieco, imperochè Pacieco gli
volea proponer," etc. Marcello Crescenzij, a Roman, and Pedro Pacheco, a Spaniard, were
both made Cardinals by Pope Paul III. (See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 236, 280.)
1550.
295
1550.
Jan. 10.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 11.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
620. NEWS-LETTER from a
CONCLAVIST, enclosed in the
Venetian Ambassador's despatch, dated 11th January.
The obstinacy (durezza) increases; humanly speaking, there is as
yet no visible end, unless the Sovereigns agree to charge their
agents here to come to a decision, of which it seems that there is
some hope and intention.
The Emperor has written that after the Epiphany he will send
an envoy to the most Christian King about this matter. Since
yesterday England has lost two votes, namely Visco (sic) [Crispo ?]
and Cibo, who were long beleaguered (batagliati) by the French,
and Doria is about to become their third colleague. The cause is
not materially affected by the reduction of 23 votes to 20, but it
encourages the opposition, who are very determined to resist; 17
prevent election, but there remain 20 sure votes, who will not heed.
Genoa.* Nothing is thought of but the means whereby one party
may thwart the other, and it is said that in this Conclave there have
been more pioneers (guastatori) than Sultan Solyman had at the
siege of Rhodes. The letters from Flanders are dated the 30th
and 31st ult., and exclude and include all the candidates mentioned
heretofore, greatly recommending Burgos [Juan Alvarez de Toledo],
and it is thought he will choose to run another course (un altra
lancia), but they also confirm the injunctions ut supra to remain
staunch to Pole, as is and will be the case, so long as it shall please
God. The two chief factions (masse) during the last few days, have
held congregations in which they reciprocally excluded each others'
candidates, so that they neither attend to any treaty of concord,
nor do they think of it. Recourse must be had to the Lord God,
as for the present no other remedy is or can be visible.
On the 10th of January, in the stink and stench of the Conclave
(nella puzza et fettore del conclave) at the fifth hour, Visco (sic)
[Crispo or Crispi?]† had 13 votes, nine from the French, and four
from the others.
Rome, 10th January 1550.
[Italian.]
((
621. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
I enclose copies of advices (polizze) [written in the Conclave by
Conclavisti," or attendants of the Cardinals] from the 7th down
to yesterday; this last being written by one of the most judicious
persons in the Conclave. Today I have not yet been able to procure
any intelligence.
The "advice" of yesterday contains all the authentic news
hitherto attainable (if authentic it can be called); and what I
collect from other sources is, that the Cardinals Cibo and Visco (sic)
[Crispo ?], who seem to have deserted England, are again in hopes of
* Query, Innocenzio Cibo, a Genose (nephew of Leo X. who created him Cardinal),
died at Rome in 1550. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 9.)
† Query, Tiberio Crispo, alias Crispi, alias Crespo, natural brother of Costanza Farnese,
made Cardinal by Paul III. (See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 271-272.) The secession of
Crespo from Cardinal Farnese is mentioned by Matteo Dandolo in his report of Rome.
(See Alberi, series 2. vol. iii., p. 346.)
296
1550.
1550.
Jan. 11.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
being Pope, although Cibo promises, that whenever there is a
possibility of England's election, he will not fail him; but Visco
will by no means return to England. It is also asserted that seven
or eight of the Cardinals are arranging secretly to give their votes
(sui accessi) to Cardinal Pole whenever they see him in a way to
succeed (in termine di poter riuscire), and that the Emperor was
to send to perform an office with the most Christian King in favour
of England. Nor does his Imperial Majesty recommend Burgos
[Francesco Mendoza y Bovadilla] because he wishes him to be
elected, but in order to facilitate the election of England, Cardinal
Farnese having written to him about the difficulties he encountered
with regard to Cardinal Pole's election. In his letter to Cardinal
Farnese, dated the 31st December, the Emperor replies, praising him
much for the mode in which he has proceeded, and warning him
that it should not be called obstinacy, but constancy; he urges him to
persevere in supporting England as long as he can, and when it
seems impossible to accomplish the election of Cardinal Pole, he is
to turn his thoughts to some other person, who must be an honest
man (homo da bene), not hostile to his Majesty, and favourable to
the private interests of the Farnese family; and with such choice his
Majesty will be satisfied.
In the congregation held by the French Cardinals amongst
themselves alone, their chief the Cardinal de Guise admonished
them earnestly (efficacemente), in their King's name, not to elect
England, and that should any of them choose to do so, they were
to tell him so, and assign their reasons, which might be such, that
were three or four of them of this mind, he likewise would favour
his election (gli condescenderebbe). Thereupon they all pledged
their faith to him, not to vote for Pole, to whom Guise shows himself
very adverse (molto contrario). Thus will they continue awaiting
letters from the King, and perhaps from the Emperor likewise, in
reply to what the Cardinal of Trent wrote him, which seems to
have been in favour of Salviati, and possibly also to what Farnese
wrote him subsequently. The wagers at the bankers' shops go
jumping (saltando) and falling for Ridolfi and these others, but
very low for all of them (ma molto basse per ogn' uno) [but heavy
odds against all of them?], which shows that not even these
merchants, although they have many Florentines in Conclave* and
obtain the very best information, have anything more to rely on
The highest wager current is 60 per cent. that a Pope will not be
elected during the whole of this month, and 26 per cent. during
the whole of February; but God can do more in one hour than all
human discourses in many.
Rome, 11th January 1550.
[Italian.]
622. NEWS-LETTER from a CONCLAVIST of the Farnese faction,
enclosed in the Venetian Ambassador's despatch, dated 11th
January.
This morning Pole had twenty-one votes, as yesterday morning,
and so had Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa]. Since last evening some-
* In attendance on the Cardinals, and who were termed "Conclavists.”
}
1550.
297
1550.
Jan. 11.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 12.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secrcta),
File no. 18.
Jan. 12.
"Annali"
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvi, p. 129,
tergo.
thing, with which I am not acquainted, has been said about Ridolfi,
but as no particulars are heard, no hope is placed in him, although
some persons declared that he is not amongst the candidates
excluded by the Emperor; yet this seems unreasonable, as his case
is the same, or even a stronger one, than that of Salviati.
Rome, 11th January 1550.
[Italian.]
623. NEWS-LETTER from a CONCLAVIST of the French faction
enclosed in a despatch from the Venetian Ambassador, dated
11th January.
The affairs of the Popedom (del Papato) are going as they went
many days ago, and although Cibo and Visco (sic) [Crispo ?] have
deserted the Imperialists, they, however, remain with 21 votes on
each side, both of which will make noise and not hit the mark
(et non coglieranno) unless they coalesce.
In the last letters from the Emperor's Court neither Monte nor
Ridolfi were excluded, which is very good news; all are exerting
themselves (et ogn' uno si aiuta), and affairs are even rather brisk.
In two days they will improve, as according to report the Imperialists
will lose two more votes, but the matter depends entirely on
Farnese, who will not decide.
Rome, 11th January 1550.
[Italian.]
624. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
Their last letters from France, dated the 1st instant, announce the
appointment by the most Christian King of four commissioners,
the King of England having nominated a like number, that they
may all hold a conference to treat and adjust the disputes between
their two Kings concerning the restitution of Boulogne to the most
Christian King for the money which the deceased King [Francis]
bound himself to pay the King of England.
Ayes, 191. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
625. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose a summary for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
626. MARIN CAVALLI, Venetian Ambassador with the Emperor,
to the DOGE and SENATE.
The last despatch sent hence to Rome was dated the 5th instant.;
his Majesty disapproved entirely of supporting the canvass for the
Popedom of the Cardinals Salviati and Santa Croce, to which
Cardinal Farnese seemed inclined, having found means, should either
of them be elected, to make sure of Parma and the Council of Trent.
298
1550.
1550.
Jan. 15.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Orders have been given to favour the Cardinal of Burgos, and
should this not be possible, then the Cardinal of England. A sharp
reproof has been given to Don Diego, telling him that he has more
at heart his own private interest than the service of his Imperial
Majesty; this proceeded from the Duke of Alva and the whole
Toledo family, who are extremely dissatisfied with him.
The news of the release of the Protector of England was heard
here with no little regret, as it will apparently be the ruin of the
Earl of Warwick, with whom his Imperial Majesty has an under-
standing (praticha); and it has been hinted to me, on authority,
that the arrest of the Protector, and these late risings in London,
had their root in this Court. Here they are awaiting the result
of the negotiations for peace between the most Christian King
and the English. The English Ambassador here has been allowed
the use of 700 German horse should he need them, though it does
not seem they have been sent for.
Brussels, 12th January 1550.
[Italian.]
627. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Yesterday morning the Cardinal de Bourbon [arrived from
France], and he also entered Conclave, saying that he did so
without ambition, and should quit it without passion. Together
with him seven attendants were admitted, so that by this time
there must be a good 400 persons in Conclave, the servants being
so familiar with the Cardinals that very often they do not even
doff their bonnets to them. In the scrutinies, they continue giving
their 21 votes to England and the same number to Chieti [Gian-
pietro Caraffa]; and now, even in Conclave amongst the Cardinals
themselves, wagers of amber rosaries, perfumed gloves (which no
one can do without), she mules, chains, and even of money are made,
some of their Lordships wagering that we shall have a Pope before
the end of this month, and some later. The Duchess of Parma
[Margaret of Austria] sent the Cardinal of Trent [Christopher
Madruccio] an amber chaplet, telling him that he well knew how
to make such a Pope as would be confirmed by the Emperor.
At the bankers' shops the wagers on the Cardinals are at a
low ebb, 16 at the utmost for the favourites, namely, England,
Ridolfi, and Salviati; but 62 per cent. is wagered that the Pope will
not be made in the course of this month, and 22.per cent. that neither
will February witness the election. Forty-eight days have now
elapsed since the Conclave was closed, and it now numbers 48 Car-
dinals, who may indeed be said to be at large, rather than locked
up; for their dispatches go and come by the ordinary mails as if
they were each of them free in Rome, and not confined in Conclave;
and the servants, whether sick or sound, depart and return at their
pleasure. The Cardinals Santa Croce [Marcello Cervini] and
Bologna [the French Cardinal of Boulogne], who are also sick, will
come back when the voting commences in earnest. It is heard from
the Treasurer that since the Pope's death 300,000 crowns have been
spent.
1550.
299
1550.
Jan. 17.
Original
Letter Book,
Jan. 18.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
By letters, dated the 4th instant, from the Emperor, it is heard
that his Majesty was in good health; and with regard to particulars
[relating to the Conclave], discourse varies. Some say he wrote that
if unable to succeed in electing Cardinal Pole, he referred himself
in everything and thoroughly to the College, provided they elect a
man of worth (un homo da bene); and that he has written to
Madame [his natural daughter, Margaret of Austria,] and to Cardinal
Farnese, that they are to be of good cheer (de bona voglia) about
the affairs of Parma, as he will cause them to have it, let the College
elect what Pope they will, but that Cardinal Farnese must be
staunch to Pole (ch' el stia fermo su Polo), next to whom (appresso
il quale) he writes in recommendation of Burgos, exhorting Farnese
not to act like his grandfather [Paul III], who made a show of
doing one thing and then attended to another (che mostrava di
voler far una cosa et poi tendeva ad un' altra), because if he [the
Cardinal] acted in that way, he [the Emperor] likewise would then
fail to support his interests.
It is said that whenever Salviati shall choose to canvass (vorà
correr) he may rely on 26 or 27 votes.
By the news-letter of a "Conclavist" in attendance on Trani
[Giovandomenico de Cuppis, Cardinal Archbishop of Trani] written
to a friend of his, it is heard that owing to the discord and
obstinancy in Conclave, there is no hope of electing a Pope in the
whole course of this month, so the writer recommends his corre-
spondent to make wagers on February; and. he says that the affairs
of the Cardinal of Trani are proceeding very well. Yesterday they
scrutinized (fu scrutiniato) Bourbon [Charles de Vendôme] who
had 19 votes; England, 21; Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa], 22; and
today Morone* had 24, and two accessi, given, it is supposed, in jest
rather than in earnest.
It is said that Farnese and his 21 voters have held congregation,
and determined to remain firm and united, usque ad mortem.
Rome, 15th January 1550.
[Italian.]
628. News-LETTER from a "CONCLAVIST" enclosed in a despatch
from the Venetian Ambassador, dated 18th January.
Venetian
There is not a single Cardinal without firm hopes of becoming
Archives. Pope, by means of this their deceit, and everything remains in
confusion. The votes are as usual, 13 for Morone, 21 for Pole, and
22 for Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa].
Rome, 17th January 1550.
[Italian.]
629. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
On Thursday morning they again scrutinized Morone, but gave
him only 13 votes; England has his 21; and Chieti his 22.
* Giovanni Morone, who was imprisoned by Paul IV. in Castle St. Angelo, on a charge
of heresy. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 242.)
300
1550.
1550.
Yesterday I received a note from Cardinal Pisani, telling me that
hitherto the Conclave has been intent on undoing, but is now
beginning to do, so he hoped that in eight or ten days they will
have done, and well. The Archbishop Cornaro also came to me in
the name of his Right Reverend Cardinal [Andrea Cornaro, created
Cardinal by Paul III.], to show me letters from his Right Reverend
Lordship [written to members of the French faction ?], apologising
for having declared himself for Pole, as he chooses to satisfy his
conscience, knowing for certain that he thus votes for a man of
everlasting virtue (un perpetuo homo da bene), and does his country
good service, as Pole is a great friend to the Republic, and that
in similar cases no one will ever be able to command him, Cornaro,
save God and his country.
Yesterday also, at the scrutiny (servitio), they gave Morone his
13 votes, 21 to England, 21 to Chieti, and 17 to Trani [Cuppis],
who had arranged for more, as your Serenity will perceive by the
enclosed news-letter. He prayed the Cardinals in the first place no
longer to continue in this form, but to divest themselves of all
private passion, and he was seconded most eloquently by Chieti
[Caraffa], so that it seemed premeditated. Pacheco, seeing that no
one spoke, replied that the Imperialists proposed to them a candidate
[Reginald Pole], whom they rejected, solely because he was too
virtuous; whereupon their Right Reverend Lordships used foul
language (brutte parole) to each other.
The enclosed brief news-letter will also show your Serenity what
took place today, and I likewise send two letters written by the
Duke of Florence, one to Don Pedro de Toledo, who is in Conclave
with the Cardinal of Burgos, the other to Cardinal Farnese. The
Cardinal of Boulogne is very ill, owing to the syringe (siringa), but
says he will not die out of Conclave, so that he may not fail dying
in the service of his King.
The wagers at the bankers' shops on the chief candidates do not
amount to 13, but 63 [per cent. ?] is waged that a Pope will not be
elected this month, 22 [per cent. ?] that the election will not be
made in February, and 12 [per cent. ?] against its being effected
in March.
Rome, 18th January 1550.
[Italian.]
630. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Jan. 22.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Cardinal Farnese has informed the Cardinal de Guise that they
Archives. [the Imperialists and Farnesians] have 22 united votes, which will
always remain firm in rejecting Salviati, Ridolfi, Chieti [Caraffa],
Trani [Cuppis] and Lorraine, or any other Frenchman; and Guise
answered him that he and his party will never consent to any
Spaniard or German, nor to Pole, nor Sfondrato, nor Morone, nor
Carpi [Rodolfo Pio]. Old French Cardinals urge the young ones
to persist in this, as they [the old ones] will do to the death for
the service of their King. So at the bankers' shops they no longer
* "A chi non era oposto salva ch' el fusse troppo huom da bene."
1550.
301
1550.
Jan. 23.
"Annali,"
Library,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 25.
"Annali,"
Library,
Venetian
Archives.
make wagers on Cardinals, but 88 is wagered that a Pope will not
be made in January, 61 by the middle of February, 55 by the end
of the month, 20 that the election will not take place during the
whole of March; and they even wager 8 that the Cardinals will go
out of Conclave without a Pope. The greater part of those who
[now] leave the Conclave are of this opinion, many of them departing
sick, and almost dead, and their places are supplied by none but
butlers and footmen. The stench is so great that Norsia, the first
physician in Rome,* having entered Conclave, threatened them with
plague on this account, and also with the "falling sickness," on
account of the charcoal fires which they burn in the cells, and their
maladies already commence with giddiness. Cardinal Ridolfi like-
wise, instead of going out of Conclave as Pope, took his departure
last Monday as an invalid, and being seized with vomit it was
suspected he had been poisoned, so that the Cardinals mutinied
against the prelates, and would no longer allow their food to be
placed by them at the wicket, but that it should be presented by
their [the Cardinals'] own carvers. The prelates, resenting this,
cleared themselves of the charge, so that they continue performing
their usual office; the senior Cardinal (Revmo. Decano) having
admonished them to serve well, and to suppose (et faccino conto)
that they are now commencing.
Rome, 22nd January 1550.
[Italian.]
631. MARIN CAVALLI, Venetian Ambassador with the Emperor,
to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Emperor's adherents, perceiving Cardinal Farnese to be so
staunch an Imperialist, and that the arrival at Rome of the French
Cardinals was so long delayed, began firmly to hope that they might
make either Burgos or England Pope; and thus, at the persuasion
of the Duke of Alva, and for their own advantage, the Imperialists
commenced the negotiation accordingly, without writing anything
about it to Milan. His Majesty is convinced that had it not been
for the practices already commenced and the favour shown by his
ministers to Salviati, Burgos would now be Pope.
Brussels, 23rd January 1550.†
[Italian.]
632. The SAME to the SAME.
By letters from Rome, dated the 15th, his Majesty was informed
that Cardinal Salviati makes such progress daily, that it is con-
sidered quite certain he will shortly be elected Pope. So being
unable to prevent this, it would be well for his Majesty to desire
his servants to support him, that he may have some reason to
*The person meant was Benedetto de Nursia, born at Norcia, one of the most famous
physicians of the 16th century. He was in the service of Sixtus IV., and amongst his
works was one entitled "De Conservatione Sanitatis."
† By this letter it appears that at the commencement of the conclave, and with the
approval of the Imperial prime minister the Bishop of Arras, Don Ferrante Gonzaga,
urged his brother the Cardinal of Mantua, Don Diego de Mendoza, and other Imperialists
to support Cardinal Salviati, and the Emperor was of opinion that this first cauvass
prevented the election of Burgos or Pole.
302
1550.
1550.
Jan. 25.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 25.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
*
acknowledge himself obliged to the Emperor. It seems that
Salviati promises not to fail doing whatever his Majesty may deem
expedient for the conservation and increase of our holy Christian
Faith; and moreover he offers, in very bland language, always to
be the best of friends to him. This intelligence gave great dis-
pleasure, and I am assured that his Majesty complained extremely
of his ministers, and amongst the rest, of the Cardinal of Trent,
who seems in Conclave to have taken upon himself to obtain from
Brussels the Emperor's consent in Salviati's favour; whereupon his
Majesty wrote him a letter of reproof (una lettera rebufatoria),
desiring him for the future to attend to the execution of his
Imperial Majesty's commands, and never again take upon himself
to proceed or promise farther.
Brussels, 25th January 1550.
[Italian.]
633. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
My last was dated Wednesday, as usual, and on Thursday
Cardinal Cibo likewise went out of Conclave from indisposition, but
is now better, and so is Ridolfi, so that they are expected to return
this week.
Nothing more is said about the scrutinies-they are of one mould
as usual; neither are the wagers mentioned; and yet it seems that
the Emperor's orders continue in favour of Burgos, Pole, and
Sfondrato, but that he would be best satisfied with Pole, as besides
his being a virtuous man (huomo da bene), to him there are none
of the objections which disparage the others;* and should the
French Cardinals be unable to elect their King's nominees, they
will at least let a man of worth be appointed ; but they are still
awaiting advices and replies.
Rome, 25th January 1550.
[Italian.]
634. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Informed him by their last that the most Serene Lord Turk
[Sultan Soliman] was from day to day expected back at Constan-
tinople. By letters dated the 22nd December, they now learn that
on the 21st he presented himself at Scutari in front of Constan-
tinople, where he embarked on board a four-banked galley very
handsomely decorated, and together with two other galleys and
many "palandre" and other vessels, proceeded to Constantinople
accompanied by the Magnificos the Bashaws and a great numberoof
the Turkish grandees. On landing he mounted his horse with
great agility, and in very good health, as appeared by his counte-
nance, and rode to the Seraglio, the guns of the city and of the
ships in the harbour saluting him with repeated discharges; and he
was also accompanied by a great number of janissaries and other
* "Non ha alcuno di contrarij che hanno gli altri.”
"Et quei di Francia che quando non se possi far di proposti da sua Christianissima
Maestà se faccia pure un huomo dabene."
1550.
303
1550.
Jan. 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Jan. 31.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
people. Have chosen to give him immediate notice of this return,
for communication as usual.
Ayes, 18. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
635. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Duke Ottavio has sent Gioan Alphonso, his chamber attendant
(cameriero), to Cardinal Farnese to tell him to make the best Pope
he can for their family, as there is but little to hope [from the
Emperor?] about Parma, though it is nevertheless asserted that
whenever Farnese shall desert England, his 21 voters-with the
exception of a very few-will not follow him in favour of any other
candidate. They declare that they are not to be bound to him
with regard to others, but at liberty to go by themselves to those
they like best, so that but a very few votes would remain at his
disposal; and this is the cause of his obstinacy (durezza) in not
deciding on any other candidate, as he could no longer say that he
[Farnese] had elected him.
The people of Spoleto have retaken their castle of Cereto, which
the Pope had annexed to Camerino, so there likewise they are in
arms. To quell these disturbances, the Conclave has elected six
Cardinals, one for each nation, videlicet, Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa,
Roman], Augsburg [Otho Trusches, German], Bourbon [French],
Pacheco [Spaniard], Visco (sic) [Crispo ?],* and Pole [English].
The Conclavists, who yesterday and today quitted Conclave,
declare, apart one from the other, that there they consider the
election of a Pope hopeless (che in Conclave ogni altra cosa si
spera che di vedere un Papa fatto). The scrutinies are made every
morning as usual, when they give their 21 votes to Chieti [Caraffa]
and Pole, but not many to the others, and not in earnest (da seno).
It is said they are still awaiting letters from France.
Rome, 29th January 1550.
[Italian.]
636. Copy of a LETTER from a CONCLAVIST, enclosed in the
despatch of Matteo Dandolo, dated 1st February.
We are effecting the reformation, and matters are being straitened
in every quarter, so as to do what they have failed doing hitherto.
The necessity for making a Pope is acknowledged, but as yet things
stand so that there is little hope of speed, as the French choose to
have one after their own fashion, and would be content with Trani
[Giovandomenico de Cuppis], Salviati, or Ridolfi, as they are well
nigh quite convinced that they cannot hope for a Pope of their own
nation, though they made but a feeble attempt; and Ferrara
[Hippolito da Este], who was apparently thinking about this and
canvassing for them, is likewise almost persuaded.
The Imperialists would wish for Burgos [Juan Alvarez de Toledo,
Archbishop of Burgos], Sfondrato, or Morone; and Farnese with
* The name is written distinctly Visco, and the paragraph implies that he was not an
Italian, but there is no mention of any Cardinal Visco in Panvinio or Cardella.
304
1550.
1550.
his voters who are however few-are on their side. Even they
have not much hope in their candidates' success, but they trust to
tire out the French, who are at present more determined than ever
to remain in Conclave, as by letters from their King they are now
desired not to return to France, unless they make a Pope in their
own fashion; and he writes again in favour of Ridolfi, who would be
more to the taste of Cardinal Farnese than either of the other three,
and this has been his constant opinion. But to secure himself against
Salviati's being Pope, Farnese was compelled so to bind himself
by words and letters to the Emperor, that he cannot retract; yet
does he sometimes evince the intention of doing so, and most
especially because the French assure him that he cannot have Parma
without them, nor without making a Pope to their mind; and
because they have sent money into Parma, nor will they fail
supplying him.
Farnese is also very dissatisfied with the Emperor, who would
fain keep Parma for himself, giving him as recompense an annual
rental-in the air—of 40,000 crowns; and the Imperialists would
also wish him to cede his claims on Piacenza. For these reasons
Cardinal Farnese and Ottavio have determined not to make war,
and to await the new Pontiff, especially as they perceive the
difficulty of keeping possession of Parma, even if they took it. The
last messenger from Ottavio to Cardinal Farnese announces the
same dissatisfaction, the resolve not to continue the war, and his
wish to come to Rome; for being unable to obtain Parma, he pur-
poses asserting that the cession of Castro,* as prejudicial to his
children, is null, in virtue of a protest made by "Madame "
[Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma,] at the time of said
cession; and these two brothers [Ottavio and Orazio] will come to
blows, which will be their final ruin.
St. Angelo† has told Farnese ‡ plainly that in this matter he
will so contrive that no one will desert Castro [Orazio Farnese],
and that his [Alessandro Farnese] enemy Salviati shall be made
Pope; so that affairs are in great confusion. But Farnese [Ales-
sandro], nevertheless, will not yet decide, and no later than last
evening they broke with Guise, to whom he [Farnese] had given
hopes of a decision. He seems still bent on his own candidates,
and desirous of making either Sfondrato or Monte, Pope; but all
his adherents will not follow him, even with regard to those two;
nor can he succeed without the votes of the French Cardinals.
In conclusion, each side is obstinate, but should Farnese decide
(as he frequently causes it to be hoped or feared he will), no one
will please him better than Ridolfi; and of this there are a thousand
indications.
Rome, 31st January 1550.
[Italian.]
* Castro had been given to his younger brother Orazio Farnese.
† Rainuzio Farnese, the youngest of the four brothers, born in 1530, made Cardinal by
his grandfather on the 16th December, 1545.
Cardinal Allessandro Farnese, the eldest of the four brothers, born in 1520. (See
Chiusole, Genealogie.)
每一
​1550.
Jan. 31.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1550.
305
637. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
The letters written by me to the Senate are divulged here,
news which I had not given for certain being moreover repre-
sented as such. I now inform your Lordships that Cardinal Cibo,
after the conversation held with me, as already written, desired
his attendants to withdraw, and then continued expatiating on
the wretched condition of the Sacred College, and of all Italy,
both one and the other having submitted in this so necessary
and exalted (degno) an election to submit to the decision of these
two Princes [the Emperor Charles V. and Henry II., King of
France]. That the Emperor has already so much [territory] in
Italy that he might be satisfied, which is so far from being the
case that his ambassador [Don Diego], under the pretence of pay-
ing him [Cibo] a visit, protested to him in his Majesty's name,
that were either Santa Croce [Marcello Cervino], or Salviati, or
Ridolfi elected Pope, the Emperor would not acknowledge him.
After this, Cardinal Cibo inveighed somewhat, but gently, against
our Cardinals*, because being members of so free and well-constituted
a Republic, they had rendered themselves subject, the one to the
Emperor and the other to France, adding, "It cannot be denied
that England is a very virtuous man (un grand' homo da bene),
but nevertheless Italy ought not to be deprived of so important a
post;" and he [Cibo] therefore complained of Cardinal Cornaro
rather more than of Cardinal Pisani.
.
As Cardinal Cibo is an Imperialist, of which he makes profession,
as known to everybody, he prays and beseeches me to keep this a
most profound secret, as it would be his ruin if divulged, though
he could not refrain from these remarks, because he is at the
same time an Italian, and will remain so until death, and by
reason of his affection for the Signory, sole relic of Italy's pristine
happiness (sola reliquia di quanto bene che hebbe Italia già mai).
I limited myself to a general reply, thanking his right reverend
lordship for his confidential affection, and commending his good
intention of being a good Italian. Your Excellencies must also
remember that his nephew was beheaded at Milan by the En-
peror's order, on a charge of having an understanding at Genoa,
(then dependent on Fiesco), against the person of Prince Doria.
So I consider it my duty to acquaint you with these particulars
in order, that, if communicated to the Senate, the strictest secrecy
may be enjoined, as if divulged, this personage, so well affected to
the State, would suffer much; and I also, perhaps, to the detriment
of your service, for the sake of which, however, I hold my life in
little account. Nor will I omit telling you that although many
blame our Cardinals for this their fixity of purpose (fissezza), they
are also praised by many who say they are true gentlemen, and
show themselves such, like their noble country, which never fails
* Namely, Andrea Cornaro and Francesco Pisani. Andrea Cornaro, the staunch
adherent of Reginald Pole, died at Rome in 1551, when he was 40 years old. His body
was removed for interment to Venice, where his monument is still visible in the church of
S. Giorgio Maggiore.
б.
U
306
1
1550.
1550.
Feb. 1.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
in a given promise; and Michiel has told me, Cardinal Pisani said
in Conclave, that he sought to make a Pope of the French faction
(fattione Francese), knowing that he should thus benefit his
country, which shared the fortunes of France in resisting the
Emperor's greediness and thirst for universal monarchy.
Rome, 31st January 1550.
[Italian.]
638. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador to Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
Amongst the orders issued by the Cardinals in Conclave was
one for the expulsion of some 70 conclavists, noblemen and gentle-
men, secretaries and agents of sovereigns, and merchants, who were
of no service there, and rather impeded and troubled negotiations
by sending out false advices, and receiving others of the same
nature. Many of these personages were more than glad to come
away, to free themselves from the inconveniences [of confinement].
Amongst them was the nobleman Messer Zuan Michiel,* son of the
most noble Messer Jacomo, who was there with Cardinal Cornaro ;
and besides giving me many particulars about the Conclave, he
visited me on behalf of his right reverend lordship, praying me most
earnestly to give him some light whereby to guide himself, and
should I not choose to do so officially, at least for love, and on
account of our relationship, as he is still fixed and firm for the
Right Reverend of England. It seemed to him he would thus
comply with the demand made by me to him in the name of the
Senate, whose despatch I showed him, charging him in these such
very important times to elect a man of worth and good for the
Christian Commonwealth (un huomo da bene, et buono per la
Republica Christiana); and by doing so he considered that he was
acting conscientiously, and obeying your Highness. He was of
opinion that the Right Reverend of England had the qualities
required, and would be serviceable to the Signory, knowing for
certain that he is the Republic's very great friend; and although
aware that for this he [Cornaro] has been slandered, his conscience
tells him, and God is his witness, that his vote was induced by
no other motive than the honour of God, and the service of the
State, with regard to which others can neither command nor
dispose of him; praying and beseeching me to tell him officially,
or at least privately, whether he is to abandon the Right Reverend
of England, and to whom he is to adhere (s'el se die partire da
esso Revmo de Inghelterra, et a che si debba attachare).
I enclose a news-letter written last evening by one of our great
friends in Conclave, before they knew of the death of Cardinal
Ridolfi.
Rome, 1st February 1550.
[Italian.]
* This nobleman resided as Venetian Ambassador in England from 1554 to 1557, and
his despatches from the Court of Philip and Mary will be printed hereafter.
1550.
307
1550.
Feb. 1.
"Annali,”
Library,
Venetian
Archives.
Feb. 5.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Feb. 7.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
639. MARIN CAVALLI, Venetian Ambassador with the Emperor,
to the DOGE and SENATE.
From what I have heard, his Imperial Majesty wrote back to
Rome yesterday very angrily, that they were not to support
Cardinal Salviati, but remain staunch to Burgos or England; so
here they think that a long time will elapse before the election of
the new Pontiff.
Brussels, 1st February 1550.
[Italian.]
640. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to
the SIGNORY.
I have heard from a friend of mine that Don Diego [the Imperial
ambassador] said the Emperor would never acknowledge Cardinal
Salviati for Pope;* and not only was he previously odious to
Don Diego (lo aborriva), but the Emperor moreover reproved
him for not preventing the election as he ought to have done;
and the Cardinal of Mantua [Ercole Gonzaga], who at first
assisted Salviati, and wished him success, almost as much as if
he himself had been the candidate, is therefore now not only
unable to wish for him (non solo per ciò non lo può volere), but com-
pelled to be his adversary. It seems that they are attending now
to Sfondrato, and he is more talked of than the others; nor can
anything else be asserted.
This morning Master Realdo,† late lecturer at Padua, opened
the body of poor Ridolfi, who, it is heard from several quarters,
would have been Pope; and he [Realdo] assures me that he found
his heart, liver, bowels, and stomach so injured (guasto) and
spotted, that had he given him the poison with his own hand,
he should not be more sure of the fact.‡
Don Diego has this day received letters from the Emperor dated
the 22nd ultimo. His Majesty expresses surprise at the forms
used by the Cardinals in this election, and seems to wish for the
despatch, but no longer urges it. He is firm about the candidates
excluded by him, especially Santa Croce [Marcello Cervini],§ and
provided one of his [the Emperor's] adherents be elected, he does
not care much more for Pole than for anyone else (non si cura
molto più di Pollo, che di un altro).
Rome, 5th February 1550,
[Italian.]
641. The SAME to the SAME.
At this hour [the 6th after sunset], a great and sudden noise
of people and armed men has proclaimed through the streets, by
* Salviati was connected with the royal family of France through Catherine de Medici.
† Colombo Realdo, native of Cremona, a famous surgeon and anatomist; see his folio
volume "De Re Anatomica libri quindecim, Venetiis, 1550."
According to Cardella (vol. iv. p. 63.) Cardinal Redolfi died of apoplexy.
The Emperor resented the removal by Cervini of the Council General from Trent to
Bologna. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 226.)
U 2
308
1550.
1550.
Feb. 8.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
torch-light, the election as Pope of Cardinal di Monte,* to whom
having sent my secretary and others of my household, they were
unable to pass the Castle, but met the French ambassador returning
from the Palace, and he confirmed the news to them, positively;
notwithstanding which I afterwards sent the secretary quietly to
his house, to ask him in my name for particulars, that I might send
them to your Highness.
The secretary having now returned, brings back word that he
could elicit nothing save that he is "made," and when he inquired
How," the answer was, "How are Popes made?" I sent the
secretary from the French ambassador to Don Diego likewise, and
whilst with him he [Don Diego] received a news-letter (una
polizza), giving him the same intelligence, namely, that Monte
was Pope and that the Cardinals were "adoring" him; and he
desired the secretary to tell me that I might despatch the news
to your Highness, as he has it for certain; and that he also will
do the like, for that whereas at this hour the "adoration may
be announced, so subsequently tomorrow morning may the publi-
cation of it be communicated; and I have therefore thought it my
duty not to fail doing so.
"
Rome, 7th February 1550. -
[Italian.]
642. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
At the sixth hour this night I announced to your Serenity, by
the courier Zuan Bon Raspa, the election of the High Pontiff, then
effected, in the following manner.
tr
On the evening before last, the Cardinals Farnese [Alessandro]
and Guise agreed that he, Guise, should propose to Farnese a
candidate of his Farnese's party, to whom he, Farnese, was to give
his votes; Farnese on the other hand proposing a candidate of the
French party to Guise, who should give him his votes. There-
upon the Cardinal de Guise proposed Cardinal Santa Croce [Marcello
Cervino], but Farnese apologized, saying he should be too glad
to accept him, but that he was overmuch excluded by the Emperor,
so that by no means could he accept him, but that they must
think of some one else, for which he took time.
After con-
sulting with his party, they determined on the Cardinal di Monte,
which being announced last evening to the Cardinal de Guise, he
accepted him joyfully; and so all having assembled together in the
chapel, Farnese and Guise commencing, they all went to adore him
as the Vicar of our Saviour, with the exception however of the Right
Reverend Cardinals of Trent [Madruccio], Pacheco, Mantua [Ercole
Gonzaga], and Cueva,† until after his Holiness's return to his cell
(perhaps after receiving a reply to the note sent to Don Diego as
mentioned in mine of this night), when they went into his cell
* In his "Report," Dandolo says that so firm was his belief in the election of Cardinal
Pole, that on that night he placed more faith in one single voice which shouted“ England”
than in the many cries of "Monte." (See Alberi, series 2, vol. iii. p. 347.)
† Bartholomeo de la Cueva, born in the Diocese of Segovia, elected Cardinal by
Paul III., 19th December 1544. (See Cardella, vol. 4, p. 261.)
#3
1550.
Feb. 9.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1550.
309
to do the like. They complained to Farnese, who excused himself
by saying that his Holiness is not amongst the candidates excluded
by his Imperial Majesty ; and, when they declared he was, Farnese
said he never had it in any letter from the Emperor, and that he
[Farnese] had not chosen to await the election of one who would be
hostile to him (et chè non havea voluto espettare che se gli facesse
un suo inimico). Thus the Imperialists have broken most com-
pletely with the Farneses. With regard to Parma, his Holiness,
after his election, swore to the articles stipulating its restoration
to Duke Ottavio, and signed them as Pope, promising Cardinal
Farnese that within a week he will send a Cardinal or a dignified
prelate thither, to make the consignment accordingly.
This morning early, in chapel, his Holiness was also elected by
scrutiny, and chose for himself the name of Julius the Third, it being
said that he is of the same nature as Julius the Second ;* and from
the balcony (finestra) the Senior Deacon announced the "Gaudium
Magnum” between the 14th and 15th hour. And thus, preceded by
the Cardinals, he was taken to St. Peter's, on whose altar they seated
him after making the prayer; and the Te Deum having been sung,
they went to kiss his feet, hands, and mouth; the usual prayers
and "antiphones" being recited; whereupon, after blessing the
people, his Holiness withdrew into the palace, and the Cardinals
went to their homes with very haggard countenances.
Rome, 8th February 1550.
[Italian.]
643. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
""
Don Diego, who on the night of the Pope's election did not appear
very joyful, followed the counsel given of yore by the Moor (il
Moro) [qu. Doge Christopher Moro, or his namesake the Governor of
Cyprus?] and on the following morning, went so early to his
Holiness, that he was robing (che ella si vestia); and immediately on
sceing him enter chapel, he having said "Here am I Don Diego
(ecco Don Diego), the Pope replied, "Be not so alarmed, Signor Ďon
Diego" (non tanta paura Signor Don Diego). When he offered to
kiss his foot, his Holiness would not allow it, saying it was neither
the time nor the place, but embraced him and made him rise. After
congratulating the Pope briefly, Don Diego asked him to repeal the
writ of outlawry against Redolfo Malatesta Baglione, which demand
was most graciously granted; and after returning thanks, and drawing
aside, he said with a laugh in an under-tone, "It is possible I may
not care to kiss him again;" but nevertheless I have heard from one
single individual of the many to whom I put the question, that he
did kiss him at the Altar of St. Peter, after the Cardinals and
together with the Barons.
* Matteo Dandolo in his "Report," said that Julius III. was by nature very choleric
but also very kind hearted, "so that his anger comes to an end sooner than the words that
express it, and the Cardinals of Mantua and Trent, who would never give him their votes,
were much better rewarded by his Holiness than any of those who supported him." (See
Alberi, "Relazioni Venete," series 2, vol. iii. pp. 353-354.)
310
1550.
1550.
Feb. 12.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Feb. 19.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
-
This afternoon I went to visit the Cardinal de Guise, who is
lodged with the Cardinal of Ferrara, and they took me lovingly
between them on three chairs, and commenced giving me a most
"dolcissimo" account of their negotiations, in Conclave, in which it
must be confessed that the French showed themselves more adroit
than usual, using many clever devices (molti bei tratti) and ex-
hibiting much patience. Amongst other things, it is said that both
parties negotiated and lived together so lovingly, and more as if
they had been brothers, although opposed to each other in their
object, and yet during 72 days there were 47 or 48 Cardinals
assembled together, the like never having been heard of at any
former Conclave. It may therefore be hoped that the Lord was
amongst them, and that this election took place through the Holy
Spirit, the consent having been general, unexpected, and sudden;
so that although the Cardinals were very tired, the election is
nevertheless considered miraculous by everybody.
Rome, 9th February 1550.
[Italian.]
644. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
During this election, one single merchant in "Banchi," by name
Ceuli Banchieri (il Ceuli Banchieri), has made upwards of twenty
thousand crowns, by wagers.
Rome, 12th February 1550.
[Italian.]
Feb. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta,)
645. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have heard by his letters of the 22nd December of the safe
v. lxvi. p. 129, arrival at Constantinople of that most Serene Signor, with the
tergo.
Sublime Porte.
By letters from their ambassador in France, dated Melun the
30th ultimo, are advised that the English Commissioners who were
to cross the sea for the conference with the Commissioners of the
most Christian King, concerning the agreement now in course of
negotiation between their Majesties, had already arrived in France,
and the French Commissioners were proceeding to meet them.
Will acquaint the "Bailo" with what reaches them concerning
the result of the conference.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 6. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
646. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
On Monday morning, the son of Signor Camillo Ursino, together
with his agent Piovene, and Count Pier Maria dal Sacrato, whom he
has sent to kiss the Pope's feet, presented themselves to his Holiness
with a letter, the copy of which I enclose. Whilst reading it, the
Pope dwelt on the important passages, always commending Signor
Camillo, who, he said, warned him admirably about this restitution
of Parma [to Duke Ottavio], but that he could not do otherwise for
1550.
311
1550.
Feb. 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Feb.?
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 50.
the maintenance of the peace of Italy, and that had Cardinal Pole
been elected Pope, he would perhaps have done the like (che il
Revmo. Polo havea ad esser lui il Papa, che forse ne harebbe fatto
l'istesso); but as God had chosen to make him bear this burden,
perhaps as penance for his sins, he will perform it, amongst other
things, by doing everything possible to preserve peace amongst his
Christian flock, and above all in Italy.
Rome, 19th February 1550.
[Italian.]
647. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send the enclosed summary for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
648. PETITION from the MURANESE GLASS MAKERS in LONDON,
in the pay of Edward VI., to the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Most Excellent Lords, Chiefs of the most illustrious Council of
Ten.
Your most faithful servants, poor glass makers from Murano, who
were compelled by extreme necessity and very great poverty
-owing to the malignity, or rather to the great cruelty (grande
impietà) of the masters of the furnaces, who, rather than give
them work, enjoyed seeing them pace the quays of Murano dying
of hunger, in very great misery, they and their wives and children,
to determine to accept no small sum of money, and to go and work
in Flanders and England, before the Act passed in your most
excellent Council forbidding anyone to go and work in foreign
parts, namely; Iseppo, son of Antonio Casseler, Marco Terrible and
his son Piero, Gracioxo, alias Disperato, Baptista son of Michielin
da Chiari, Alvixe di Albertino, Hieremia Pixani, and Sebastian
Zanon, summoned by an edict of the Council of Ten, dated 18th
of September last, to return to work at Murano within eight
months; who, finding themselves in the hands of foreign lords
(Signori alieni), although they often wished to depart from them
"de plano," and not seeing the way, endeavoured to escape thence
(delli), to tender obedience to your Supreme Council; on which
account they have suffered so much, that unless it were death they
could not suffer more, for they were seized and imprisoned in the
depths of the Tower, living on bread and water, and then taken
out, and kept under custody and penalty of the gibbet in case
they departed without having worked out* the money received
from said Flemings and English, which is to be worked out in
two years and a half. They, therefore, first of all ask pardon on
their bended knees, and then implore the Chiefs, who are always
replete with pity and clemency, to commiserate their lamentable
circumstances, caused by extreme poverty, and the wish to support
their wives and children (of which last they have each four or
* Senza haver livrato.
† Il qual vien ad esser livrato fino ad anni dui e mezo.
¿
312
1550.
1,
1550.
March 1.
Deliberazioni
March 8.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
649. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Senato (Secreta), have
Are informed by letters from France and England, that both sides
v. lxvii. p. 2, have sent commissioners to Boulogne to arrange the disputes
tergo. between the two crowns, and it is said that an adjustment will take
March 9.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
five), for whom they have sold their freedom, so that they are
worse off than men chained to the oar; and well may it be truly
said that the monies received by them were accursed and of evil
import, as for a mere trifle of support for their families, they
have well nigh lost the gracious favour of the Signory, besides all
their grievous hardships.
They therefore petition the State and the Council of Ten to
prolong the term assigned in the said proclamation, so that they may
be enabled to return to their allegiance, and not lose the Signory's
grace, and incur the penalties and censures decreed by the State;
offering to die of hunger rather than ever again receive wages
or engage themselves, out of Murano, but live under the beneficent
shadow of the most Serene Signory, and rather beg their bread
thus, than ever go again into foreign parts. And they humbly
recommend themselves to the Signory's good grace.*
[Italian.]
place.
The Duke of Mantua died lately. He was a young man 17 years
of
age, who last summer married a daughter of the King of the
Romans, and took her to Mantua.
Ayes, 181. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
650. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Have received his letters of the 18th ultimo, giving very full
account of what is passing in England, for which they praise him
greatly, [but as they contain certain matters of importance which
are not written in cipher, and might therefore occasionally cause
inconvenience and give him trouble, they desire him for the future,
when writing anything which he may consider important, to make
his secretary put it into cipher, both in the original letters and in
the duplicates, as the process cannot but secure their interests and
his own honour].†
Ayes, 19. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
651. The SAME to the SAME.
To communicate the enclosed summary as usual.
[Italian]
* This document has no date of time or place, but was evidently drawn up in London,
in the month of February 1550, as will be seen by the allusion to the ambassador's letter,
in the act passed by the Council of Ten on the 13th June 1550.
† Cipher within the brackets.
1550.
313
1550.
March 15.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
March 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 9.
March 20.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
652. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
On Monday in Consistory, his Holiness made a very fine discourse,
in the first place thanking the Cardinals who had conferred on him
the pontificate, and saying that he hoped in God through their
assistance (without which he did not purpose doing anything of
importance) so to direct it, that they will not repent of what they
have done. After mentioning that he had sent for the Reverend
Pighino* about the Council, he advocated reform, promising to
commence with his own household and personal expenditure; and
first of all he would reform the "Datario " and the "Penitentiaria,"
for which purpose he appointed six Cardinals, naming the senior
Cardinal and Chieti [Gianpietro Caraffa], Bishops; Sfondrato and
Burgos [Juan Alvarez de Toledo], Priests; and Cibo and England
[Reginald Pole], Deacons.
Rome, 15th March 1550.
[Italian.]
653. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTI-
NOPLE.
In addition to the advices contained in the accompanying letters,
inform him that the Pope [Julius III.] having been elected [on the
8th February 1550] was crowned with great honour, all Rome
applauding his election.
By the last advices from France and England, understand that
the Scots and the French troops have taken by storm an important
fortress in those parts called Portogir (?), which was held by an English
garrison, who were all put to the sword.
The Protector of England, whose arrest they notified to him in a
former letter, after remaining many days in prison, has been released,
but does not interfere in the government of the kingdom.
Ayes, 202. No, 1. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
654. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
It is reported from France that the agreement with England is far
advanced; that his most Christian Majesty gives 400,000 crowns
immediately, and will have back Boulogne, with all the forts, ports,
and places taken in that neighbourhood since Boulogne was cap-
tured; and the English are also to give back all the fortresses and
places taken from Scotland, against which subsequent advices state
that war has been proclaimed in Flanders, the Flemings purposing
apparently thereby to obtain compensation for many losses incurred
in those seas through the Scots; and God grant that the war be not
instigated by others, as your Serenity will hear more authentically
from your three ambassadors.
Rome, 20th March 1550.
[Italian.]
* Sebastian Pighino. (See Dandolo's printed Report, p. 354.)
J
314
1550.
1550.
March 29.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
March 31.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
ན ་
655. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
Today I went to visit the Duke of Urbino to know if I could
have this palace of his for your Highness's ambassadors [extraordi-
nary]; and as the Duke of Ferrara [Hercules II.] is lodged on the
floor above him, both under the same roof, I thought it well not to
omit visiting his Excellency likewise. He came most graciously to
meet me, accompanying me through all his rooms, keeping me
always on his right hand for the honour of your Highness. When
the complimentary phrases were ended, he said, " Lord ambassador,
let us leave them aside, and begin to talk of the affairs of the
world," which he certainly discussed at great length, like a very
sage and experienced statesman; and then passing to the good
news received this morning of the peace concluded between France
and England, he gave me the letter which he held in his hand,
dated Valery [en Caux ?], a place on the ocean in the centre of that
island (per mezo quell' Isola), where the peace was concluded.
Although it contains the articles as in my penultimate letter, yet
being addressed to the Duke, and dated the 19th instant, I think it
well to send it, giving a gratuity to the courier, and also that
that you will have further details through the enclosed packet to
the Duke's ambassador (containing, I suspect, a letter from the
Duke to the French ambassador at Venice), and that its contents
will prove more veracious than those of the Signory's resident in
France. But all the French partisans here are making very great
bonfires and rejoicings and discharges of artillery at all their dwell-
ings. Little else passed between us, owing to the number of
Cardinals who were visiting him, but he showed that my visit to him
was most acceptable, and thanked your Highness for it, making
many professions of being your good son and servant, and above all
a good Italian, and thanking the Lord God infinitely for preserving
the most excellent Signory for the protection and assistance of such
part of Italy as she holds (di quel tanto che de Italia si tiene).
Rome, 29th March 1550.
[Italian.]
656. The SAME to the SAME.
I sent my last on Saturday night by the ordinary courier, giving
him such a gratuity as seemed to me suited to the news of the peace
between France and England; and on Sunday morning I went for
the palms as I said I would. Being in the place assigned to us
ambassadors near the state bed (letto del paramento), I perceived on
his Holiness's arrival that he did not give me the usual good greeting
(buona ciera), and after looking at me twice or thrice with some-
what of a frown he said, "Call Monsignor Crescentio," and when he
went to him, his Holiness, turning towards me, "Lord Ambassador,
come hither, for I choose you to be witness ;" and then turning to
Cardinal Crescentio he said, "Make a clause in the bull in Čena
Domini, the strongest and most explicit (espresso) ever made against
laymen and republics who allow themselves to lay taxes on the
clergy and put out their hands where they ought not (et slongar le
1550.
315
1550.
April 2.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
April 8.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 14
mani ove non deveno)." Becoming very red in the face he quoted
to him the passages of the decree and of the canons according to
which he was to draw it up properly, and express it well under
[the penalty of] all possible censures. To me he added, "We choose
you to be witness, and principally for your Republic and others who
choose to stretch out their hands" (che vogliono slongar le mani),
muttering a few other words which were perhaps more intelligible
than his Holiness meant them to be, complaining of your Highness,
but he did not wish to speak out, and possibly regretted the display
of such violent anger, which was so great that for the moment I did
not think fit to say anything further, most especially as all the
Cardinals were there, a great part of them being very near, and
many ambassadors; so I withdrew to my place, making the usual
obeisance; but shortly afterwards, having been called by the master
of the ceremonies to carry his train, the Pope looked at me again
with his usual gladsome countenance (lieta ciera), and perhaps more
joyfully than usual.
Rome, 31st March 1550.
[Italian.]
657. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
Yesterday at my audience of the Pope I asked him about the
affairs of the world, and he replied that he had heard nothing
further, saying, "These French go talking about this their peace
with England; as yet we do not quite know what it may be."
Rome, 2nd April 1550.
[Italian.]
658. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
FRANCE.
On the 2nd instant the reverend French Ambassador came into
the College and announced the receipt of letters from his most
Christian Majesty, enjoining him, as he considered the Signory his
true and perpetual friends, to communicate to them the peace
concluded between him and the King of England, assuring them
that all his greatness and felicity will ever serve for the advantage
and benefit of the Republic. The ambassador communicated to us
the articles of the peace, and left with us a copy of them in Italian
and French.
April 12.
Deliberazioni
Senate (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 14,
tergo.
This they heard with becoming satisfaction, owing to the auspi-
cious result of his Majesty's affairs, he having thus recovered
Boulogne and his other places.
Ayes, 212. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
659. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTAN-
TINOPLE.
By letters from their ambassador in France, dated the 1st instant,
are informed that peace has been concluded between his most
Christian Majesty and the King of England, who restores to the
French Boulogne and other places of theirs held by the English in
316
1550.
1550.
April 12.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
April 12.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
April 18.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Picardy; and restores in like manner the places in Scotland, that
kingdom being also included in the peace, which was solemnly
proclaimed in Paris on the 31st ultimo. Although convinced that
the French ambassador will have given notice hereof to the Sublime
Porte, have nevertheless not chosen to omit performing their usual
friendly office towards the most Serene Signor, by acquainting
him with such news as comes to their knowledge.
Ayes, 174. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
660. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
On going to the Pope for the usual audience, he received me still
better than hitherto, inquiring whether I was pleased to be out of
Lent and with this Easter fare; and he said he had letters from
France of the 30th ultimo, announcing the proclamation of the
peace with England, which was made with very great rejoicings.
Rome, 12th April 1550.
[Italian.]
661. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
In their letters of the 8th ultimo, told him that he was to desire
his secretary to put into cipher such matters of importance as
announced to them by him in his dispatches. Have this day
received those which he wrote on the 21st and 25th of that month,
containing particulars of the greatest importance, relating to the
Government of England, and to other affairs, the greater part of
which are out of cipher. Although certain that he had not then
received their letters, nevertheless, as this matter is of extreme
consequence, they repeat what they said, charging him to be very
cautious about this; and for the future to have all important
matters written to them in cipher.
[Italian.]
662. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
The result of this day's Consistory was universally expected to be
the election as Cardinal, of the "Prevostino," but not a word did
his Holiness say about it, it being supposed that he was dissuaded
by the Cardinal of England, who remained with him last evening
until after the 3rd hour; and after his departure the Pope was seen
to be in a great rage for a long while, and he is expected to make
* The "Prevostino," who bore the name of Innocenzio del Monte, was created Cardinal
by Julius III. on the 31st May 1550, the appointment being reprobated publicly in Con-
sistory by Cardinal Caraffa, as had been done previously in private by Cardinal Pole.
The "Prevostino," when he received the red hat, was in his eighteenth year, and in
Dandolo's printed Report (p. 355), it is stated that when Julius III was Legate at Parma,
this minion was taken by the future Pope, "in camera e nel proprio letto." Cardinal
Caraffa's protest is recorded by Cardella (vol. iv. p. 298), but Dandolo's despatch contains
the sole notice of Cardinal Pole's becoming conduct on this occasion.
1550.
317
1550.
April 26.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
May 10.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 29.
May 10.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
·
May 17.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
him, after the Whitsuntide holydays, together with some others,
as he has constantly said that he will do so by all means.
Rome, 18th April 1550.
[Italian.]
663. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
May 10.
665. The SAME to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
By letters from France, dated the 26th April, are informed that
v. lxvii. p. 30, 'on the 25th April the English-in execution of the peace-consigned
tergo. the city of Boulogne to the agents of the most Christian King,
664. The DOGE and SENATE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Have heard lately, much to their satisfaction, of the conclusion of
the peace between his Majesty of England and the most Christian
King. To congratulate the King on their behalf.
Have received his letters of the 18th, 20th, and 22nd ultimo.
Commend his diligence.
Ayes, 180. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian]
together with such ammunition (munitione) as stipulated, so that
the peace between them is confirmed.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
666. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
Yesterday I sent to ask the usual audience of his Holiness, but
he sent me word that he was not yet sufficiently well to transact
business, and that if I had anything of importance, I was to let him.
know, and he would send me his secretary, Dandino. Later in the
day the Pope got up, and having seated himself, passed the day
with a few of his intimates (domestici); and after giving audience to
the Cardinals Pole and Farnese, he dined in the hall adjoining his
chamber.
Rome, 10th May 1550.
[Italian]
667. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to [DANIEL BARBARO] the
Venetian Ambassador in England.
Have heard of the good resolve formed by the Patriarch of
Aquileia [Giovanni Querini] to renounce that Patriarchate in his
favour. Exhort him to accept this dignified and honourable charge,
as he will thus do what is agreeable to the Republic. Send him
318
1550.
1550.
June ?
MS. St. Mark's
Library
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
No date of
time or place.
x.
June 13.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xix. p. 118.
tergo.
the Right Reverend Patriarch's letter, and also a draft, according
to which he can draw up a commission [or power ?] to accept the
renunciation.
Aloyss Contarini, C.C.X.
Jeronimus Priolus, C.C.X.
Alexander Bondimerius, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
*
668. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [INNOCENZIO] DEL MONTE.
Were it not for the hope reasonably entertained by me, that the
affection which has moved our Lord to promote your Right Reverend
Lordship to the Cardinalate, will also induce his Holiness to use all
care and diligence to protect you from all such crosses and perils as
are wont to accompany dignities and high offices at such an age (in
questa età), I should not dare to congratulate you on this your
elevation, as I do; relying chiefly on this hope, and at the same
time praying his Divine Majesty to vouchsafe to favour in this
matter the goodwill of his Holiness, by giving your Right Reverend
Lordship the grace to acknowledge this care on the Pope's behalf, as
a far greater benefit than any dignity or advantage that you have
received or may anticipate from him. And know that you have no
other means of evincing your gratitude to God and his Holiness at
the same time, than by endeavouring, with the aid of the Divine
grace, to be such as daily more and more to justify (comprobare) the
opinion and hope of you entertained, by his Holiness. To this I
exhort you with the utmost earnestness, offering you my services as
I am bound; and I humbly kiss your hands, praying our Lord God
always to have you under His holy protection.†
Rome, June? 1550.
[Italian.]
669. GLASS MANUFACTORY OF EDWARD VI.
Motion made in the Council of Ten about Venetian glassmakers
employed by Edward VI.
That to gratify the most Serene King of England, it be
conceded to the under-mentioned glassmakers there, who were
summoned to return hither within the period of eight months,
that notwithstanding said proclamation, they may continue working
in England until the expiration of the term of their contract
(mercato) stipulated with said most serene King, which will
expire in about 18 months, as stated in the ambassador's letter from
England, dated the 24th February last. On the expiration of that
term of about 18 months, they must immediately return hither,
under the penalties in the proclamation aforesaid. And be the
Signory's ambassador in England written to accordingly, so that
* Innocenzio del Monte was seventeen years of age when created Cardinal on the 31st
May 1550. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 297.)
† It was customary for the Cardinals to congratulate any new member of the Sacred
College on his election, nor could Cardinal Pole exempt himself from this tribute in the
case of Innocenzio del Monte, whose nomination disgraced the Pontificate of Julius III.,
but as seen by entry No. 662, date Rome, 18th April 1550, Cardinal Pole did his utmost
to dissuade the Pope from this act, which was also loudly vituperated in Consistory by
Cardinal Gianpietro Caraffa.
1550.
319
1550.
June 14.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
he may explain to the King, that for his Majesty's satisfaction
(gratificatione) they have thus chosen to make this concession.
The ambassador to act in such wise with his Majesty, that at the
period assigned, leave be given them; and that he do also desire
said glassmakers to return at the time aforesaid.
Ayes, 13. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.*
[Italian.]
670. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
SIGNORY.
On Monday, in Consistory, the Pope conferred the legation of
Viterbo on Cardinal Cornaro, with a monthly pension [to be derived
from it] of 100 crowns for the Cardinal of England, who, since
upwards of a month, is out of Rome. Heretofore he had 150 crowns
per month upon that legation, but it is expected that they will
give him 50 on the "Datario," until through this legation or some
other, they can give him farther supply.
Rome, 14th June 1550.
[Italian.]
June 17.
MS. St. Mark's
671. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF BADAJOS [FRANCISCO
NAVARRETE].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. cl. x.
Apologises for having so long delayed, contrary to his wont,
Printed in v. iv. answering his loving letter, especially as the Bishop had written
66
pp. 53-65.
Reginaldi Poli,a second, sending a most eloquent messenger, Pedro Frago, whom
he allowed to return to Trent,† without taking the reply which
he had promised him. Perhaps the cause of his not having been
ready to answer, was the excessive praise with which Badajos
overwhelmed him in his letter, so he lays the blame of the delay
in part upon the Bishop, and will now pay the fine for his neglect,
by giving him his, Pole's, own portrait; requesting he will believe
it to be a true one. Should he find it fall short of what some
people say, he is not to attribute it to modesty; as to convince
* In the Domestic Calendar (1547-1580, p. 256), there is an account of a report made to
Sir William Cecil, Secretary of State, by Armigill Waade, dated from Belsize on the 7th
August 1565, concerning "Progress of the manufacture of glass and pottery under
Cornelius de Lannoy (sic.) [de Laueny?] Clumsiness of the English glassmakers."
Enclosed in the report, is a "note of payments made by Arm. Waad to Cornelius de
Lannoy (sic) on account of the glassworks.'
The glassworks at Belsize in 1565, are thus seen to have been a government establish-
ment, and probably the very same as the one first set on foot by the Protector Somerset,.
in the first or second year of the reign of Edward VI. As the petition of the glass makers
to the Council of Ten proves that their contract bound them to Flanders, as well as to
England, I infer that De Launey was a Flemish speculator, who persuaded Somerset
to embark in these glassworks, of which he continued to be the director in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth.
In Cunningham's London Handbook, there is the following quotation from Stow.
"The first making of Venice glasses in England began at the Crotched Friars in London,
about the beginning of the raigne of Queene Elizabeth, by one Jacob Venalinie (sic)
[Vercellini ?] an Italian." (Stow by Howes, ed. 1631, p. 1040).
The "Parti Comuni" of the Council of Ten, now show that "the first making of
Venice glasses in England" began in the first or second year of the reign of King Edward
the Sixth.
† By Sarpi's annotated History of the Council of Trent, it is seen that Francisco Navarre,
alias Navarrete, was one of the 12 Spanish prelates who refused to approve the suspension
of the Council on the 28th April 1552. (Ed. Amsterdam, 1704, p. 360.)
320
1550.
1550.
him of his own impartial sincerity, he will indeed also mention
such things as may perhaps do him honour. For instance, the
Bishop in his letters praises him for greatness of mind and fortitude.
On reading those words he was of opinion that those who accused
him of pusillanimity and indolence (ignavia) were less far wrong;
and he certainly believed that those were nearer the truth, who
considered him alarmed by the heaviness of the burden, and
therefore less inclined to bear it, attributing this however not to
that timidity which proceeds from a pusillanimous mind, and arises.
spontaneously without any cause, but from that fear which from
just causes sometimes seizes even intrepid men (eo timore qui
justis de causis in fortes etiam viros cadit interdum). From this
sort of fear Pole's mind was not altogether free, but as he did not
covet the honour before the Conclave, when not goaded by fear,
which he owns to having felt very strongly later, so does he yet
more disclaim any merit for intrepidity.* Badajos will say "Is it
then untrue what I knew from the letters of others, that at the
time of the papal election (cum de Pontifice maximo deligendo
ageretur), when the votes (sententiæ) of so many persons demanded
you alone, and most earnestly insisted that honour or burden
(for either epithet may be applied to it) should rest on your
shoulders, you canvassed no one (neminem a te ob hanc causam
pensatum), you solicited no one (neminem rogatum), nor did you
give any sign of joy or desire (appetitionis) ?"
This Pole admits, adding that not only did he ask no one to favour
him in this matter, but when many favoured him spontaneously,
he requested them no longer to insist on electing him alone (ne in
me uno eligendo pertinatius agere vellent), but that from amongst
so many eminent men they should elect the one who would be
most serviceable to the church, who if preferred to him-whoever
he might be-Pole would not only bear it patiently, but value
their choice as much as if it had fallen on himself. This he said
to one and all when the tide in his favour ran strongest, and
having promised Badajos to acquaint him with the truth of the
business, he will not conceal this, lest it be attributed to modesty.
But the Bishop rejoins, "If the case stands thus, does it not clearly
show that the honour was not only not held in such account by
Pole as by others who are wont to revere and admire it, but that
he openly despised it, and by this same contempt displayed greatness
of mind?" But, as already shown, he was not deterred from desiring
the popedom by the weight of the burden or by fear, but by the
individual character given him by God (ita fuit illa persona quam
mihi Deus imposuerat); nor did he assume it spontaneously, but
having received it from his maker, he acknowledged and sustained
it, not unwillingly (non invitus quidem et agnovi et gessi.)
This character he will sketch when describing what he felt, when
* Tamen quia antea etiam honorem illum non appetebam, cum nullos hujus timoris
stimulos sentirem, quos quidem postea maximos et acerrimos sensisse me fateor, id circo
neque hujus rei causam timorem fuisse dico, neque eos qui timidi Personam, multo vero
minus qui fortis mihi tribuunt animi mei affectionem et habitum qualis cum fuerit
expressisse.
1550.
321
1550.
first many votes were spontaneously offered him, or rather what he
did not feel, being no more affected by them than if he had been
one of those asses which, not having received any innate sense of it
from nature, neither desire honour, nor despise it.* Insists on the
aptness of this simile, narrating to the Bishop that when a most
distinguished cardinal promised him all his influence, which was
very great, to secure his election, Pole, as if the words had been
addressed to an ass (jumento), remained quite silent; whereupon
the Cardinal seeing him so mute, added that he gave him time to
consider, for which he ought at least to have been thanked; and
although Pole showed subsequently that he was not quite dumb and
corrected this failing of taciturnity, yet at the moment he quitted
the Cardinal like a sort of mute ass.† But that he was made of
the ass species, which nature entirely deprived of all sense of
honour, is yet more proved by the very grievous and most bitter
calumnies with which (as written by Badajos) he was assailed at
the same time, and which took not the slightest effect upon him.
The Bishop, with his usual indulgent partiality, attributes this to
magnanimity, but in like manner as the sense of honour gave way
to the ass's sense (jumenti sensus), so did this last prevent him from
being disturbed by any fear of contumely.
But in like manner as these and other things which happened
to him at that time sufficiently show that this character (hanc
personam) was assigned (impositam) him by God, so was he never
more convinced of it, than on that night when two cardinals invited
him on behalf of the Conclave to allow himself to be conducted to
the chapel where the Pope is elected, that they might test their
election, styled adoration, of him; on hearing which mandate he will
confess to the Bishop, he verily bethought him of that ass's colt§
(illius aselli) standing tied at its master's door, which Christ sent the
two apostles to loose and bring to Him that He, seated on it, might
enter the Holy City. Thus did he think within himself when he heard
the commission of those two, and that they were come to take him
from that place to the right on entering the portal of the principal
chapel, where he stood, tied as it were to his master's door, his cell
being thus situated. So he listened to them as if they had been sent
by Christ, as they came from those to whom Christ gave the right
and power of electing his Vicar upon earth, and considered himself
the ass's colt (asellum) already mentioned by him, this species pre-
senting itself most especially to his mind when thus thinking of
himself. And should it perchance seem to some that he laid aside
this character because he did not allow himself to be taken away
immediately, whilst others may perhaps argue that he truly sus-
tained the asinine character, by not embracing their offer at once,
† Ab eo discessi tamquam muti jumenti speciem.
Quod si jumentum ejus generis factus essem quod natura omni sensu honoris penitu-
privavit, atque hujus rei magis etiam illud argumento est, quod de gravissimis atque acer-
bissimis calumniis, quibus eodem tempore patebar, scribis te audivisse.
§ See Matthew xxi. 2.
* Nihilo non magis afficiebar illorum vocibus ac si unum ex illis jumentis fuissem quæ
honorem propterea neque desiderant neque spernunt, quia nullum ejus sensum a naturâ
insitum habent.
5.
X
322
1550.
1550.
yet did he never refuse that consent,* but, to say the truth, he
greatly feared the night and darkness.† Will not argue farther
whether he did right or wrong in this matter, and merely purposes
acquainting the Bishop with his conduct.
It therefore seeming to him that the darkness of the night was
ill suited to the loosing of that ass (illud jumentum) on which the
Saviour entered Jerusalem in broad daylight, he requested that the
matter might be delayed until the dawn; but when two other
Cardinals vested with the same authority came to him showing that
they required nothing but what was usual, just, and legitimate,
with regard to the hour, Pole then said he would be at their
orders, whereby it seemed to him that he resumed the character of
an ass (ad jumenti personam rediisse); though, to say the truth,
scarcely had they departed ere he began to repent him of his assent,
and therefore sent a messenger forthwith to the chief negotiators
of this matter, requesting that if possible the consummation (res
integra) might be deferred until the dawn; and the messengers
found that of their own accord they had at length formed the same
opinion. The Bishop will perhaps say that if nothing further
ensued, if Christ did not use this ass (jumentum), why is it to
be supposed that he assigned (imposuit) its nature (personam) to
Pole; but if it was not Pole's lot to carry Christ publicly on his
entry into the Holy City, this does not show that he is not invested
with the character of his ass, but that the Lord had no need of
this ass.
The indifference of Pole in the midst of so many hopes and
fears, was a Divine favour. He was alarmed at the sight of the
pontificate, viewing it as divested of all honour and riches, and well
nigh naked,§ and this prevented him from advancing whilst the
favour of the Sacred College forbad him to retreat. That the term
sacred is applicable may be proved by the fact that this conformity
of opinion (consensus) lasted, not days, but whole months; but of
the many who entertained it, and they certainly formed a very
great part of the College, no one was found during so long a period
to take any steps either with Pole himself or through his attendants
concerning their own private interests. Pole was assuredly con-
vinced that such conduct could proceed solely from men who had
given their suffrages to the [Christian] Republic and to the Church,
that is to say, to God himself, and to Christ the spouse of the
Church, consecrating their souls and votes entirely to this cause.
Perceiving their perpetual constancy, their extreme affection for him,
such as children show their father, they striving solely for this, that
he should have the supreme honour and he assigned the place of
* Et si aliis fortasse videri possim hanc ipsam personam deposuisse propterea quod
non statim ab illis me solvi sim passus, et deduci, atque hic fortassis alii vere me jumenti
personam gessisse arguant quod non statim tantum consensum sim amplexus, non statim ab
illis me deduci-quo vocabar-permiserim, ego vero consensum illum nunquam sum
aspernatus.
† In Beccatello's Life of Cardinal Pole it is stated that he feared lest the darkness might
cause doubts about the authenticity of the voting tickets and encourage fraud.
Me non ejus jumenti personam gessisse.
§ Quem ipsa Pontificatus species ut eum omni honoris et opum quas veste detractâ
nuðum aspexi.
1550.
323
1550.
father to them, and again considering (what he may term) his
sterility with regard to effecting this unanimity, having well nigh
nothing in common with them save intercourse in the College-
neither country nor kindred-with many of them having scarcely a
private friendship, while with very few indeed was he linked by
habit and custom, nor with any of them could he claim the merit of
benefits conferred, which in matters of this sort are usually of great
avail; when therefore he considers his own manifold deficiencies,
and how much was wanting to produce or encourage this unanimity,
the Bishop may suppose how often he said to himself the words of
the prophet in the person of the spouse who was first barren and
then became fruitful, “ Ego sterilis et captiva et transmigrata, et
quis mihi genuit ipsos?" The conformity of opinion with regard
to his election he therefore attributed to Divine providence, and
feared to combat it, yielding like an ass (ut jumentum), entirely
under the guidance of the Lord, to be led whither it should
please him. The Bishop may thus congratulate him on having
escaped unhurt from so great a contest, not through his own
strength, but by the help of God.
Badajos is surprised that on the night when Pole received
unexpectedly the news that the parties had at length agreed to
put him aside and elect another, he not only was not in the least
disturbed, but seemed rather to rejoice as it were.
The reason
was this: the disputes about the election were at an end, Christen-
dom was relieved from the anxiety of suspense, and God had at
length declared his will. Ought this to have caused Pole the
slightest vexation? Had this been the case he would have shown
plainly how unworthy he was to bear this burden. Assures the
Bishop that of the many and great benefits vouchsafed him of the
Divine goodness, none gave him greater joy than this, that when
the parties decided against conferring on him the gift and honour
of the Popedom, he had the means of experiencing in his own
person how graciously, how munificently the Lord treats his asses
(jumenta).* Hopes that throughout the rest of his life he may
have the same delight in renouncing honours. Has not yet de-
cided whether he is more indebted to those who hesitated to
take him from the manger to bear the burden, or to those who
at the commencement strove so earnestly to subject him to it,
save that the latter first caused him to know the manger, and to
taste the fodder presented to him there.† The precious, sweet,
and salutary fruit derived by him from these circumstances will
certainly seem as incredible to those who never bore the burden of
the Lord (onus Domini), as what is written by Apuleius in his fable
of “The Golden Ass"; but by the mercy of God the utter truth of
the fact is hourly impressed upon him. What he would never have
written to others, Pole has chosen to confide unreservedly to the
Bishop of Badajos, who from his youth upwards has dedicated
* Mihi data est facultas privatim experiendi quam benigne quamque liberaliter Dominus
sua jumenta tractet.
† Nisi quod hi quidem auctores fuere, ut ipsum præsepe primum cognoscere, et pabulum
in eo mihi appositum gustarem.
x 2
324
1550.
1550.
June 20.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi Con-
siglio X.,
File no. 4.
himself to the yoke of the Lord, and by whom Pole knows he
is loved in visceribus Christi; and writing as he is to a person
well acquainted with the Court of Rome, he considers explanation
on many points unnecessary."
Bagnarea, 17th June 1550.
*
[Latin, 366 lines.]
672. The CHIEF of the TEN to [MATTEO DANDOLO] the Ve-
netian Ambassador at Rome.
")
Their most beloved noble Ser Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., ambassador
in England, has sent them the power of attorney, made by him
in England, to accept the renunciation by the Patriarch [Giovanni
Querini], save that in England they would not insert the clause where
mention is made of the Pope's Holiness (eccetto dove si fa mentione
in essa minuta della Santità del Pontifice). As on this account
the instrument may possibly not be admitted at Rome, their said
ambassador has drawn up another, appointing an agent in Venice,
with authority to make in his name another power of attorney,
according to the form of the draft sent by him (Dandolo). Eaclose
the two, desiring him immediately on the Patriarch's arrival at
Rome to acquaint him with the whole, so that after obtaining the
necessary information, choice be made of one of the two "powers
admissible at Rome, praying his Lordship to despatch this matter.
To give him every assistance and favour, both with the Pope and in
all other quarters. Should his Lordship be still out of Rome, to
acquaint him with the whole by letters. In the "power" drawn
up at Venice, it being necessary to mention that Macasuola is to
be substitute for the Proctor (che ha il Macasuola di sustituir
il procuratore), lest had they copied the instrument made in
England, in virtue of the aforesaid power (as is occasionally done),
some difficulty be made at Rome about the words "Ecclesiae
Anglicana supremum Caput," they have said "as proved by the
instrument seen and read by me, notary." But as an act of
superabundant caution, in case it should be chosen at any rate to
see the document, they inclose it, so that he may make such use of
it as necessary; in which case he is to apologise for the ambassador
[Barbaro], who, being where he is, could not obtain the instrument
in any other form; demonstrating moreover that this would not
matter, as it is not registered anywhere, the attestation having
been merely made by the notary, and seen by their secretary.
With regard to the words "Reydus et Magcus D. Daniel Barbarus
Clericus Venetus," warn him that he is not a clergyman, but in
these cases it is usual to give the term of six months in which to
become a clerk, as is well known (they are aware) to the Patriarch
and to him (Dandolo).
Nicolò Justinian, C.C.X.
Petrus Maurocenus, C.C.X.
Borto Zane, C.C.X.
Lectæ Clarmis D. Saps utr. manus.
[Italian.]
* Neque tamen cum ad eum scriberem qui esset expertus, pluribus explicanda censui.
1550.
325
1550.
June 27.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi Con-
siglio X.
File no. 4.
June 27.
Parti Secrcte,
Consiglio X.
File no. 7.
July 14.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
June 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 49.
673. The CHIEFS of the TEN to [DANIEL BARBARO] the Ve-
netian Ambassador in England.
In addition to the accompanying letters from the Council of Ten
and Junta, inform him that for greater security it would be well
that he should have another power of attorney (instrumento di
procura) drawn up by his secretary, although not a notary, accord-
ing to the draft which they sent him, to be used in case the one
which he transmitted them, or that which they are drawing up at
Venice, be not admitted at Rome for the reasons alluded to in his
letters. The deed to be witnessed by Venetian subjects, and sent
as speedily as possible.
Nicolò Justinian, C.C.X.
Petrus Maurocenus, C.C.X.
Borto Zane, C.C.X.
Lectæ Clarmis D. Saps utr. manus.
[Italian.]
674. The CHIEFS of the TEN to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in ENGLAND.
Have received his letters addressed to them on the 8th instant,
and perused the power of attorney sent by him, accepting the
renunciation of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, as also the other,
whereby he (Barbaro) appoints a commissioner to draw up another
power in Venice in case the first instrument be inadmissible at
Rome.
Will send the power of attorney to Rome that the writing may
be duly legalized, nor will the State fail hereafter, when opportu-
nities offer, to do what they can for his advantage and benefit, as
due to his qualities and the affection demonstrated by him towards
the Republic.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
Papalists were ordered to withdraw.
[Italian.]
vend
675. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR and
BAILIFFS (BAYLIS) at CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from their ambassador with the most Christian King,
in date of the 19th ultimo, are informed that his Majesty, was at
Boulogne superintending the repairs of that city, as also of the other
places recovered by him, in virtue of the peace made with the most
Serene King of England.
Ayes, 198. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
676. MOTION made in the COUNCIL of TEN and JUNTA.
That the resolution formed in this Council on the 10th of April
concerning the renunciation of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and the
letters on this subject received from Rome, and other letters written
by this Council and which have arrived whether from Rome or
England, and the writings presented by the Magnifico Antonio
326
1550.
1550.
July 26.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Aug. 3.
MS. St. Mark's
Aug. 9.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
Barbaro, as now read to this Council, be communicated to the
Senate.
10
11
6
[Italian]
8
15
678. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF URBINO.*
The very courteous invitation given him orally by the Cardinal
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. of Urbino before his departure from Rome, and which was repeated
Library,
twice by letter, to pass the summer heats in those cool and pleasant
places, was enhanced in such wise by the Father Abbot, the bearer
of this second letter, and by his description of the virtues of the
person who invited him, that great must be the impediment when
so near at hand to prevent him from proceeding farther (before he
leaves Bagnarea) to delight in the virtues of the person so much
eulogized, although the season for enjoying cool air be past. Com-
pliments the young Cardinal on the virtuous life led by him;
assures him that the only sure way to acquire and receive true
virtue is to acknowledge with all due respect its author; this is
the first virtue, and the guardian of them all, for which reason
solely the Romans represented virtue with face and hands raised
towards heaven, to indicate on what its origin and maintenance
depend; and by so much the more should this be observed by us, as
we are enabled more distinctly to know the fountain of all grace
and of every virtue. Assures him that he knows none from whose
noble disposition, developing itself to the praise of every virtue,
he can promise himself more than he does from his.†
Bagnarea, 3rd August 1550.
[Italian and Latin.]
677. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in ENGLAND.
Send him the summary of advices, for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
679. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in ENGLAND.
The Rev. D. Peter [Vannes] arrived lately at Venice, having been
appointed by the King of England to reside with them as his
ambassador. Caused him to be met, honoured, and welcomed on
his arrival.
Yesterday his Lordship had audience of the College, accom-
panied by a great number of senators. After presenting his
* Giulio della Rovere, Bishop of Urbino, born A.D. 1534, created Cardinal A.D. 1547,
July 27th, brother of Guidobaldo II. Duke of Urbino.
† By Cardella's biography of this Cardinal (vol. iv. pp. 287-289), it seems that he did
not disappoint the expectations of Cardinal Pole. He died at Fossombrone, A.D. 1578,
aged 44 years.
t In the Foreign Calendar, 1547-1553, the first notice of Peter Vannes at Venice is
dated 9th Nov. 1550.
1550.
327
1550.
Aug. 15.
MS. St. Mark's
܂
To inform the King and the Lords of his Council that the mis-
sion and statement of the aforesaid Reverend Ambassador were most
agreeable to them. He is personally dear to them by reason of his
learning and eminent qualities and parts.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
680. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF URBINO.
Library,
I sent your Right Reverend Lordship the "imagine" of Socrates,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. for the end designed occasionally in Scripture, by recounting and
proposing to us examples of the heathens who have had some shadow
of virtue; not that we should take example from their life, but to
incite us, we who are called to be partakers of the light and
splendour of life eternal, not to allow ourselves to be surpassed in
any respect by those who have not had so great a grace; as by
doing otherwise, we greatly shame ourselves, besides the wrong we
do our Heavenly Father, who has given us and proposed for our
example and sole master, virtue itself, namely, His Son, who, to
reprove the negligence and offence of those who, having the wisdom
of God in the midst of them, do not care to give ear to it, came
upon earth to teach man the true path of happiness; whereas Queen
Sabba [Queen of Shebah or Sebah] came from the uttermost parts
of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon, who was a mere man
(puro homo). And thus our master teaches us that we must strive
to excel the heathens in every virtue, and for this reason he some-
times lays before us their virtues, as when exhorting us to love, not
only our friends and benefactors, but also our enemies, saying, Si
enim diligitis qui vos diligunt, quam mercedem habebitis? nonne
etiam publicani hoc faciunt? Et si salutaveritis fratres vestros
tantum, quid amplius facietis? non et Ethnici hoc faciunt ?
giving us to understand by these words that we must endeavour to
excel the heathens in every sort of virtue which they have seemed to
possess; always taking God as sole example, and following the light
of the Son given us by Him; and he therefore says in conclusion,
"Estote perfecti sicut et Pater vester cælestis est."†
CC
"'*
Your most illustrious Lordship is now acquainted with the cause
which induced me to send you the corporeal bust (il volto corporale)
of Socrates, so that when seeing the portrait of his mind, as depicted
by Xenophon, whose works you are (I am told) now reading, it
may serve as a memento, stimulating you not to allow yourself
to be surpassed by him in any particular having any shadow of
virtue, or its similitude. Of such in that course of reading you
will find many, and some very beautiful ones, most especially if
you read that book which is, I remember, entitled by Xenophon
Apomnemoneumata, and translated by Cicero, thus, "De dictis et
factis Socratis," where you will see an excellent opinion "de rebus
credentials, he stated his commission with great gravity and
prudence, bearing ample testimony to the King's goodwill towards
them.
* St. Matthew's Gospel, chapter v. verses 46, 47.
† St. Matthew, chapter v. verse 48.
328
1550.
1550.
Aug. 23.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 7.
humanis," from a very well regulated mind; following the light of
nature, and the time, it seemed so grand and beautiful, that the two
greatest and most eloquent philosophers who ever lived-Plato and
Xenophon-emulating as it were each other which should best
express the meaning (animo) and conceits of Socrates-made it
their whole study, and used the power of their abilities and language
to represent
* [by their?] writings, the veracity of that
man, who never wrote anything.† But neither are these men, nor
this virtue, so great, as to exempt your most illustrious Lordship
(as already mentioned by me) from considering it a shame, not to
surpass them in every particular, both in the knowledge of the true
and blessed life, as also by producing such fruit as follows that
knowledge; having besides the natural, the heavenly light, given us
by God, in his Son, who is the splendour and the symbol (carattere)
of his Divine substance, and given us for our light, our guide, and
our example, with the promise to give us moreover strength to
follow it, whenever we ask it in our aid with our whole heart, as
I am convinced your most illustrious Lordship frequently does ;
this my opinion being caused by the Divine virtues which I see
thus early germinating in you; and with this I end, kissing your
hand, and recommending myself always to your good favour.
Bagnarea, 15th August 1550.
[Italian.]
Aug. ?
681. CARDINAL POLE to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of
The favour which your Majesty has been pleased graciously to
confer on me, of a pension of 2,000 ducats on the See of Burgos,‡
is the more acceptable to me as it proceeded from your mere courtesy,
time or place. without my having sought it in any way, so that my obligation
to you is the greater; not indeed that from this, or from any other
similar gift which might be anticipated by me from your goodness
and magnanimity, could I become a more affectionate servant of
your Majesty than I ever have been, nor more anxious to serve
you, I as am bound by much greater causes and respects, though I
must not fail thanking you, as I do from my heart; with all due
respect kissing your hands, and praying our Lord God long to
preserve and prosper you for the benefit of Christendom.
[Bagnarea? August? 1550.]
[Italian.]
682. The CHIEFS of the TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
By his letter of the 2nd are acquainted with the office performed
by him with the Pope, about the renunciation of [the Patriarchate
* Blank in manuscript.
† Some letters of Socrates were printed at Paris in 1637, and it is said that when in
prison he versified Æsop's fables, but the work does not exist.
§ The preceding letter being dated in August 1550, and the one which follows the
present letter being apparently of the same period, I infer that this pension was given in
the year 1550, but in Beccatello's Life of Pole, this pension is mentioned as if its grant had
preceded that of the Abbacy of Gavello in November in 1549. These pensions on the
sees of Granada and Burgos were paid very irregularly, as appears by Cardinal Pole's
letters dated 16th September, 1548-1556 ? 15th December 1555, and 5th May 1556.
1550.
329.
+
1550.
of] Aquileia [in favour of the ambassador Barbaro]; and how his
Holiness replied graciously, evincing the wish to do what was
agreeable to them.* Did not answer sooner, as they were expecting
a fresh mandate from England.
In his letter of the 9th, the ambassador writes about a certain
imputation alleged by the rivals and adversaries of the Patriarch, to
his adherents, concerning his religion, impugning in like manner that
of the Signory's ambassador in England. Are assured on good
authority in Venice, that this charge was made by the nephews of
the Patriarch, of the Querini family, and by their agents, and
although the Chiefs believe that it will prove vain, and without
foundation, and that nothing will be said to the ambassador about
it, they nevertherless desire him, in case the Pope or others
mention the subject to him, to reply stoutly, evincing surprise,
and assuring them that both the Patriarch and the ambassador
are Catholic and religious men, and lead good lives, making it
intelligible that these calumnies have been circulated by the
Patriarch's nephews, who wished their uncle to renounce the
patriarchate to them, they being the children of one of his sisters;
but his Lordship has chosen to prefer the ability and integrity and
sound tenets (bona dottrina) of Barbaro, to relationship and con-
sanguinity.
Sept. 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 67.
To notify the name of the agent of the said nephews at Rome, and
who those rivals and adversaries of the Patriarch are.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
Members of the Council of Ten and Junta, not entitled to ballot
on this motion, to withdraw.
[Italian.]
683. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
FRANCE.
Mons. de Selve, the ambassador sent to the Signory by the
most Christian King in lieu of Mons. de Marviglier, has informed
them in his Majesty's name that having paid the English the
200,000 crowns, and the hostages being released, he now finds
himself at perfect peace with England and Scotland, so that those
three kingdoms may be considered one, by reason of the perfect
union and understanding between them.
The ambassador is therefore to congratulate the King heartily
on his prosperity, both on account of his being united with England
and Scotland, and also on the tranquillity of his kingdom, which
causes them such great comfort and satisfaction as becomes their
observance towards his Majesty.
Ayes, 194. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* In the letters of the Venetian Ambassador Matteo Dandolo, it is stated that the Patriarch
Giovanni Querini, and his successor Barbaro, were both suspected by the Papal Court
of Protestantism, and objections were made to Barbaro's election because he had resided
in England.
330
1550.
1550.
Sept. 20.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Sept. 27.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
684. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Julius III., to the CHIEFS of the TEN.
As the Pope's indisposition continues, I have been unable to speak
to him about the Patriarchate of Aquileia, but have impressed
almost all the Cardinals favourably with regard to the Reverend
Patriarch [Giovanni Querini], and the most noble Barbaro, even
Burgos [Juan Alvarez de Toledo]; for to say the truth I found that
many of their Lordships had received slanderous notices of them
in the matter of heresy. In defence of Barbaro I availed myself
advantageously of what he did in England when he had mass per-
formed in his own house. Burgos and others, who are charged
with the matter, prayed me much to request your Excellencies to
give orders enabling the exercise of greater diligence (diligentia)
[rigour?] about the said heresy (heresia) [Protestantism?] throughout
your territory, as otherwise they perceive it to be in extreme peril,
and no good will ever be done at Brescia so long as a certain
statute remains in force about wizards (strigoni), whereby it is
enacted that the doctors of that city must take part in drawing up
the processes against them; and thus Brescia being so infected, it is
impossible to find any, save such as, being concerned with the in-
fected, assist and defend them, so that in this way they will never
do anything about it.
Rome, 20th September 1550.
[Italian.]
685. The SAME to the SAME.
The Pope tells me that his Nuncio with the Emperor* has had a
long conference with his Majesty about the Council, coming to the
conclusion that it should be held as soon as possible, the Emperor
adding that otherwise, should he not speedily get out of " that Ger-
mania" (di quella Germania), he shall leave his bones there; so he
sent to demand of his Holiness the "bull" and the day of inti-
mation [of the Council]. The Pope told me that in his reply,
dwelling on the Emperor's determination to get out of Germany
speedily, he told him that should his Majesty choose to do so, he
[the Pope] will positively not reassemble the Council at Trent, as
he will not allow his prelates again to incur the peril to which
they were subjected there, for in the Emperor's absence a revolt of
the Germans might some day cause a very serious catastrophe; but
that, should his Majesty choose to remain there until the close, his
Holiness would not fail to do what he has promised him; and to
show his Majesty that he will not lose time, he has sent to call the
Cardinals Santa Croce [Marcello Cervino], Pole, and Morone, who
are charged with the matter, to draw up the "bull,"+ and that the
day of the first session is to be the first Sunday in Lent. In
* This Nuncio was Sebastian Pighino. (See Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent.)
†The substance of the "Bull" is given in the History of the Council of Trent (p. 289,
French translation, edition Amsterdam, 1704), but Sarpi does not say who composed
it, and as very little is known of Cardinal Pole at this period, the notice is worth
preserving.
1550.
331
1550.
Oct. 6.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxvii. p. 57,
tergo.
Nov. 5.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 4.
Nov. 16.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 18.
conclusion his Holiness said to me that thus, by address, he believed
(Et in questo fine cosi destramente
non se ne farà niente.)
nothing would be done about it.
Sua Santità mi disse creder, che
Rome, 27th September 1550.
[Italian.]
686. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
As it is fitting to comply with the reasonable wish of Daniel
Barbaro, LL.D., ambassador in England, who demands the election
of his successor, he being near the close of his legation, in which he
has served with ability and diligence:
Put to the ballot, that another ambassador be elected, the person
elected being forbidden to refuse under the penalties contained in
the last act of the Grand Council.
The ambassador to receive 150 golden ducats per month (of
which he is not bound to show any account) for his expenses;
and to keep eleven horses, including those of his secretary and his
servant.
Ayes, 159. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1
Read to the Senate on the 24th September 1550.
[Italian.]
687. The CHIEFS of the TEN to [DANIEL BARBARO] the
Venetian Ambassador in England.
It has come to their knowledge through several channels, that an
English gentleman in Venice, by name Robert Stafford, has behaved
in an unbecoming and discourteous manner to the reverend ambas-
sador [Peter Vannes] of his English Majesty, and in his Lordship's
own habitation, regardless of the post filled by him of ambassador
from that most Serene King, although neither by him [Vannes] nor
by any of his attendants has he been either offended or provoked
in anything.
Heard this with much displeasure, and sent for the gentleman, and
reproved him as his temerity deserved, admonishing him to abstain
[from such conduct] for the future, lest they have cause to proceed
further against him, as they would have done at present, had not
the ambassador interposed, requesting them to do nothing more.
To acquaint the Lords of the Council with this.*
Ayes, 14. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
688. The DOGE and COLLEGE to DANIEL BARBARO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose a summary of advices, for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
* For other notices of Sir Robert Stafford, see Mr. Turnbull's Calendars, Reign of
Edward VI. p. 52.; Reign of Mary, pp. 69, 79, 264, 282, 283, 294, 299.
332
1550.
1550.
December?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Not having had any intelligence from the Rev. President, con-
No date of time cerning what took place at the Chapter, nor any reply to certain letters
or place.
written by him, most especially to what he wrote in recommendation
of Messer Sebastiano
he expected, as mentioned by
him to the Prior, that some of the abbots of the Order on their
way through Rome would be charged to supply the omission by
word of mouth. But the Rev. Abbot of Subiaco (Subito) [sic] whom
he supposes to be the last, having now passed without letters or
any other commission, he has chosen to acquaint the Prior with
this, that he may write about it to the Rev. Father President,
giving him to understand that should the affairs of the Chapter
have had a good result, it would have pleased him to have been
acquainted with the fact by the President, to congratulate him on
it, as was his wont in former years, and also that he might be
enabled to answer Messer Sebastian, who, as the Prior knows, remains
suspended, until through Pole's medium it be ascertained what has
been done in his case. With regard to the Father Abbot of
St. Paul, he by several letters has requested Pole to consent to his
return to Rome. In reply, announced his wish for all the monks
of the congregation to know that as for himself individually, he
shall always be content with any determination they may make,
though on the other hand, for the benefit of the congregation, he
cannot but lament whenever he sees anything take place of a
contrary nature. Certainly thought it desirable both for Father
Don Prospero and for the congregation that some honourable and
fitting post should be assigned him, as he always complained of the
climate of Rome; and it was also seen by experience that he was
less suited to the management of St. Paul's Monastery than he
would have been to that of any other place; this being the opinion
"* have
of Pole, who also believes that the "Padri diffinitori
received similar information through several channels.
Is therefore the more surprised at their not having communicated
to him their reasons for making this decree, as there may be some
sufficient cause, with which he is as yet unacquainted, though, be
this as it may, Pole will always be glad to see him, should he return
to Rome, and in the meanwhile is sorry to find St. Paul's Monastery
without its Abbot, Prior, and Cell-keeper (Cellerario).
689. CARDINAL POLE to the PRIOR of the MONASTERY of ST.
PAUL, in ROME.
Father Don Mattheo of Brescia wrote to the Cardinal of Urbino
from Braia, requesting him to obtain Pole's consent to the return
of Don Prospero to Rome. Is surprised at this on two accounts.
In the first place, to himself individually, it does not matter in the
least whether one monk or another come to Rome; and secondly,
because it does not seem fitting to him to employ any other medium
than their own, for intercourse between the Prior of St. Paul's and
himself; and the letter of Don Marco [Mattheo?] was written
at such a time, that had Pole chosen to answer it, his reply would
not have arrived until after the dissolution of the Chapter. In short,
assures the Prior, that whatever is for the benefit of the congregation
will always be most to his satisfaction, as may he thinks be already
1550.
333
1550.
Dec. 6.
Original
Letter-book,
Venetian
Archives.
Dec. 18.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
clearly known to all the monks by facts; and amongst other advice
given by him to the monks-always to that end--was the following,
that they should have especial care, both at Monte Cassino, and
in Rome, to appoint not only good honest men, but experienced
persons, suited to negotiations in these parts. Bene valete.
[Rome, December? 1550.]
[Italian.]
690. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at the Court of
Julius III., to the SIGNORY.
Ascanio Colonna is harassed (travagliato) by the Pope on account
of his son Fabritio, who makes many demands of his said father
Ascanio, under favour of Don Diego, who, on this account likewise,
does not quit Rome. The Pope sent several times for Signor
Ascanio from his estates, and at length, when he came, required him
to give Fabritio at least 12,000 crowns annual revenue in landed
property, that he may convey thither his wife, the daughter of
Ferrante Gonzaga, and secure the dower to him (et assicurargli la
dote), and also pay his debts, which amount to 25,000 crowns. Signor
Ascanio seems content to make over the estate to him, and to give
security for the dower, but not to pay his debts, as they were con-
tracted by gambling and other dishonourable proceedings. The Pope
has appointed the Cardinal of England [Reginald Pole], Camillo
Ursino, and Don Diego, to mediate an adjustment between them; and
a great personage, a Frenchman, complained to me of the Pope's
wishing to enforce the cession of territory to Signor Fabritio, who
will be here fortified at the gates of Rome, in the name of the
Emperor and as his vassal. He told me he had complained of this
to the Pope, and that from France and other places he was informed
that the Emperor purposes making himself master of the whole of
Tuscany, and that the former confidence and good understanding
between these Imperialists and the Duke of Florence no longer
exists; and that his Most Christian Majesty has appointed 24
captains, and chooses to be prepared should the Emperor die, as
they understand he is ill; nor does this French personage believe
that King Maximilian intends by any means to cede the [Imperial]
dignity which belongs to him.
Rome, 6th December 1550.
[Italian.]
691. The SAME to the SAME.
Cardinal Crescentio tells me that [in congregation?] they were
silent about Barbaro's embassy in England, a place deservedly odious;
so for the love of God let him come away immediately, as it would
be too great an ignominy for this Holy See, were a person elected to
such a Patriarchate to remain there any longer.*
*
Rome, 18th December 1550.
[Italian.]
* The Republic wished to obtain for Daniel Barbaro, ambassador in England, the
Patriarchate of Aquileia, through the resignation of Giovanni Querini, whose nephews
opposed the measure; and they or their adherents accused Barbaro of Protestantism.
334
1550-1551.
1550.
Dec. 27.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 83.
692. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
Received his letters of the 18th, 19th, and 20th, and are acquainted
with the very loving office performed by the Pope in consistory by
proposing the renunciation of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.
In consequence of what he tells them about the good offices of the
Cardinal Crescentio, and his authority and favour with the Pope,
have thought fit to write to him, as by the enclosed copy. To present
the letter, and to inform him that according to his suggestion, they
are writing to their ambassador in England [Daniele Barbaro], to
take leave of the King, and return to their presence forthwith.
To give thanks in like manner to such other Cardinals as he
think advisable.*
may
Ayes, 195. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1551.
1551.
Jan. 3.
693. DOGE FRANCESCO DONADO to KING EDWARD VI.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
As Daniel Barbaro, his ambassador in England, is compelled to
File no. 18. return to Venice, has written to him that, after taking leave of the
King and performing the customary offices of an ambassador at
the close of his legation, he is to proceed to Venice. Has ordered
Giacomo Soranzo, the ambassador appointed in his stead, to prepare
for the journey to England forthwith.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Latin.]
Jan. 17.
694. CARDINAL POLE to the LORD ASCANIO COLONNA.
Most illustrious Lord,
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
By your Lordship's letters I am informed of your wish that the
or place.
No date of year 9,000 crowns, which I had always intended giving to the Signora
Doña Vittoria your daughter on her marriage, may be now consigned
to the Viceroy of Naples [Don Pietro di Toledo], on account of
the dower promised to his son Don Garzia, you having stipu-
lated and promised thus to do; and although before you made
that promise I should have liked to have had it intimated to me,
as I think you ought to have done, knowing that this my intention
proceeded from my mere good will, I have nevertheless taken
everything in good part (in ogni—sic—parte), and still remain as
firm in this intention as I have always done. Although as you are
aware the Lady Marchioness [Vittoria Colonna] your sister, was
induced to leave these moneys in my hands that I might succour
the poor people of my country, who constantly apply to me, as the
said Lady announced to credible witnesses, I determined to dispose
* At the close of the year 1550, the Senate induced the Patriarch of Aquileia to take
as his coadjutor Daniele Barbaro, then ambassador from the Republic at the Court of
Edward VI. (See Andrea Morosini, v. ii. p. 197.)
1551.
335
1551.
Feb. 25.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xix. p. 198,
tergo.
Feb. 26.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
of the sum to assist your Lordship, with these moneys, to marry
the Lady Doña Vittoria, at the time when you were banished; nor,
although you were subsequently restored to your territories, did I
ever change my purpose, which I am ready to execute, whenever
the said Lady and the Signor Don Garzia di Toledo shall contract
marriage, at which period I will not fail to remit these moneys
into the hands of your Lordship, or of the Lord Don Garzia, or of
such person as you shall be pleased to order; you giving me due
security that, in the event of the demise of the Lady Vittoria
without children, the said 9,000 ducats be repaid, and applied to
such pious purpose here in Rome as I shall ordain.
[Civitella?] 17th January [1551.]
[Italian.]
695. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to Zuan Francesco di Franceschi, who is going as secretary to
England with the Signory's ambassador Ser Jacomo Soranzo, there
be given two years' salary at the rate of 16 ducats per annum-32
ducats he not to receive any further salary until the whole be
accounted for.
Ayes, 12. Noes, 0: Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
696. MATTEO DANDOLO, Venetian Ambassador at Rome, to the
DOGE and SENATE.
This morning, early, I went to his Holiness, who received me
almost immediately, with a joyful countenance, saying, "Ambas-
sador! last night I had a more sudden attack than ever from this
traitress gout (da questa traditora gotta)." I condoled with him in
your Serenity's name, and at the close of the audience, after kissing
his foot, I asked him if he had determined on a successor for the
bishopric of Brescia, and whether I was to write anything about it
to your Serenity. He answered me, "We will tell you the truth ;
we believe that the four persons who have been nominated are all
worthy men, but we think of turning our mind (ma ne par di
attacarsi) towards the one we know, who is this our Messer Alvise*
de Prioli; it is true that I do not yet know what we shall do;
whether he will accept it, for we would not wish to have him
proposed and that he should then refuse it; for he lives in solitude,
studying philosophy and theology. We know him to have every
good quality that can possibly be desired, but even if he possessed
no other than that of having resided so long a while with so holy
a Cardinal" (alluding to the Cardinal of England) [Reginald Pole],
"it would fully suffice us for giving him this charge, and even a
greater one."
Rome, 26th February 1551.
[Italian.]
* Alvise or Luigi de Priuli, the bosom friend of Cardinal Pole, whose eyes he closed at
Lambeth Palace. Pope Julius III. styles Priuli "ours" because he resided at the Papal
Court with Cardinal Pole, and was probably with him at Civitella when this letter was
written.
*
336
1551.
1551.
Feb. 28.
Parti Comuni
Consiglio X.,
v. xix. p. 199.
March 2.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxvii. p. 100,
tergo.
March 13.
Parti Comuni
Consiglio X.,
v. xx. p. 1,
tergo.
697. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That at the earnest request of the ambassador of the most Serene
King of England, he be shown the armoury halls of this Council,
and the jewels of St. Mark's Sanctuary.
Ayes, 13. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
698. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
As it is necessary to dispatch our noble Giacomo Soranzo,
ambassador elect to the most Serene King of England, and give
him the means for preparing to go on his legation:
Put to the ballot, that of the moneys appointed for the ambas-
sadors there be given to our aforesaid noble, 600 golden ducats on
account of his expenses for four months; and 150 ducats, at the
rate of six livres and four soldi per ducat, for the purchase of
horses; and 30 ducats for coverings and trunks; and as a donation
for his secretary, 50 ducats; and for two couriers 40 ducats, at
the rate of 20 ducats for each; he being allowed to take with him,
at the Signory's risk, silver utensils to the value of 400 ducats,
to be estimated by the office for the new accounts according to the
Signory's orders.
Ayes, 127. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
Read to the whole College on the 17th February.
[Italian.]
699. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA.
That of the moneys appointed for the ambassadors, there be given
to the nobleman Ser Jacomo Soranzo, ambassador elect to the most
Serene King of England, 600 golden ducats on account of his
expenses for four months; and 150 ducats at the rate of six livres
and four soldi per ducat, to purchase horses; and 30 ducats for
coverings and trunks; and 50 ducats as a donation for his secretary;
and 40 ducats for two couriers, at the rate of 20 ducats each; as
carried in the Senate and College; and be he given 200 ducats for
couriers, and the dispatch of letters, and to spend, if requisite, in
boats, escorts, guides, and safe-conducts, with the obligation to
render especial account of them.
Moreover be the treasurer of this Council and his successors
enjoined-out of the limitation fund set apart for ambassadors,-
to give said ambassador's agents, on the expiration of the three
months after his departure hence, at the commencement of the
fourth month, the salary appointed him for one month, namely
150 golden ducats, so that he may always have the money for one
month in advance, and thus successively from month to month.
Ayes, 26. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
March 28.
700. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
Motion made in the Senate for the commission to be given to
v. lxvii. p. 101. Giacomo Soranzo, ambassador to the King of England instead of
their most beloved Noble Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., elected Patriarch
of Aquileia.
1551.
337
1551.
To proceed with speed to England to the King's Court, and
after obtaining all necessary information from his predecessor's
secretary, who has remained there, to present the credentials to the
King, and congratulate him on his welfare. To tell his Majesty
that persevering in their ancient friendship and goodwill, they
have appointed him ambassador resident there, in the room of
Daniel Barbaro. To recommend the Venetian merchants in England
to his Majesty, and to render them always all necessary assistance
and favour in his power, for the benefit of their traffic and
merchandise.
-
To visit all his Majesty's councillors, presenting credentials from
the Signory and performing such offices with them as shall make
known to them the Signory's goodwill and affection, and he is to
apply to them about all such business as he may have to negotiate
there.
March 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 102.
The Secretary, after remaining with him a few days, and having
given him all necessary information, to return home, but to leave such
writings as required, according to the accompanying letter, addressed
by them to him.
Is not to omit paying such visits as becoming to the other per-
sonages of the Court and Lords of the Council, according to their
respective grades and authority, so as by these civilities to render
them well inclined towards the affairs of the Signory and of their
merchants.
Whilst at that Court is to endeavour, by all possible application
and vigilance, to endeavour to learn its negotiations, and the events
of the realm, giving especial notice of them daily.
If on his way to England he should find himself in any place with
any prince or personage whom he might, for the interests of the
Signory, think it fit to visit, he will not fail to perform such offices
with them as becoming, according to their respective grades.
Have appointed him for his expenses 150 golden ducats per month,
and give him four months salary in advance; also 150 ducats, at the
rate of six livres and four soldi per ducat, for the purchase of horses ;
30 ducats for coverings and trunks; and 20 ducats for a courier, as
usual.
Ayes, 196. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
701. The DOGE and SENATE to ALVISE AGOSTINI, Secretary
from the Signory with the King of England.
Are sending their nobleman Giacomo Soranzo to reside as ambas-
sador at the Court of the King of England, and to visit his Majesty's
councillors and other lords. To give him such information as
necessary for the Signory's interests, and leave him the writings
required for the Embassy. To return to their presence, they being
satisfied with his diligence in writing to them since the departure
of their ambassador [Daniel Barbaro].
Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
Ayes, 196.
[Italian.]
5.
Y
338
1551.
1551.
April 4.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 104,
tergo.
May.
MS. in the
Venetian
Archives.
Succession to
the Crown of
England.
702. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from France, dated 9th March, the King was at Blois,
where an ambassador had arrived from the King of England on
account, it was said, of difficulties relating to Scotland.
Ayes, 144. Noes, 37. Neutrals, 9.
[Italian.]
1551, April 30.
Venice.
703. REPORT by the most noble Messer DANIEL BARBARO
(afterwards Patriarch elect of Aquileia) of his Legation in
ENGLAND, delivered in the Senate in the month of May
1551 [on parchment].*
Considers as a very sure proof of the wisdom of the Venetian
Republic, their rejection of whatever redounds more to the benefit
of the Sovereign than of the people, or of what does not maintain
equality, and that whatever is found to be good in the polity of
other commonwealths should be all condensed, enjoined, and
observed, in that of Venice; and amongst the other means adopted
to obtain this result, he is of opinion that one of the most praise-
worthy is the law whereby the Signory's envoys on their return
from foreign missions are bound to give account to the Senate of
what they find worthy of notice in the domestic and foreign
policy of the powers to whom they have been accredited.
In obedience to this law, will acquaint the Senate, as briefly as he
can, with what he could learn of the government of England during
his eighteen months' residence there, bearing chiefly in mind the
three points of religion, law, and soldiery.
The country is at present subject to the King of England by
right, as the eldest hereditary male heir to the crown. In default
of the male line it passes to the female line; but as the sovereignty
is undivided, the eldest daughter becomes sole heir; or to the next
of kin, should there be no daughters.
Besides the succession and heirship, the consent of the Lords and
Commons is requisite, so that, before the King's coronation, the
people are solemnly asked thrice whether they approve of the King-
elect; and the election being confirmed unanimously, the confirmed
King takes oath to observe the laws; and is thus crowned, con-
secrated, anointed, and hailed King. It is indeed true that, after
the confirmation, the King may have to quell insurrection on the
part of the nobility, should they consider themselves in any way
wronged, as they are many in number, and consider themselves no
less noble than their Sovereign; but ordinarily the people love
their King, and put up with anything to retain him (per con-
servarlo), especially when he keeps the promises made them.
* The delivery of this "Report" to the College is alluded to at p. 98 of the late Mr.
Turnbull's Calendar, thus:
"This day, Signor Daniel Barbaro has had his first audience of the Seigniory, and is
understood to have reported very honourably of the King's Majesty and their Lordships."
The Venetians made their reports first to the College, and then to the Senate. The
report to the Senate was probably made on the 1st or 2nd of May 1551.
1551.
339
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
Character of
Edward VI.
If the King comes to the crown at mature age, the government is
conducted by his Majesty in person and by the Lords and Commons
who sit in Parliament. If a minor, as at present, they give him
governors or protectors, though at present this title of Protector has
become generally odious, the uncle of the present King having been
deprived of it, for the reasons written in the reporter's letter to the
Senate, dated 6th October 1549; in addition to which, it was the
Henry VIII.'s intention of the present King's father to leave the care of his son
not to one individual, but to several persons with equal authority,
although this was not practised, owing to the neglect of many or to
the extreme diligenza et curiosità of one alone, who, in his
(Barbaro's) time, ruled everything, whence arose endless confusion.
will.
Laws.
The King's
Bench.
The late King had considered the great danger which threatened
the kingdom in case the nobility maintained the power it then
possessed; and also that it was not safe to give his son, who at the
time of his death was ten years old, in ward to a kinsman; so first
of all, by strange modes, he chose to depress the nobility, leaving
them their titles and depriving them of all jurisdiction, so that
there is neither duke nor lord in the whole realm who can by law
put any one to death, nor who derives his entire revenue from the
places of which he is lord.
To secure his son and the crown, the late King also gave equal
authority to sixteen [regents?], not making any of them chief,
that they might rule the ward and the realm; which was in truth
well judged, had not all his orders, by some misfortune unknown to
the reporter, been altered after his death, so that his last will and
testament was published in another form than the true one, and
everything is going daily from bad to worse, nor does aught remain,
save the reputation of the present King, who is of a good dis-
position, and the whole realm hopes the best from him, as he is
handsome, affable, of becoming stature, seems to be liberal, com-
mences interesting himself about public business, and in bodily
exercises, literary studies, and knowledge of languages, appears to
surpass his comrades and competitors as also his own years, in
number 14.
<ING
Coming now to the three things which constitute the foundation
of commonwealths, will treat first of the administration of justice.
The laws of England, called "common," are observed in part
according to ancient usage, partly taken from civil law, and
partly enacted by the parliaments. In like manner as these laws
are various and diverse, so are the awards various and diverse, and
they are administered in certain places called "courts," and at
certain times of the year, and juridical days (giorni giuridici),
called "terms."
The first and principal court is called the King's Bench, where
four judges-jurists (giudici jurisperiti) sit "pro tribunali," the
first of whom is called the Chief Justice (il giudice capitale) of all
England. These judges constitute the court of judicature for
criminal cases, such as lese-Majesty, homicide, violation of women,
* Le leggi d'Inghilterra, che comuni si chiamano, sono parte osservate per antica
usanza, parte prese dalla ragione civile, parte statuite nelli parlamenti.
Y 2
340
1551.
1551.
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
BARBARO'S theft, arson, and in short, any transgression perpetrated by force,
as anything done against the Majesty of the Crown is considered an
act of violence. The formulas of actions, therefore, and such pro-
cesses as appertain to that Bench, are called the placets of the
Crown.
Mode of trial
by jury.
Torture.
The Common
Pleas.
The mode of judging, is as follows: whenever any of the aforesaid
misdemeanors occur, 12 men of the province where it took place
are summoned in the King's name to make inquiry about the
crimes committed there; and to them all prosecutors have recourse,
and after being sworn to tell the truth make their complaint
in form of a charge (in forma di un libello) called "indictment,"
containing a list of the witnesses, evidence and proofs. After
mature consideration of the charge (libello), if the 12 consider it
inadmissible, they tear it up immediately; but if admitted, they
send it to the judge inscribed thus, "true bill," that is to say,
veracious charge ("billia vera," cioè libello verace). The judge then
endeavours to arrest the culprit, to whom the charge is read on his
appearing in court, the witnesses and other proofs being produced;
after which evidence the prisoner defends his cause without counsel
(avvocati), because in capital causes the English do not admit counsel
(avvocati). If the culprit denies the fact, 12 others are then
summoned, he being at liberty to reject them, but if accepted, they
are sworn to speak the truth; and after drawing aside and dis-
cussing the process, if they acquit the prisoner (il reo) of the
charge he is immediately released, but if pronounced guilty, they
send him back to the judge, who enquires whether he has any-
thing else to say in his defence, which may be the case, should he
have been already acquitted of the charge, or should he have the
royal pardon and can show it in writing, or that he be in Holy
Orders; but if he has no other defence, they then pass sentence
according to the criminal code; so that if convicted of high treason,
he is hanged, and after dismembering and disembowelling him, the
parts being committed to the flames, they finally cut off the head,
the body being quartered; women being burnt for this crime. Other
malefactors make atonement on the gibbet.
This mode of judicature appears to the English perfectly just and
safe, as they affirm that torture is a violent and compulsory method,
which often induces a man to confess what he has never committed,
nor ever thought of doing; and injures both the body and life of an
innocent person; and they are also of opinion that it is more just
to release a guilty person than to condemn one who is innocent.
This is the Criminal Code.
There is another Court, called "of the Common Pleas," in which
four justices sit, being installed with great ceremony; and the
principal one is styled Justice of the Bench. This Court decides
civil disputes, not such as regard the Crown, but those relating to
the Lords and Commons, as for instance, tenements, land, debts,
damages, and other private injuries.
Serjeants-at-
The suits of this Court are pleaded by certain barristers-elect
law and barris- (certi avvocati eletti), called serjeants-at-law (servitori della legge)
ters.
They have no grade of LL.D., like those who study civil law in the
universities, but have the grade of serjeants-at-law (servitori della
1551.
341
The Exchequer.
1551.
BARBARO'S legge), which is the special grade of those who have studied the
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
common law (leggi proprie) of England, nor in other countries is it
customary to confer an especial degree for the laws of that kingdom.
The barristers (avvocati) are made with great ceremonies, which it
would be long to narrate; and what with banquets and presents
they each spend some 1,600 crowns on receiving their degree,
though on the other hand it is true that in no other place do
barristers (avvocati) gain more than they do in England, both because
they are few in number there, and also because none others can be
employed. Moreover, very great respect is paid them, in proof of
which they do not doff their white coifs even in the King's presence;
and from these barristers the justices are generally chosen. When
the case is pleaded, which the English denominate "issue of the
action" (essito nell' attione), should the dispute be de jure, the
matter is decided by the justices (giustitiarij); if de facto, they
summon 12 men from the site where the dispute arose, and after
putting them upon oath, civil disputes between the nobility and
the people (i grandi e la plebe) are decided according to their
verdict.
The regal
power.
The Court of
Chancery.
The King of England, besides the privy purse and treasurers of
the household, has also the public fisque (il fisco publico), called
Exchequer, which the reporter believes to be a corruption from the
Latin word "statarius," as the entire grandeur of the realm is based
on money. In this Court four judges sit, with the title of Barons
of the Exchequer, the chief of whom is eminently learned in the
law (giurisperito). There also sit constantly the chamberlains
(camarlinghi), the auditors (i ragionati), the tellers (i collettori dell'
entrate), the clerks of the pells (i notari), the scriveners? (scrivani),
who transact the affairs of the Exchequer (che procurano le cose
del fisco), in which no slight disputes arise between Sovereign and
subject, so that a person once involved with the Exchequer, can
with great difficulty and loss of time succeed, and only after having
in the first place well emptied his purse, according to the proverb,
Quod non capit Christus, capit fiscus." Judgment is given
throughout according to the common law (legge comunale), and
the terms are kept according to the four seasons of the year, as in
the other courts. The revenues of the Exchequer are reserved, not
so much for the civil list of the Sovereign, as for the public profit,
because they are crown property; but of these and other revenues
more will be said hereafter.
،،
The King of England exercises two powers (due potestà); the
one, royal and absolute, the other, ordinary and legal. With regard
to the first, in cases where the laws of England are either too severe,
or require a certain equity, the Lord Chancellor represents the
person of the King, with regard to distinguishing the cases, and
his decisions are as valid as if they issued from the King's own
mouth.
The Lord Chancellor has a court of his own, called the Court of
Chancery, or the Court of Conscience (il foro di coscienza), where
sentence is passed, not entirely de jure, but according to a sort of
equity, and the proofs of the cases are not referred to the twelve,
but to the Chancellor himself, who, after examining the witnesses,
342
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S Secundum allegata et probata, gives his judgment. Under the
REPORT ON Lord Chancellor is the Vice-Chancellor, called "Master of the Rolls,"
and his assessors.
ENGLAND
(May.)
The Star
Chamber.
Certain cases of extraordinary importance are moreover referred
to a place called the Star Chamber, where the King appears in
person. In this chamber there are always in attendance certain
jurists called Referendaries, or Masters of Requests, who receive the
petitions and complaints of the oppressed poor, which are presented to
the King, and heard and determined in a place, called the Whitehall.
Matters of importance, however, relating to the Sovereign or the
people, are referred to the King's Privy Council, consisting, as
decreed by the late King Henry, of sixteen great personages; and
Proclamations. whatever they decide there is published by edicts and proclamations,
which have the vigour and force of laws, provided they do not
extend to capital punishment, or to the disinheritance of any one;
or that they be not in effect repugnant to the ancient statutes.
Those who disregard these proclamations are imprisoned, but not
for life, and the decrees remain in force at the King's pleasure, and
during his reign; and this is what relates to the King's royal and
absolute power.
With regard to that which is ordinary and legitimate, it is
subject to the municipal civil laws of England, enacted by all the
estates of the realm, which assembled together form the Parliament,
as follows. When the King has determined to make new laws and
to repeal the old ones, or to lay on some tax, or in short to
regulate the whole State, he by certain writs (brevi) addressed to
the lords and bishops of the realm, desires them to be ready in a
certain place on a certain day, to treat matters concerning the
common weal. He also desires the lords lieutenants of the counties
to elect two plebeians, styled by them burgesses, from every city and
castle to come to the Parliament in lieu of the people. And as it was
dangerous to convoke the entire population at large, as their con-
tradictory opinions might give rise to tumult and sedition, the
number is thus limited, and amounts to about 300, so that all may
pass off quietly. In the next place, each county elects two men of
the equestrian order, who are called knights of Parliament (soldati del
parlamento), and answer for all the inhabitants, both patricians and
plebeians; so that the entire number consists of two parts or classes,
one of the lords and bishops, the other of the burgesses.
When they are assembled in the place appointed for this purpose,
which is very vast and extremely handsome, after celebration of the
mass (dopo celebrato il sacrificio-sic) the King makes the Lord
Chancellor state the causes which have rendered it necessary to
assemble the Parliament. In the next place, the King desires the
inferior order, that of the burgesses, to elect as usual an able and
eloquent member to announce their suits (cause) and grievances
(gravami). This mover (costui che propone) is styled Speaker of the
Parliament, because as president of that order he prescribes the mode
and place for speaking (il modo ed il luogo del parlare). These orders
being separated one from the other, they commence regulating matters,
as aforesaid; and first of all they inscribe in a book whatever has to
be treated, after which they read the book three times in three days,
Summonses to
Parliament.
Elections.
Mode of holding
Parliament.
1551.
343
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
Convocation.
The Privy
Council.
· Popular
complaints.
(C
one day always intervening between each reading, for the purpose of
giving time to the House in question to consult. The book having
been read, any member who pleases is at liberty to speak, but in
turn, one after the other, nor is it allowable to interrupt any one
speaking. The arguments on both sides having been heard they
proceed to vote, and all those who assent to a motion exclaim
Aye, aye," those who reject it exclaiming "No, no." If the
number of one side is doubtful the Speaker counts it one by
one, and thus the majority conquers the minority, and the delibera-
tion being noted in a bill (libro), is sent by three or four members
selected from that House (ordine) to the Upper House, wherein the
whole affair is discussed in like manner. If the bill (libro) is dis-
approved they immediately tear it, if approved, it is kept until the
last day of Parliament; when in presence of the King all bills of the
sort (tutti quei libri) are read; and if the King assents to them
they all become so many lasting and immutable laws; but if any
of the bills do not please the King, they then say that the King
will consider, and the matter is referred to another time. And this
is altogether the routine of the Parliament.
The English have also another assembly, styled "Convocation,'
in which bishops and ecclesiastics alone sit; they treat nothing but
religious matters, and their decisions are styled "provincial con-
stitutions" (costituzione provinciale), the motions being made, and
the business being transacted in the same form as that of Parlia-
ment; and the mover of the motions is styled Prolocutor of the
Convocation.
""
These parliaments, when held juridically, are calculated to allay
all tumult and sedition; they are useful and secure, as measures
adopted by popular opinion and consent, because they render the
royal and absolute power, legitimate and ordinary, all members of
parliament having full liberty.
The office of the Councillors is to mediate between the people and
the Sovereign, reminding him that he should keep the promises made
on his election; but at present there are many abuses (disordini)
in this system, first, because many things which ought to be referred
to Parliament are decided in the King's Privy Council, as was the
treaty of peace lately contracted with the French, and especially
the restitution of Boulogne, which the country felt bitterly; and
also because the petitions and complaints of the people being
manifold, Parliament, though always promised them, is put off
from time to time by a thousand excuses, because the government
(i signori) have no wish to keep their promises; and even if they
do assemble Parliament, they commence with the despatch of such
business as turns to their own profit and advantage, and that being
accomplished, they adjourn the two houses, and thus cajole the
kingdom.
Such is the general legislature of England, nor is it necessary to
give especial account of the officials who inspect the country, as it
would be tedious, and also because, except in name, there is no
difference between the syndics of Italy and other regions, and those
of England; but he will tell of a certain legislation practised in
344
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
London and some other towns with regard to municipal government,
and the administration of justice to the populace.
In 1181, when Richard Coeur de Lion, with other princes, wished
Municipal to make the crusade against the Infidels and provide funds for that
government of purpose, the people in London supplied him with a considerable
sum, on which account, many privileges were conceded to the
Londoners, including that of the government of the city, which then
commenced having the form of a republic, and constantly proceed-
ing from good to better, became noble and wealthy. The whole
The Companies. population is divided into "companies," termed in Venice "schools
Apprentices.
Election of
Lord Mayor.
""
or fraternities (scuole o fraggie), of artificers; as, for instance, all the
woolmen purchase from the King the privilege of forming com-
panies amongst themselves, holding their meetings, forming their
statutes (mariegole), regulating the price of cloths, preventing others
from exercising the trade, and so forth, in order that everything
may be conducted methodically; nor can any one enter these
companies, until he has served those of the trade during six or
seven years. These individuals are called "apprentices," signifying
that their lot is equal, though compared to servants, as whilst learn-
ing the trade they serve the masters, who exercise jurisdiction over
them as if they were slaves, but when the years of servitude
expire, they become ipso jure citizens of London, although some
others obtain the denizenship sooner.
Women likewise take the same service, and from all parts of the
kingdom a great multitude of people flock to London, and there
acquire wealth, honours, and matrimonial alliances; and what has
been said about woollen manufactures is applicable to all the other
trades.
>>
WARN
Then the whole city, including noblemen and new men, elect their
senate, their "Podestà" or Lord Mayor, and two tribunes or
Viscounts, called by them Sheriffs, all of whom are for the purpose
of administering justice (dar ragione) to the people.*
*
CC
The city is divided into 24 parts, called wards, each of which is
ruled by its senior and most respectable (più onorato) member,
styled alderman," signifying "old man or "senator." From
these 24 the mayor is elected, long before he assumes the office,
which is annual, nor may it be held during more than five con-
secutive years. On his entry, he takes oath before the Chief Baron
of the Exchequer to observe the laws faithfully; he issues a public
invitation, and with very great pomp and magnificence gives a feast,
at which upwards of a thousand persons are seen sitting at table,
at one and the same time, being waited on with marvellous silence
and method (ordine). He robes in scarlet, his sword is carried
before him, and he appears in public in great state. On completing
the term of his magistracy, he is knighted, but loses the title of
Lord," though during her life his wife is styled "Lady," which
signifies “gentlewoman" (signora), and she also dresses differently
from the other [city?] women.
،،
* Che si chiama Mer, cioè Maggiore; due Tribuni detti Visconti, et da loro schivi
(sic); e tutti questi sono per dar ragione al popolo.
1551.
345
1551.
BARBARO'S
Education.
The like offices are also held in the other cities, but not with so
REPORT ON much dignity, save in the city of York, which is on a par with
ENGLAND
(May.)
London.
The jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor embraces many things which
it would be long to enumerate, but it does not extend beyond certain
boundaries within the city. He punishes certain crimes, appoints
the town watch, provides for an ample supply of victuals, and in
short, rules the city.
Religious
opinion.
*
This is the close of what relates to the administration of justice;
and although he could narrate many other things about the magis-
trates both of the towns, villages, and boroughs, yet as he has
written diffusely about them elsewhere, and as it would be but
little to the purpose to allude to them on this occasion, he will
merely say that the greater part of the offices of the realm of
England are the same as those instituted for the like purposes in
other countries, the difference being merely that of names.
Will now discuss the matter of religion, premising it by a few
words about the education (disciplina) of children in England, as a
matter of importance, for legislation and justice.
On the death of their husbands, mothers, however old they may
be, re-marry, and take the greater part of the property elsewhere,
neglecting their children, and many of them, even those who are
wealthy, desert the cities, and go and reside with their families in
the villages, where they have no opportunity for instructing their
children, still less for sending them, as they used to do, to the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where there are many
colleges, founded by deceased kings and noblemen, for the benefit of
students, who, residing there not a little at their ease, devoted
themselves to literature, and became learned and virtuous; but
now, few quit their homes, and those few are plebeians. The pro-
perty goes to the eldest sons, the juniors being as it were their
servants, and if not utterly idle, they take service with the King or
become soldiers; but they no longer acquire learning, although they
get more pay, because at present the care taken heretofore in this
important matter of education is at an end, as the reporter will
moreover state in another place.
Religion is as it were the heart of man on which life depends,
an excellent principle, as seen in all republics and governments
(especially in monarchies), whereby to regulate (moderare) men's
minds, and make them acknowledge God as the giver of kingdoms
(stati) and victories. This is not the case with the English,
amongst whom there is nothing more fickle (incostante) than
religious opinion, for today they do one thing and tomorrow
another; and now those who have accepted the new creed (la
nuova legge) as well as the others are dissatisfied, as shown by the
insurrection of '49; and in fact, had they now a leader, although
they have been grievously chastised, they would again rise. Ŏn
the other hand the Londoners are more inclined to obedience,
because they are nearer the Court. In short, the English err in
* The work here alluded to is not known to exist either in print or manuscript.
346
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
Marriages of
Henry VIII.
their religion, and in their opinions about the faith, the ceremonies
of the Church, and obedience to the Pope; and the origin of so
many evils was Henry VIII., the father of the present King.
Henry had lived twenty years with Catharine, daughter of
Ferdinand King of Spain, and aunt of the present Emperor, she
having first been the wife of Henry's brother Arthur, who married
her at the age of fourteen years, and died five months afterwards.
By Catharine, Henry had a daughter named Mary, now thirty-six
years old; and having no sons, made her heir to the crown; but
discord and a suit at law (lite) about the marriage of Catharine
and Henry having subsequently arisen, the King, after much
strife, having renounced the Pope's authority, repudiated her,
and thereupon immediately married Anna Boleyn, a lady (una
donna) of the court, of whom he was enamoured.
Of her was
born Elizabeth, who is now living, and who is eighteen years
old; wherefore Mary was compelled to renounce her hereditary
rights, with which Elizabeth was invested; and the rage con-
ceived by Henry against the Pope from having had his suit for
divorce rejected, coupled with the evil persuasions of Lord Cromwell
then in very great favour, had such an effect upon him, that he
made Parliament declare him Supreme Head of the Church, after
Supreme Head Christ, in the realms of England (nelle terre Anglicane), where the
The title of
of the Church.
annats, tenths, and dispensations were all assigned to the King;
and those who opposed these measures were beheaded. In the mean-
while the first repudiated wife died, and Anna Boleyn having been
condemned for adultery was beheaded, and next day the King
married his third wife, Jane Seymour, sister of the Protector. Of
her, was born in 1537, Edward VI., who now lives and reigns; and
she died 12 days after the delivery, so that then in '40, Henry took
his fourth wife, Anne, sister of the Duke of Cleves; she also was
repudiated a few months afterwards, and is now living in England
near London on a certain pension. In lieu of Anne, he took
Catharine Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk by the brother's
side; she likewise being beheaded in '42 on a charge of adultery. So
he then came to the sixth (onde alla sesta si venne), by name
Catharine Parr, a widow of not very high birth, who after Henry's
death, having married again, died childless.
In this confusion of wives, so many noblemen and great
personages were beheaded, so much church plunder committed,
and so many acts of disobedience perpetrated, that it may be said
that all that ensued, and is still going on (which to say the truth is
horrible and unheard of)-all, I say, is the penalty of that first sin.
Religious
observances.
Influence of
Bucer.
This detestation of the Pope is now so confirmed that no one,
either of the new or old religion, can bear to hear him mentioned;
and indeed in the Litanies which they sing in Church they say in
English, "From the deceit and tyranny of the Bishop of Rome,
Lord deliver us." However much the Council may be talked of,
England will send no one to it, although the country ought to be
represented there, as it was to the Council that Henry VIII.
appealed with regard to the sentence against his divorce; and
whenever they can suppose that anything is ordained by the
Pontiff, they immediately abrogate it at the suggestion of Bucer,
J
1551.
347
The poor.
1551.
BARBARO'S Who was in very great repute with them, but is now dead, as re-
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
ported to him (Barbaro) on his journey by the Archbishop of Cologne,
with whom he passed Palm-Sunday. The English however eat
fish on Friday and Saturday, and in Lent, for the sake, they say,
of enabling the fishermen and poor people to gain their livelihood;
so that, in order not to act according to the Roman custom, they
purpose changing the Friday and Saturday for two other days
Church revenues.in the week. Of the Church revenues and property they have
made sheer plunder and one enormous act of sacrilege. They
have two Archbishops, one of Canterbury and the other of York.
The former [Thomas Cranmer] is in great repute, as head of the
new religion (nuova legge), and is styled Primate of the Church
(Primate della Chiesa); there being 18 bishoprics under him; but
York has only two; nor are there any other bishoprics. The
Bishops have not much to spend, as their revenues have all beer
The dissolved curtailed. Nothing more is said about the Abbacies, they being
all suppressed and their revenues annexed (incorporate) to the
Crown; some being given to and usurped by the nobility, who
convert them into palaces; furnishing them with the church-
ornaments [when there are any, and rendering them heirlooms in
their families (see Correr MS.)].
Monasteries.
Church cere-
monies.
The Prayer
Book.
The parishes in like manner, which in the reign of Edward III.
were upwards of 40,000, are now but 25,000; from which must
be deducted certain prebendaries bestowed on meritorious persons,
both natives and aliens, who are however not bound to do any
duty, save that of fealty (fedeltà) to the King; and under this
name, the nobility (i signori) have usurped many, incorporating
them with their hereditary possessions. But nothing is so mis-
chievous as the destruction of the Abbacies, which maintained a
great part of the population, were a refuge for the poor, a con-
venience for travellers, and profitable for the Sovereign in time
of war.
And this is the summary of what he can tell about the
disobedience of the English to the Pope, besides their demonstrations
of contempt for him, in paintings, comedies, and in all their
amusements.
With regard to church ceremonies, it is true they have retained
many of them; introducing many new ones, under pretence that
the nature of the times requires this, as some had become idolatrous
and superstitious, because the pastors had not at first opened
their eyes to them.
Now in '48, a book was printed in English, compiled
(composto) by the King's command, by many bishops and lettered
men (litterati), and subsequently confirmed by Parliament; which
book is entitled, "The Public Prayers and Administration of the
Sacraments and Ceremonies." It was then ordered that according
to the precepts (gli ordini) of this book they were to observe the
same form in the churches in England, Wales, and Calais. It mentions
those places, because in Ireland, and the islands subject to England,
where the English tongue is not understood, no obligation is
imposed. In the colleges (study) and universities, such as Oxford
and Cambridge, they allow them to read the prayers, in Greek, Latin,
and Hebrew, to encourage students; but the service of the Lord's
348
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
Baptism.
Marriage.
supper is read nowhere but in English. They officiate in the
churches in the evening and morning; so that all the psalms are
read 12 times annually, and the Testament once, except certain
chapters of the Apocalypse. On holydays (nei di solenni) they read
a compendium of the Litanies without commemoration of saints.
They use bells and organs, but neither altars nor images, nor water,
nor incense (non acqua, non fuoco), nor other Roman ceremonies.
In all the churches on the walls, which are whitened for this
purpose, below the royal arms, they inscribe certain Scriptural
sayings.
Having detailed the mode of officiating in the churches, will pro-
ceed to the administration of the Sacraments. They choose baptism
to be performed in the churches on Sundays and holydays, in the
presence of the sponsors, to whom the minister says a few words,
exhorting them to pray for the infant to be baptized, and to answer
for it. They sign the child with the cross on the breast and head,
plunge it (l'attuffano) thrice in the water, and anoint it; but the
oil is not consecrated either in this or any other Sacrament; and in
case of need, they can baptize at home. They do not administer the
communion before Confirmation, which is in like manner performed
without the consecrated oil. The purification of women is performed
20 days after delivery in the churches, whither the women go to
thank God.
The Communion. On the day before the Communion, or on the day itself, the com-
municants are bound to present themselves to the priest before the
morning service or immediately afterwards, and acquaint him with
their intention, and should any one of them be known to have led an
infamous and scandalous life, the priest warns him not to go to the
Communion until after he has declared his repentance and deter-
mined to mend, making reparation for his offences and promising to
do so.
That is ordained in the book, but not observed, having been
done for appearance sake. When they communicate the priests
wear their surplices; they dismiss the non-communicants from the
choir (coro), take as much bread and wine as may suffice, and if the
wine in the chalice is not enough they mix it with spring water.
The bread is coarser than what is used at Venice, and of circular
form without images; and they make a general confession, which is
preceded by a very long homily (lunghissime parole).
They choose one person in each family to communicate every
Sunday; so certain merchants treat it as a joke, and are in the habit
of sending one of their servants; and the parish priests do this to
obtain alms.
They have also ordained the solemn form of marriage to be per-
formed in church by the priest, the bride and bridegroom being
present. They allow the priests to marry, and their primate, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, has a wife; this being tolerated even in
foreigners, such as Bernardino di Siena, who last year had a son.
Even extreme unction is administered with unconsecrated oil, and
if the danger is imminent they tell the sick man that if he repents
heartily and affirms that Christ died for him, he has then com-
municated in the spirit, although he do not take the Sacrament
through the mouth.
1551.
349
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
Vestments.
The two first offences against these regulations are punished at
the option of the judge, but the third subjects the culprit to perpetual
imprisonment. These and other similar things were done and
ordained in the year '48; but then in '49, by royal authority,
another book was published and confirmed in Parliament,con taining
the form of conferring holy orders; nor do they differ from those
of the Roman Catholic religion, save that in England they take
oath to renounce the doctrine and authority of the Pope.
They read certain other "lessons" (lezioni) from Scripture, by
authority of the [ecclesiastical] ministry, and use sacerdotal garments;
Bishop Hooper. and therefore they lately condemned Bishop Hooper (il vescovo
Uper), who would not consent either to the Sacraments or to the
habits, saying that they are ceremonies of the Old Testament, and a
Jewish and idolatrous observance.
Preaching.
Sects.
The Army.
Has nothing more to say about the ceremonies of the Anglican
Church, and is at a loss to narrate the contradictory opinions enter-
tained in England about the faith, both with regard to the most
Holy Trinity and the Angels, as also about the creation of the world,
the humanity of Christ, and the efficacy of the Sacraments; for
as they have perpetrated many excesses, and consequently incurred
the just excommunication and malediction of the Church, he believes
that all the rest of the sins committed by them, through their
heretical dogmas, the losses suffered by them, and the fear they feel,
without knowing its cause, are nothing but a penitential sin (un
peccato penale) and a conflicting sentiment, imposed on them as a
divine judgment. No one preaches or lectures publicly in theology,
until after he has been examined by the archbishop, or approved
and sworn by the bishop. It hence ensues that without further
law or statute, the preachers and public professors of theology
propound to the people one sole doctrine, according to the will of
their superiors, so that the greater part of their sermons and lessons
(lezioni) consists in abusing the Pope, in preaching the repudiation
of wives, and maintaining whatever their masters choose. For
these causes, they lately condemned the Bishop of Winchester, a very
worthy man, and who led the best of lives; they deprived him of
his bishopric, which was perhaps his greatest sin, as it yielded him
a rental of 12,000 crowns; and some other bishops who will not
conform to their opinions are to be sacrificed in like manner.
In
addition to this, there are divers sects all over the country, where
there may be said to reign the confusion of tongues, a dissolute
license, a manifest scourge from God, by giving refuge to all the
fugitive apostates from France, Italy, and Germany; and had the
ambassador to give a name to their heresies, as the followers of
the chief of them consider the mass idolatrous by its consecration,
and as they do not admit the real presence, he thinks they might be
styled Sacramentarians. This much will suffice with regard to
religion, on account of which they had the audacity to enter the
reporter's house, in violation of ambassadorial privileges, seizing the
priest who was celebrating mass for him at home, as written by
the ambassador to the Doge in his letter, dated 24th July last.
Will now pass to the offensive and defensive military power of
350
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S the English, and show how they are inclined towards their neigh-
REPORT ON bours and the other powers.
ENGLAND
(May.)
The military discipline of the English is according to the fashion
of their forefathers; for, immediately on war being declared, the
forces are mustered by the royal command in each of the counties,
originally 39 in number, to which 12 were subsequently added
from Wales, each being ruled by a nobleman, styled the King's
Lord Lieutenant, appointed for one year, to enforce the royal
commands.
Musters.
Archers.
The villages, castles, and all the other places, send the whole of
their male population capable of bearing arms, from the age of
15 years to 40, and from 16 to 60, who are all mustered on a
spacious plane, where they perform their military exercise with
such arms as they possess, in the presence of the commanders (magi-
strati) appointed for this purpose. The stoutest and most robust
are then selected, and England has in fact men of strength and well
proportioned; and were they equally able to endure a long run of
fatigue and privations, believes that no militia could equal that
of England.
Of these able-bodied men, some serve on foot, others on horse-
back. Those who are neither tall nor short, but of agile frame, are
mounted, and divided into two classes, one of light-horse, the other
of men-at-arms, consisting for the most part of gentlemen rather
than of others, as they are better able to bear the expense and
to provide themselves with good horses.
Of the light cavalry, part are armed in the Albanian fashion, and
the others with a shirt of mail and a sallet (mezza testa), and a
light long spear, and they use any sort of horse, as they never
charge, save in flank, and they are called demi-lances (lancette).
The infantry is formed of taller men and divided into four sorts.
The first is of archers, who abound in England and are very
excellent, both by nature and from practice, so that the archers
alone have often been seen to rout armies of 30,000 men. The
second is of bill-men, their weapon being a short thick staff (asta),
with an iron like a peasant's hedging bill, but much thicker and
heavier than what is used in the Venetian territories. With this,
they strike so violently as to unhorse the cavalry; and it is made
short because they like close quarters. The third are the harque-
busiers, who are good for little, as only a few of them have had
practice south of the Channel; and this sort, together with the
fourth, which consists of pike-men, has been more recently added to
the ancient militia of England.
Of these four sorts of militia, they can raise an army of 100,000
men, 20,000 of whom will be very excellent archers, 20,000 cavalry
(of whom scarcely the fourth part men-at-arms), and the rest
harquebusiers and pikes; but on no occasion, or very rarely indeed,
are they in the habit of mustering this entire force, because if they
The French and make war on the French the northern counties do not stir; if
the Scots.
opposed to the Scots, the southern provinces are not mustered; but
if threatened from several quarters, they then appoint four com-
manders, one for each of the four parts of the kingdom, so that
M
1551.
351
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
The Navy.
from whatever point the enemy may come they meet a commander-
in-chief and his army.
Confirms what he stated previously about the father of
Edward VI., who, at the age of 25 years declared war on the
Henry VIII.'s French, and took Terouenne and Tournai. After worsting the French
successes.
(and he had 60,000 paid troops in France and England), he routed
the Scots and killed their king, who with that opportunity had
invaded England. At that time he had 6,000 archers in Spain to
aid Ferdinand [the Catholic] in his attack on Navarre, and the
English fleet numbered 120 sail; in addition to which, many powers
have been assisted with men and money by the English, who, if they
employed foreign soldiery, paid dearly for them.
The military commanders (magistrati) are as follows:- The
captain-general fills the first post; the second is held by the
marshal, who in the general's absence, fills his place; the other is the
provost of all the cavalry (il proposto di tutta la cavalleria); and
there is the treasurer, the master of the militia, the master of the
ordnance, the colonel, and many other inferior officers whom it would
be tedious to enumerate.
The infantry is divided into companies of 100 men, who have
their captain, lieutenant, ensign, and serjeant. The cavalry is also
divided into squadrons of 100, and officered in like manner. The
cavalry use trumpets, the infantry use drums; and legitimate war
Mode of battle. is always announced by a herald. When the army takes the
field, the camp is fortified with waggons and barricades (impedi-
menti), and should the enemy be near at hand they dig trenches,
with earthworks (argini di terra), and place the artillery in suitable
position. They have two sorts of watchmen, one of cavalry, called
scout (scolta), the other of infantry, called sentry. On receiving
notice of the enemy's approach, the whole camp immediately raises
the English cry of "Bows! bows!" which is the nation's last hope,
and they all rush to a spacious place called the camp square (la
piazza del campo), and there await orders.
In the camp they also pass sentences, both capital and civil, but
summarily and "de plano," over which the marshal of the army
presides, with the assistance of certain lawyers, and this tribunal is
styled the court-martial (la corte della guerra).
Will now tell of the navy of England, whose position being
insular save where it touches Scotland, the English, therefore, by
reason of their numerous harbours and islands, have a very great
quantity both of ships and sailors, and are very powerful at sea
(e nel mare vagliono assai). In case of need they can fit out 500
vessels, of which upwards of 100 are decked; and many men-of-war
(e molte per uso della guerra) are stationed permanently in several
places. There are also some 20 ships which they call "galleons,” not
very high (non molto alti) [out of the water?] but long and wide
(ma lunghi e grossi), with which, in the late wars, they fought all
their battles.
They do not use galleys, by reason of the very great strength
of the tides in the ocean, so that as the reporter was told by the
Prior of Capua [Leone Strozzi], when he went with six galleys to
352
1551.
F
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
The Admiralty.
Pirates.
"Wreck of the
sea."
Naval Com-
manders.
Fortresses.
fetch the Queen of Scotland,* the navigation of those seas differs
from that of all others, as unless the tide be favourable the wind is
of very little use. On the shores the sea rises to the height of a
tall house, so quickly that it is marvellous; for it chokes (ingorga)
the mouths of the rivers and swells them to a distance of 70 or 80
miles up stream, so that two galleys are always kept in readiness
for whatever may occur.
The naval affairs are directed by the Lord High Admiral, one of
the chief officers of state, on whom many magistracies and offices
connected with the fleet depend; and they issue awards from a
tribunal of their own called the Admiralty Court, whose juris-
diction embraces maritime affairs exclusively, and what occurs on
the high seas, they taking cognizance of whatever relates to piracy
and shipwrecks; and their sentences are based on civil law, and the
president of the court is a lawyer.
The punishment inflicted on corsairs is to hang them in such a
way that their toes well nigh touch the water, so they are generally
hanged on the banks of rivers and on the sea shore.
The claims on wrecked property are in like manner decided
according to the laws of England, which decree that such as is
stranded belongs either to the King or to the proprietor of the soil
near the shore if the King concede it but with regard to the
other things, the laws are more humane, even in the case of
enemies, as all aliens, and especially merchants, are fully authorised
to go all over the kingdom; and if of a hostile nation, enquiry is
made first of all how Englishmen are treated in their country, and
as they do by others so is it done by them. In conclusion, all men
registered for military or naval service, are exempt by law from all
taxes on real and personal property (sono essenti dalle leggi quanto
appartiene a tutte le possessioni, et beni, tanto mobili, quanto
stabili), and live under the King's protection; but touching naval
commanders, Barbaro would be at a loss to name a pair, but says
there is the Earl of Warwick [John Dudley], who is sage and
brave, and the Privy Seal [John Russell Earl of Bedford], for land
service, but does not know how good they would prove at sea, nor
what other admirals England could supply.§
This is the entire form of the military discipline of the English
[on sea and land], and would be perfectly devised if the soldiers.
were suitably exercised before being required for active service,
as is the case with the sailors, who constantly keep the sea clear
from Flemish and Breton corsairs, and especially from the Scots,
who, being very needy, observe neither peace nor truce, but for
all that, they dare not molest the English villages (luoghi) and
harbours.
Will now give an abridged account of the fortresses of England,
* In July and August 1550 (see Foreign Calendar, pp. 51, 53).
† Se il Re lo concede, query, if the land was granted by the crown.
"Ma nelle altre cose," goods found at sea; flotson?
§ Ma quanto aspetta ad huomini da capo Io non ne saprei nominare un paro. Evvi il
Conte di Warwick, savio et animoso, et il Privisillo da terra. Ma da mare non so, come
sariano buoni, ne qual altro ci fosse.
1551.
353
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May).
Berwick.
Dover.
Isle of Wight.
The Scotch
Borders.
derived from a distinct and detailed description obtained by him
with great difficulty and at great cost.
Towards the German ocean (verso il mare di Fiandra) within
Scotland, is a small mud-built village on the sea, called Lauder*
[Lanfort], the only one remaining of the eight captured by the
English at the beginning of the last war.
They keep a captain and 50 men there, with artillery and
ammunition for its defence.
Coasting thence towards England the frontier town of Berwick
presents itself. It is fortified in the modern fashion, and the works
are still in progress; does not believe it to be strong, compared
with the fortresses of Italy, as may be ascertained by the drawing.†
The place is guarded by a colony of Englishmen, established there
a long while since; there are some thousand men within, and it is
provided with everything necessary. The governor has a guard of
400 men, who are his own servants, so that the King spends little
for them. The governor is one of the chief noblemen of England,
and he has also 200 demi-lances (lancette). Off this coast is Holy
Island, where there is a stronghold (una rocca) built on a rock,
facing east and south, ill designed, but well supplied; where, in
time of war, an admiral of the North resides, with an amount
of vessels at the King's option; but in time of peace the place is
held by a captain with only 40 men.
Proceeding thence along the coast as far as Dover (the ferry-port
from Calais), there is no fortress where the King need spend anything
for garrisons, as the inhabitants of the territory perform that office
and burn beacons on certain eminences, as a signal for mustering the
forces immediately. Dover is strong, solely from its position and
very extensive seaview, and by reason of certain casemates (caverne),
where they keep the guns commanding the harbour, as the castle,
being very high, cannot defend it. In this place, they keep a captain
who remains below, and a warden who resides in the castle, the
two together having but 100 men, as all the inhabitants of the town
keep guard themselves. All persons bound for England from
Boulogne or Calais, make this passage as the shortest, the distance
being 30 or 40 miles.
After weathering the head-land of England, proceeding along
the southern coast, the Isle of Wight presents itself, the garrison
consisting of a governor with but few troops, the local militia
sufficing; and it is provided with supplies of every sort, the place
being important, and the defence of the whole southern coast,
as far as the headland of Cornwall, which is 300 miles from Dover
by land, and the broadest part of the island.
Having made the point of Cornwall on the Irish Channel, along
the coast to the northward there are several harbours, such as
Bristol and Chester, the passage port for Ireland, nor is there any
other stronghold, or very expensive station, the aforesaid regula-
tions sufficing. It is true that at Carlisle on the English border
* See Hume, vol. iii. p. 310. Ed. London 1744.
†The drawing does not exist in the MS.
The Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
5.
Z
354
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May).
Isle of Man.
Calais.
Wool, tin, lead.
towards Scotland, they have a captain with some 200 horse and
foot, and he keeps strict watch over the town as in time of war
it is usual to do, and the peace is always precarious. The
borders of England and Scotland are divided by the river Tweed
and the Cheviot Hills, in which space is Wark (Warch), where there
is a captain with 50 horse and 50 foot. It has been strengthened
lately, as at first it was [merely] a round brick tower, with a poor
castle to the south. It is now enlarged and fortified, so that it has
withstood many bombardments. It is very well defended towards.
the north by the Tweed, and is amply provisioned. Three miles
from Wark is Roxburgh (Roesprun―sic), distant 12 miles from
Berwick (Albarrich), both which places are garrisoned likewise.
In the whole of England there is no other important fortress, as
the chief strength of that realm consists in its inhabitants. The
very famous and extensive (assai nominata e grande) Isle of Man
has no fortress, save its male population, the subjects of the Earl
of Derby, a most noble and very great personage, and much beloved.
In time of war, however, the English have never had any scarcity
either of artillery or military supplies (munizioni), excepting of
late when the affairs of the government were less well directed;
and many fortresses were erected in places which could not be
victualled without an army of 10,000 men, thus causing great
confusion and incredible cost, which will embarrass the country
for many a day. It is true that no better nor more useful expense
could be incurred than that which is now being made for the
custody and defence of Calais; a very strong and most secure
place, where the English have firm footing on this side of the
Channel; but they have need of veterans, and men inured to hard-
ship, because the English know not how to lay siege, nor can they
endure sieges, although in other respects they are most obedient
to their commanders. Such are the means of offence and defence
possessed by England, but the true mode of waging war in either
fashion, is by money, and with the revenues and resources (comodità)
of the country, of which he will now give account.
With regard to the territory, nature has endowed it with great
beauty and productiveness (bontà), and amongst its chief endow-
ments it has very fine and most excellent wool. It is also rich in
metals, such as tin and lead, in very great quantity, so that besides
the home consumption, they export annually to the value of
2,000,000 of gold, to Antwerp, as to a centre whence it is distributed
in various parts. There are animals of every sort, and such a
plenty of pasturage, that 1,000 sheep may be fattened for a crown.
In some places grain abounds, and there would be much more
did not the natives shun fatigue; but they satisfy their wants and
seek nothing more (ma sono accomodati, e non cercano di più).
Wales, and the The principality of Wales, which is given to the King's eldest son,
Welsh.
is very rich in meadow land (campagne), and one of the most
fertile provinces; but by so much the worse cultivated, as the
inhabitants are more ill-disposed (più maligni) than the rest of
the population, and they are given to theft (e dediti ai latrocinj) ;
and the Welsh boast of being the true aboriginal Britons, preserved
from the many invasions of many nations who at various times
1551.
355
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May).
The King's
revenue.
Occupied the island, which was subjugated by the Saxons, the Danes,
the Normans, and others. Although England produces neither wine
nor oil, yet, besides having a sufficient supply of both one and the
other, through the facilities of navigation, they might dispense with
those importations, availing themselves of beer in lieu of wine,
and of butter and rape oil instead of olive-oil. They make salt
in several places, nor is it taxed. They have an abundance of
firewood (fanno legne in abbondanza), and a great quantity of
leguminous produce, saffron, and fish; so that quarters (alloggia-
menti) are very good and convenient, a manifest proof of the
fertility of the country.
mentations.
Besides the King's ordinary revenue, he has all that of the church
property; because, having (as aforesaid) suppressed the monasteries,
the possessions of the monks were confiscated, and in this manner
King Henry doubled his revenue; and the Exchequer-officials in
ordinary being unable so immediately to collect the proceeds of
the ecclesiastical revenue, which was so much increased, he instituted
Court of Aug- the "Court of Augmentations" [to collect the additional revenue]
which thus lapsed to the Crown; nor is this court less litigious
than the first Court of Exchequer, as law-suits arise constantly
about leasehold property. There is the president, styled the
"Chancellor of the Augmentations," with some lawyers and
accountants; some of whom have care of the exchequer, and others
attend to the dispatch of the suits. To this court are added the
possessions of criminals condemned for high treason, who by the
laws of England lose all their property besides their lives; and any
person convicted of homicide or theft forfeits to the lord of the
manor (al patrone del fondo) all his inheritance, one year's rental
being reserved for the King. After the Pope was deprived of all
authority, the rental of one year and one day of all vacant benefices,
as paid heretofore to his Holiness, was assigned to the King by
Parliament, as also the tenth part of the fruits of every year;
Court of First which gave rise to "the Court of First Fruits or annates, and of the
*
Fruits and
Tenths.
Tenths," over which a Chancellor presides with assessors, writers
(scrivani), and officials (ministri), who prevent any one from
taking possession of an ecclesiastical benefice, unless the Court
receive security for the annate and the annual tenth; and they pass
sentence concerning suits of this sort. From the revenues of these
courts, the crown receives annually 800,000 crowns, which include
abbacies, monasteries of friars and nuns, the revenues of the Knights
of Rhodes, the first fruits and the tenths, hospitals, colleges, free
chapels and chantries; although there is much usurpation and
robbery (rapine) on the part of the officials, who do not allow
the whole account to be seen, ill gained property necessarily
making a bad end; and certain great personages are said to have
had as many as 30 prebends.
There is also another source of revenue, which originated from
a good cause but subsequently became iniquitous. In the year
* In the MS. at the Archives, the words are "e se alcuno è convinto ò di furto ò di
omicidio, satisfa." The paragraph in the copy of the report in the Correr Museum runs
thus," et si alcuno è convinto di cmicidio ò di furto satisfa al patrone del fondo de tutta
la eredità riservando al Re il frutto d' un anno."
z 2
356
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May.)
sidered as an
evil.
1220, from the goodwill borne by the people to Henry III., who
having come to the throne poor, and being also obliged to send
troops for the conquest of the Holy Land, it was conceded him
that whenever a feudatory of the King died leaving children
under the age of 21 years, the property and the children were to
be in ward to the King, he, in the meanwhile, enjoying the whole
Wardships con- revenue. These fiefs were many, very few estates being held
otherwise than under the King, so that the system proving very
profitable to the Crown, not only did all future sovereigns exercise
this prerogative, but it was also claimed by all superiors of fiefs,
and moreover confirmed to them by law. But if originally a very
good institution, as the King derived advantage from it, while the
wards were taken charge of and educated like the King's sons and
becoming very able men (uomini valentissimi), so at present is
the thing brought to such a pitch that worse is impossible; for
the marriages of the wards whether male or female are given and
sold at the option of the feudatory, and should they wed without
his consent the cost of their marriage license is trebled; in addition
to which, the wards, on attaining their majority at the age of
21 years, pay a certain fine, called "Relief," to the master of the
fief when they marry; so as almost all these fiefs are held from
the King he derives a very great revenue from them, which is
increasing daily, both from the wards and also through the sale
of the marriages; so that King Henry instituted the so called "Court
of Wards." The consequence is that the nobility degenerates from
day to day, as everybody buys these wardships, giving an oppor-
tunity for the male and female wards to converse together and
do what is unbecoming.*
The Court of
Wards.
Taxes, customs,
and subsidies.
Another mischievous effect is also caused by this system, namely,
that the wards, on coming of age, find their houses in decay, their
woods felled, and their estates despoiled, precisely as if they had
been ravaged by an enemy; so that, on this account likewise, the
English nobility, having their possessions thus devastated, being
put to great expense to recover themselves, and despoiled of their
money, rarely become rich, and are often compelled to sell their
paternal inheritance.
.
From these revenues the King may derive about 400,000 ducats,
and will henceforth probably obtain much more; but in like
manner as the first sort of revenue is impious, so is the second very
injurious.
The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which lapsed to the
Crown some time ago, yield 80,000 ducats.
With regard to the duties and gabels there is little to tell, as
the few taxed commodities, such as wool, lead, and tin; and wines.
on importation, do not yield 100,000 ducats.
This, in short, is the King's revenue, which amounts to one
million and from three to four hundred thousand ducats, as appears
by the registers of the customers and tax gatherers of many places
* "Dando occasione a figli e figliuole di star insiem e far delle cose che non stanno bene."
In the MS. in the Correr Museum, "dando occasione à figli e figliuole di maritarsi et far
cose che non stanno bene."
1551.
357
Ireland.
1551.
REPORT ON
ENGLAND
(May).
BARBARO'S and passage ports such as Bridgwater (Briguarth), Bristol, Boston,
Dover? (Donthe), London, Newcastle, York, Chester (Cicestria),
Kingston, Hampton, Sandwich (Santve), Yarmouth (Jermouth), and
Poole (Pulch); and in this total are also included the subsidies,
which are not imposed annually, but according to Act of Parliament.
These subsidies are levied according to a valuation, and the English
pay one half less than aliens.
The royal cx-
penditure.
Defence of
Ireland and
Calais.
From Ireland they obtain 28,000 ducats, but the cost far exceeds
that sum.
The truth is that there having been a mint in Ireland
in which they coined sufficient silver for the payment of the King's
garrisons there, it was farmed this year by certain great personages
in company with some merchants, and they coin money, giving the
King 80,000 ducats. Their rapacity induced them to do this, for
they debase the coin, making two pieces of money out of one, so
much to the detriment of the people and the merchants, that by
this time no one knows how much money he has, nor have the
merchants any longer credit, and they daily become bankrupts at
Antwerp; and in truth the injury sustained by a kingdom or a
commonwealth when the purity of its coinage and gold is not pre-
served is inestimable. But the merchants in Ireland prosper, as the
soil is very good and the climate milder than England, being more
to the westward. Ireland produces much leather, linen, kersies?
(grisi sic), metals, and good horses.
The expenditure is indeed great; first of all the salaried officials
of the Court and of the King's household receive 200,000 crowns;
and then there is the cost of twenty-two tables for those person-
ages (signori) who are boarded at the King's expense, amounting
to 180,000 crowns; and the service and state (servizio e l'onore-
volezza) of those who take their meals at the Court daily is a very
superb sight.
The King's sisters and the repudiated Duchess of Cleves, including
the augmentations since the death of Henry VIII., receive annu-
ally for their board 16,000 crowns each.*
There are also the garrisons of several places, especially in Ireland
and at Calais, those troops being paid as on foreign service; so
that in Ireland the coast is very well guarded, as also the principal
places, such as Waterford, Dublin, Cork, Carrickfergus, &c., &c.,
where the King has 3,000 infantry, including harquebusiers and
archers, besides the cavalry, at an annual cost of 50,000 ducats.†
In Ireland there is a Viceroy, with an allowance of 1,000 marks
(equal to 3,000 crowns) for his board, there being also other officials,
such as treasurers, chancellors, &c., at a cost of about 4,000 ducats.
For the fortresses the King spends 16,000 crowns; for the Tower
of London, where the ammunition and the Mint are, about 4,000 or
5,000 ducats; for pensions extraordinary to persons away from the
Court, and for the repairs of the palaces, some 10,000; and for the
fortresses across the Channel, namely, Calais, Guines, Ardres, and a
few others, about 40,000 ducats. In pensions extraordinary beyond
* In the Archive MS. is written "the King's three sisters," but the copy of the report in
the Correr Museum corrects the mistake as above.
† In the Archive MS. 4000 crowns; but 50,000 ducats in the Correr Museum MS.
358
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S the Court, such as musicians, architects, artificers, engineers, and pay
REPORT ON for foreign military commanders and others, as left by his father,
60,000; to keep up the Treasury Court (foro fiscale), and the
Exchequer (lo scaccario), 60,000; for stores (cose) for the navy and
the arsenal, 10,000 crowns (sic).
ENGLAND
(May).
Henry VIII.'s
expenditure.
This is his Majesty's expenditure, which, with other petty charges,
may amount to 900,000 ducats; but the residue is so burdened with
interest and debts and securities that but little remains; and allow-
ance must also be made for mismanagement and the plunder made
by the chief officials, which is surprising; for, from 1537, when King
Henry was declared Supreme Head of the Church, until 1547, the
year of his death, what with gold, silver, jewels, crosses, chalices,
images, copper, lead, brass, bells, paraments, and the like, he obtained
about 5,000,000 of gold.
Moneys levied
From the confiscated estates of noblemen beheaded by him he got
by Henry VIII. 160,000 ducats revenue, that is to say, 3,200,000 ducats, and he
French and
Scotch wars.
His Majesty has also some armed ships for the safety of the coast
and the merchants, and if ten in number, they cannot cost him less
than 100,000 ducats.
sold church property to an equal amount.
From his subjects he extorted (cavò) a subsidy of 4,800,000 ducats,
payable in three years.
He imposed a benevolence (un accatto) on the whole realm, which
yielded 2,000,000.
He levied a contribution amounting to 1,840,000 ducats, making
a sum total of 20,340,000 ducats.
By this account it is seen that he was master of all the gold and
silver of his realm, which was the cause of its ruin; as, besides the
evil mode of obtaining the money, his caprices made him spend it
as badly as it was acquired, ruining both the nobility and the
people; and therefore he commenced building along the coast of
England some 50 fortresses, which cost him 1,200,000 ducats.
He made the port of Dover, and spent 400,000 ducats on the
borders of Scotland at Berwick (Barvi), Carlisle, Wark? (Whuor),
Newark? (Zuvarche). In Scotland, 160,000; in Portsmouth, 80,000 ;
in Calais and other fortresses beyond the Channel, 800,000; in
Upper and Lower Boulogne, in the harbour (sic) of the Old Man,*
Boulongeberg (Bolimber-sic), Ambleteuse (Anbertuol), and Blackness,
500,000; in fortifying Ireland, 70,000; and for the construction of
palaces, 1,680,000. When the King was abandoned by Reiffenberg,†
he paid 480,000 ducats for 24,000 German troops. In building ships
and making preparations for them, he expended 600,000 ducats; for
the expedition against the insurgents who rose when they com-
menced destroying the abbacies, 1,600,000 ducats; 400,000 ducats
were expended in aid of the Emperor, when he lately attacked the
French; and 200,000 when he captured all the nobility of Scot-
land, and when the King died. In battering, taking, and keeping
Boulogne, he spent 6,000,000, as he (Barbaro) was informed by the
*Nel Porto d'Olmar.
† “Quando fu piantato da Reufrannerch." For notices of Friederic van Reiffenberg,
Captain of infantry in the English service, see State Papers, vol. xi. Index.
1551.
359
The coinage.
1551.
REPORT ON
(May).
BARBARO'S Lord Chancellor [Lord Wriothesly]. When the French fleet came to
ENGLAND the Isle of Wight, 800,000 ducats were spent After the war of
Boulogne and its capture, until peace was made, the cost amounted
to 800,000 ducats. When they went lately into Scotland, and were
victorious by sea and land, it cost them 1,000,000; and for another
armada by land and sea, another 1,000,000 was expended. Infinite
sums were also spent in apparel, jewels, tapestries, and merchandize
of many sorts, for the coronation of the new King. So as these
costs, caused by wars, armadas, fortresses, insurrections, subsidies,
etc., amount to 21,000,000 of gold, it cannot be supposed (as stated
above) that any more remains of all the money which passed into
the hands of Henry VIII.
This certainly seems monstrous, but considering how very many
persons who had the management of the war have become im-
mensely wealthy, and how recklessly the money is spent, and how
many appetites his late Majesty had to gratify, this so vast an
expenditure cannot be doubted. And what is more, King Henry,
the master of such enormous treasure,-having been recommended
not to coin money in the usual manner, and of the ordinary high
standard, his advisers telling him that it would be exported, whereas
by lowering the standard all would remain in the country, the
treasure thus augmenting so as to form a permanent fund for the war
with which he was threatened at the instigation of the Pope,-raised
the price of foreign gold and coinage (alzò gli ori e monete forestiere),
giving for such as was brought to the mint new and base money for
that which was good, and thus keeping the gold for himself (e così
venne a prendere l'oro sopra di sè). This caused incredible loss to
the nobility and to the entire population, as with this example the
standard becomes more and more debased daily, and they have
well nigh come to coin false money, plating (cuoprire) copper with
silver which is soon consumed; so this infamous money has fallen
into such disrepute that those who make purchases with it pay
fourfold, and thus with good reason the ruin of the country is
anticipated.
Insurrection.
This so exasperated the people that, what with the new religion
and the usurpation of the common-lands (usurpazione dei beni comu-
nali), the country rose against the great landed proprietors (contro
i grundi); some of the nobility likewise being very disaffected; so
that foreign powers, finding the kingdom disunited, may avail
themselves of some opportunity to attack England; and unless
matters take some good turn, the Emperor might possibly no longer
choose to put up with the injuries done to his cousin, the King's
sister: the Scots also resenting the peace, because it was less to
their advantage than to that of France. And that the Doge may
Description of know something about the friendship between France and Scotland,
the reporter informs him that the government of the country is
monarchical and hereditary, as in England, but more liable to civil
discord, by reason of the power and private feuds of the nobility.
They use two dialects, that of the civilized (i domestici), which
differs but little from the English; the other of the uncivilized
(i selvaggi), being quite different.
Scotland.
360
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
ENGLAND
(May).
of Scotland.
The King rules with the council of the nobles; they practise
REPORT ON (Usano) the civil laws, and hold parliaments in the English fashion;
they abound more in men than in riches, as the King's annual
The government revenue does not amount to 90,000 ducats, but so great is the
population that should an invading army of 50,000 men suddenly
make its appearance, it would be met in the field within ten hours,
the population making bonfires from the hills, and mustering,
armed with shirts of mail, and a sallet, a one-handed spear or
sword, and a mace which they wield very dexterously, although
with but one hand. On arriving at the field of battle, they leave
their horses, which remain for the victor, never quitting the ground
during the action. At a distance of every league there are two
fortresses or strongholds (rocche), in which the people take refuge
on the first outbreak of private feuds. The territory has no well-
walled town. When the realm is under governors, owing to the
King's minority, the Governor is as it were an absolute King; he
exacts the revenues, and commands, and when he resigns his charge
he is not bound to give account of anything; thus showing how
unimportant the kingdom of Scotland is (e quì si vede quanto pocu
cosa è il regno di Scozia). And with regard to this, when he
(Barbaro) was with the Earl of Warwick and returned thanks for
the facilities afforded him for seeing that country, his Lordship
said, “We are glad, for thou wilt have seen that the Scots alone
are not a match for us." The Signory may rely upon it that the
Scots have more cause to invade England than the English have to
attack Scotland, which is a very poor country, and its inhabitants
little industrious (poco industriosi), and delighting in robbery
(latrocinij), rather than in toil. They have, however, very con-
venient and good harbours, nor is there any sea-town without a
sufficient and convenient port, including one called Sichersand (sic),
signifying sand of safety, because, however violent the storm, no
ship can come to harm in that gulf (in quel golfo); nor is there a
house in all Scotland distant more than 20 miles from salt water,
as arms of the ocean enter it in very many places.
Its commodities.
Its fortresses.
Scotland is marvellously mountainous, sterile, rugged, and
marshy, and this is its safety. As half the country is without trees,
they burn stones (pietre) and peat (zeppe di terreno), of whichı
there is plenty. They have wool, and gold and silver mines, but
know not how to work them. When he visited Scotland, the Queen
[Marie de Guise, Queen Dowager] assured him that from as much
earth as she could hold in her two hands she extracted nine ounces
of good gold, and on her return to France purposed having the soil
worked, hoping it would prove very profitable. The plenty and
variety of fish in Scotland, as also the size of the whales and sea
monsters there, are incredible. Will however now leave nature aside
and come to art, as Scotland is in such a state that, having got out
of the hands of the English, she is about to place herself in the
power of the French. The whole safety of Scotland depends on
three chief places; one near Dumbarton, a natural rock in the
midst of many waters, separated from all the other peaks, lofty,
rugged, and secure, and it is also well supplied with every artificial
1551.
361
Its relations
with France.
1551.
BARBARO'S defence, and there the young Queen saved herself when the Pro-
REPORT ON tector [Somerset] sought to seize her.* The second is Leith (Forth-
ENGLAND
(May).
Leith) in the Gulf of Edinburgh, near which is the third place
Inchkeith? † (l'Isola del Cavallo). These two places, which the
English hold in great account, were occupied by them at the time
of the war [1549], but which they were unable to retain, for
Leith (Forthleith) was retaken from them partly by force and partly
by the stratagem of Mons. de Thermes, who was the most Christian
King's lieutenant, and the Scots captured Inchkeith (l'Isola) whilst
the English were fortifying it.
The relations of
England with
France and
the Emperor.
These fortresses, when in the hands of any sovereign, give him no
less power than that of the man with his arms round another's
throat whom he can thus strangle at his pleasure; nor could the
Scots save themselves unless they raised fortifications elsewhere,
which they might do by reason of their convenient positions; but
they are incapable either of erecting fortresses or of defending
them; and, as the French took Leith (Forthleith) and helped the
Scots to recover Inchkeith (l'Isola del Cavallo), those two places
are in possession of France. Nor do the Scots keep soldiers in any
other fortress; Dumbarton alone having a garrison of 1,500 men,
under a lieutenant, who does his utmost to guard the place, not for
the need of Scotland but as a curb upon England, so as not to be
attacked in the rear (per assicurarsi dalle spalle), and therefore the
place is abundantly supplied with all necessary stores. So that thus,
and by the marriage of the Dauphin to the young Queen, the King
of France begins to have a right to that realm, dispossessing the
English entirely; in addition to which, his policy is very adroit, for
the Queen Dowager having gone to France, taking with her the
chief nobility of Scotland, the King bought them completely; so
that in France there is neither Scottish duke, nor lord, nor prelate,
nor lady, nor dame, but who is munificently bribed by the most
Christian King.
Such are the means employed by his Majesty, who, finding
himself very rich, and wishing to assume other undertakings,
shows that he does not purpose leading an idle life, but has lofty
aspirations.
From this, the dispositions of England and France may be con-
jectured; but the one makes no demonstration from inability, and
the other, either because she cannot now attend to this matter, or
from unwillingness to rouse the Emperor, who, neither upon the
complaints of his cousin [Mary Tudor] nor by reason of the peace
made with the Scots, from whom he claimed compensation for the
infinite damages done by them to Flanders, nor for any other
cause, has ever chosen openly to evince his resentment against the
English, who well know how much they deserve it, nor would it
fail to alarm them if they thought he had leisure to meddle with
their affairs.
Will not allude to other powers, as there are none who from
neighbourhood or from claims have anything to do with England,
* In July 1548.
† The Island of Inchkeith was taken and retaken in 1549. (See Mr. Turnbull's Foreign
Calendar, 4th July 1549, p. 42.)
362
1551.
1551.
BARBARO'S
The Signory is supposed by the English to be friendly to them;
REPORT ON they delight at being reminded of this friendship through the
Doge's ambassadors, and hold it in very great account, so that his
ministers are well received, as was the case with himself (Barbaro).
ENGLAND
(May).
Grant of arms
by Edward VI.
to D. Barbaro.
May 13.
Senato Mar,
v. xxxi. p. 92.
Endeavoured to serve the State to the best of his ability, and to
represent it honourably; and, although he spent much of the little
he was able to deprive his family of, he nevertheless thinks he has
made a great gain. The King honoured him by the grant of a part
of his armorial bearings, giving him the "rose," and also made
him a present of the 1,000 crowns placed by him at the Doge's
feet; nor does he dare ask them of his Serenity as a gift, either by
reason of the expenses he has incurred, or on any other account,
save as a mark that the service performed by him has been agree-
able to the State, and that it may encourage him to serve his
country in whatever position and grade the Signory may be pleased to
place him. And without disparaging or acting invidiously towards
any other official, he will not conclude without commending the
service rendered him by his secretary, Luigi di Agostino, whose
diligence and fidelity to the State do not yield to those of any other
foreign minister in the Signory's employment; and he recommends
him to the Doge more warmly than he does himself.
[Italian.]
704. MOTION made in the SENATE by Ser Carlo Morosini, Pro-
curator Sage of the Council, and Ser Sebastian Venier, Sage
for the Mainland, for a grant to the late Ambassador in
England.
""
Their beloved noble, Daniel Barbaro, LL.D., has at great cost, as
seen by his letters written from time to time, and according to the
"Report
now made by him, filled the post of ambassador to the
King of England during 18 months, nor should this Council fail to
render him such ample demonstration of gratitude as usually made
to other ambassadors.
Put to the ballot, that the 600 doubloons (doble) given by the
King to the ambassador aforesaid on his departure be freely granted
to him.
Ayes, 165. Noes, 25. Neutrals, 3. Expulsis affinibus.
[Italian.]
Of the nine Barbaro shields engraved by Coronelli, two bear the rose of England, as
hereunder.


1551.
363
1
1551.
June 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.
File no. 8.
July 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 135,
tergo.
According to the collation of the patriarchate of Aquileia in the
person of the Right Rev. Barbaro, it is assumed that he was a church-
man at the time, which was not the case; so, lest hereafter this
collation be disputed, we, with our Council of Ten and Junta, charge
you to endeavour to obtain from his Holiness a declaration con-
firming said collation as if he had been a churchman from the first,
especially as he was at the time in England, where he could not
receive holy orders. The ambassador is to endeavour that the
declaration be in efficient form, and to transmit the same to the
Chiefs.
Ayes, 25. Noes, 0). Neutrals, 9.
[Italian.]
705. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ROME.
Sept. 9.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 154.
706. The DOGE and SENATE to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
On the 7th instant the Turkish fleet, numbering 137 sail, passed
the channel of Corfu, having made every friendly demonstration,
and steered westward.
This notice to be communicated also to the foreign ambassadors at
Venice.
Ayes, 154. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
Aug. 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
707. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in FRANCE.
By his letters of the 19th ult. have heard of the agreement
v. lxvii. p. 145, 'between the Kings of France and England, and of the marriage of
tergo. the latter to his most Christian Majesty's daughter. Subsequently
the French Ambassador acquainted them with the agreement by
order of his King, who, considering them his good friends, is certain
they will derive satisfaction from his prosperity. Desire him to
congratulate the King on the agreement, and conclusion of the
marriage.
Is also to congratulate the Queen, and to give notice of these
offices to the Constable.
Ayes, 205. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
708. The SAME to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian Ambassador
in England.
Have received his letters of the 18th ult., announcing the com-
munication made to him by the Lords of the Council, of the
marriage of the daughter of his most Christian Majesty to the most
Serene King. To go to his Majesty and congratulate him in their
name on the marriage, in accordance with the good friendship they
have always maintained with his predecessors, and still have with
himself. To assure his Majesty that they will at all times derive
satisfaction from his prosperity.
Ayes, 199. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
364
1551.
1551.
Sept. 9.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
Sept. 10.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxvii. p. 158.
Sept. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.
File no. 8.
Sept. 21.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
709. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summaries for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
710. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at CON-
STANTINOPLE.
Understand by their last letters from France, dated the 15th
August, that the most Christian King was at Fontainebleau, and
had stipulated the marriage of his daughter to the King of England;
and as they are both minors, the French Princess will be taken to
England to remain there until the consummation of the marriage.
Ayes, 188. Noes, 4. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
711. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
By his letters addressed to them on the 17th ult. have heard
what he had to tell them about their most faithful Sebastian
Cabot, which pleased them much. Commend him greatly for his
diligence in giving them a detailed account of his qualities and parts.
Desire him in reply to let Cabot know that they are extremely
gratified by his offer. As to the request made to the ambassador by
the Lords of the Council* about the credits and recovery of property
claimed by him, to say that the Signory wishes to do whatever
may be agreeable to the King and their Lordships; but as no one
in Venice knows Cabot, it would be necessary for him to come in
person to identify himself and prove his rights, the matters in
question being of very ancient date. Gave this same answer to his
Majesty's ambassador, who made the demand of them in accordance
with his (Soranzo's) letter.
•
To communicate the whole to Cabot, that he may ask and obtain
leave to come to Venice. To favour the suit, that Cabot may return
to them as soon as possible, and in the meanwhile to endeavour to
obtain from Cabot as many particulars as he can about his design
respecting this navigation,† giving the Chiefs especial notice of the
whole.†
Ayes, 25. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
712. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND..
Enclose summaries for communication as usual.
[Italian]
* In Foreign Calendar, date Venice, 12th September 1551 (p. 171), there is the reply
of Peter Vannes to the Council "touching Sebastian Cabot's matter," as mentioned in
Sir Thomas Hardy's Report on Venetian Archives, p. 8.
†The north-west passage?
On the margin of this draft there are the words "in ziffra," signifying that it was to
be put into cipher.
1551.
365
1551.
Oct. 13.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
Oct. 13.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
713. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in FRANCE.
By letters from Antwerp and London dated the 20th and 22nd
ult. have heard, much to their regret, that his most Christian
Majesty's fleet has captured two Venetian ships, bound to England
with Malmsies, one of which is supposed to be the "Ragazona." Some
say they have been taken to Britanny, others into "Abla nova" (sic).
Although they consider it certain, as stated by them to the French
ambassador at Venice, that this seizure will have greatly displeased
his most Christian Majesty, and that he will have immediately
ordered the release of the vessels, as becoming the Republic's observ-
ance towards him, they nevertheless desire their ambassador to go
to the King immediately and to make two demands of him, the one
(should the ships not have been already released, which they how-
ever cannot believe) that they be set at liberty forthwith, without
any loss, so as clearly to show how much he regrets the seizure, on
account of the Signory's friendship; the other, that he will give
such orders to the Magnifico [the Constable ?] and his other ministers,
that henceforth the same regard be had for Venetian vessels as is
had for those of France, which are well treated everywhere, so that
they may navigate in safety.
Ayes, 19. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
714. The SAME to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian Ambassador
in England.
By advices from London and Antwerp, have heard of the seizure
by the most Christian King's fleet of two of their ships, one of
which is the "Ragazona," bound with Malmsies to England; and
that, on hearing this, he (Soranzo) complained to the French
Ambassador, who thereupon wrote to the Admiral and to the
Constable of France for the release of said ships. Commend him
greatly for this, and should he hear that the release has not yet
been effected, which they can hardly believe by reason of their
friendship with his Majesty, to continue performing such offices
with the French Ambassador as shall seem to him suited to that end.
Ayes, 19. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
715. The SAME to the SAME.
Nov. 3.
Lettere del Col-
Have received his letters of the 10th ult. announcing the commu-
legio (Secreta), nication made to him by order of his Majesty's Lords of the Council
File no. 19.
of the causes for which they determined to arrest the Duke of
Somerset and other Lords, which is in accordance with what has
also been represented to them by the English Ambassador. Com-
mend his prudent reply, and charge him, after expatiating to the
King and Councillors on the Republic's friendship for the Crown
of England, to thank them in the Signory's name for so loving
and confidential an office, assuring the King that they greatly regret
any accident or annoyance that may befall him, but trust that
+
366
1551-1552.
1551.
Dec. 2.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. xlvii. p. 183,
tergo.
1552.
Jan. 19.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no 19.
Feb. 7.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
Feb. 12.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
through the prudence of the Lords of the Council, affairs will take
the turn required for his own peace of mind, and for the union of
the entire realm under his Majesty's sway.
Regret to hear of the wreck of the ship "Ragazona,"* and praise
him greatly for the diligence used by him to recover and preserve
the effects and merchandise on board. Desire him to continue
rendering all possible assistance for that purpose, which they have
beyond measure at heart, for the indemnity of their nobles and
citizens concerned in that adventure.
No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
Ayes, 21.
[Italian.]
716. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Have heard from England that the Duke of Somerset, late
Protector, has been sent to the Tower, with his wife and children,
and some of his dependents, on a charge of plotting against the
lives of the Lords of the Council, in order to seize the Tower, where
the King's most precious effects are preserved, and to fortify himself
within it. The Queen of Scotland, who had been in France, has
returned to Scotland. To communicate this intelligence to the
Porte as usual.
Ayes, 167. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1552.
717. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
718. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
719. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
* Of this wreck, there is a notice in Foreign Calendar, date 24th November 1551,
p. 197.
1552.
367
March 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
1552.
Feb. 26.
720. FRANCESCO BERNARDO.
Senato Mar.
Motion made in the Senate by Ser Domenico Bollani, Knight, Sage
v. xxxi. p. 166. for the Mainland, and Ser Antonio Vitturi, Sage for the Orders.
That the Proveditors and Masters of the Arsenal be desired to
send a cable to the agents of the nobleman Ser Francesco Bernardo,
knight, for the need of his ship, expected to arrive off the harbour
from day to day, he depositing in ready money the cost of said
cable, according to the tenor of the laws, for its wear (mendo) or
loss.
March 17.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
March 31.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
April 11.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
April 22.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
May 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
Ayes, 182. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
721. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices lately received from their Bailo at
Constantinople, which they and the Senate desire him to communicate
as usual.
Virtute Decreti Excellentissimi Senatus,
diei 5 Martij 1552.
[Italian.]
722. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senatus,
diei 16 Martij 1552.
[Italian.]
723. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senatus,
diei ultimi Martij 1552.
[Italian.]
724. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usnal.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senatus,
diei 11 Aprilis 1552.
[Italian.]
725. The SAME to the Same.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senat us,
diei 22 Aprilis 1552.
[Italian.]
[Italian.]
726. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senatus,
diei 5 Maij 1552.
368
1552.
1552.
June 2.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
June S.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
June 17.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
June 27.
Senato Terra,
v. lviii. p. 122.
June 27.
Senato Terra,
Filza.
727. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices concerning the affairs of the Levant,
for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Senatus,
diei ptæ suprascriptæ.
[Italian.]
728. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
729. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
730. MOTION made in the SENATE respecting the claims of
FRANCESCO BERNARDO for compensation from the Crown of
England.*
The petition of the nobleman, Francesco Bernardo, knight, having
been read-
Put to the ballot, that license be granted to the aforesaid Francesco
Bernardo, knight, within the term of one year only, to recover
(ritrare) from the King of England what he claims, but with the
declaration that he may not attempt to recover anything whatever
from the Crown of France.
Ayes, 133. Noes, 19. Neutrals, 12.
Die 22 Junii, Lectæ Collegio.
[Italian.]
731. PETITION presented by FRANCESCO BERNARDO, Knight.
to the SENATE.
It was decreed by the Senate, by a very small majority, that he
was to renounce the pensions assigned him by the late Kings of
France and England,† in recompense for the very heavy expenses.
incurred by him in negotiating and concluding that most useful
peace, which by his act (per opera mia) took place between their
Majesties, as manifest to the whole world.
Made this renunciation because the State attornies held it was
not lawful for a citizen to be pensioned by foreign Princes, though
he was at liberty to recover the money expended for the benefit of
their Majesties. Was therefore compelled to allow the last ballot to
pass, thus renouncing the pensions and remaining creditor of the
Crown of England, not only for the costs incurred by him for his
Majesty's service, but for the loss of two of his ships, one large and
the other small, of which the King made use in the war preceding
""
* In Mr. Turnbull's Calendars, there are various notices of Francesco Bernardo, the
last of which, dated 7th March 1556, records his death from "inward sorrow at having
been reproached with "secretly enjoying pensions out of England."
†The pension received by Bernardo from England is alluded to in Foreign Calendar,
date 23rd March 1556, pp. 218-219, as stated in date 9 July 1547, when the State
attornies obtained the prohibition here recorded.
I The peace between England and France in the year 1546. In State Papers, vol. xi.,
there are notices of the hand this Venetian nobleman had in the negotiation.
1552.
369
1552.
July 30?
MS. St. Mark's
the peace, detaining them by Iorce, as appears by the letters written
to the Signory by the late Secretary Zambon. From this seizure
of the two ships the loss incurred was enormous, and as he
obtained no compensation, his right to "damages" cannot be dis-
puted, the Republic's subjects not being prohibited from recovering
their property, as the Signory favours and assists its subjects so to
do; and although he might reasonably have obtained this just
credit without any opposition, yet he requests the assistance of the
State, and prays the Doge and Senate to grant him licence for one
year only to endeavour to obtain some partial compensation for his
losses, renouncing entirely his claims on the Crown of France.
[Italian.]
732. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF BADAJOS [FRANCESCO
NAVARRETE].
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Has received the Bishop's letter from Milan, dated 5th July,
No date of time. expressing his grief for the state of the Christian Commonwealth,*
Printed in vol. 4.and Pole's sorrow is also increased, as he had hoped to console
pp. 65-73,
"Epistolarum himself with his friend in Rome, instead of which he declares he will
Reginaldi Poli."not go there, and closes his letter so as to imply that he is on his
way to Spain, of which Pole had no suspicion, and was indeed of
opinion that to vent his grief for the calamities of the Church,
especially now when the Council is interrupted, it would have been
very opportune for him to go to Rome, and unbosom his sorrows to
the Pope. This he says not to censure the Bishop's resolves, but,
as it were, to express his regret for them, and to inquire their cause.
Pole thinks he has reason to congratulate the Bishop, because he
entirely forgets his own private distresses, for the sake of lamenting
solely the general adversity. Had all the personages present at the
Council of Trent resembled the Bishop of Badajos, the Church would
have been restored to tranquillity. The Bishop desponds; Pole
hopes that the noble web of reform already commenced in the Coun-
cil is neither discontinued (interruptam) nor unwrought (abrup-
tam), but received into heaven, to be more stoutly and beautifully
wove, for the greater comfort of the Bishop and of all men. The
tears of mankind will aid this result, as is taught by Scripture ;
they have been wanting hitherto, though there was no lack of
doctrine, canons, ceremonies, nor any other external support. The
Bishop will say that even tears were shed, as at any rate the
Council assembled, despite all impediments, and lasted many years.
in the midst of them. Instances the necessity for maintaining hope
by Biblical examples; all men were filled with hope when the Lord
entered the Holy City riding on an ass.† In this hope Pole is con-
firmed by reason of the day on which the prorogation of the Council
was decreed. It was Good Friday,‡ on which day, unless in cases
* Francesco Navarrete, Bishop of Badajos, had probably quitted Trent immediately
after the prorogation of the Council (which he and the other Spanish Bishops opposed),
on the 28th April 1552. (See History of the Council of Trent, ed. Amsterdam, 1704,
p. 360.)
† Denique cum urbem sanctam ingrederetur assello invectus omniumque oculos in es
unum converteret, tanta spe animos omnium repleret.
14th April 1552.
5.
A A
370
1552.
1.
1552.
Aug. 17.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xx. p. 140,
tergo.
Aug. 26.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xx. p. 144,
tergo.
Ibid.
of extreme necessity, the College does not negotiate nor form any
resolve. When Pole heard this it seemed to him to have before
him the dead body of Christ, of which that Council (ipsum con-
cilium) is the image, as it represents the whole Church; which
Council, though shortly before all the faithful were expecting from it
the brightest results with regard to the reformation of the Church,
then seemed to him, as it were, scourged with rods and taken dead to
the sepulchre; but the speedy return to life of Christ, and the other
blessings which immediately followed his death, admonishing Pole
to remember them, on the very day when this took place, he is
induced to hope the like concerning the Council and the reform. Of
this he is convinced by the Bishop's tears, which, together with
those of other Bishops who resemble him, are the best foundation of
Church reform, the firm corner stone of this celestial structure. The
lamentation of the Bishops for the delay signifies that the reform
has already commenced, so he again congratulates the Bishop on
his tears. Requests him to salute their mutual friend Frago, Pole
having done the like in the Bishop's name by the [titular] Bishop
of Rochester [Richard Pate] and Priuli, who are both with him.
Bagnarea, July 30, 1552?
[Latin, 248 lines.]
733. MOTION made by the CHIEFS in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the armoury halls of this Council and the jewels of the
Sanctuary [in St. Mark's church] be shown to Mr. George Trock-
morton, an Englishman.*
Item, to a French gentleman named
name
Ayes, 15. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
and to a Genoese by
2
734. MOTION made by the CHIEFS (PIETRO LOREDANO and
DOMENICO MOROSINI) in the COUNCIL OF TEN, the COLLEGE
being present.
The Signory's ambassador [Giacomo Soranzo] resident with the
King of England, to notify to Ser Vicenzo Corner, son of the late
Ser Marc' Antonio, that within two months he do come into the
presence of the Chiefs of this Council; on the expiration of which
term, should he not present himself, this Council to decide as it shall
think fit; and on his presenting himself be he and Ser Piero Capello
charged to make peace.
Ayes, 8
8.
735. MOTION made by SER ANTONIO DANDOLO, Chief of the Ten.
A quarrel having taken place between Ser Vicenzo Corner, son
of the late Ser Marco Antonio, and Ser Piero Capello, son of Ser
*Mr. Throckmorton's uncle was "chief man about Cardinal Pole." Vannes mentions
his arrival at Venice, 23 May 1551, and says he seemed "of a very gentle nature and
honest conditions." (See Foreign Calendar, p. 110.)
1552.
371
1552.
Aug. 31.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. xx. p. 147.
Sept. 19.
MS. St. Mark's
Philippo; and as whilst an adjustment was being negotiated
Cornaro went to England without making said peace.
1 -
Put to the ballot, that the Republic's Ambassador in England be
written to, to intimate to Ser Vicenzo Corner, that within the term
of one month after receiving the notice, he do send hither to his
brother an ample and sufficient mandate for making peace with
the aforesaid Ser Piero Capello and his brothers; all bail (cautela)
being cancelled. Should they disobey the said order they be
confined for five years, the one in Capo d'Istria and the other
at Veglia, under the obligation of presenting themselves to the
Republic's Governors in those places once every week; they being
also liable to a fine of 500 ducats, to be levied from their pro-
perty, payable to any person or persons who shall capture them
beyond the frontiers and deliver them to the Signory's officials;
in default to be imprisoned for one year, and not to be released
until after payment of said fine.
Ayes (de scontro) 7
Noes
Neutrals
[Italian.]
736. MOTION made by the CHIEFS in the COUNCIL of TEN,
the COLLEGE being present.
}
0
Pendet.
Amendment to the motion made on the 26th instant, by Antonio
Dandolo, Chief of the Ten, concerning the quarrel between Ser
Vicenzo Corner and Ser Piero Capello.
And in case that the aforesaid Ser Vicenzo Corner should not be
in England, the Chiefs of this Council to desire his kinsfolk, to
acquaint them with the place of his abode.
Ayes, 13. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian]
On the 21st of November 1552, Ser Nicolò Corner, son of the
late Ser Marco Antonio, having a power (mandatum) from his
brother Ser Vicenzo, and Ser Pietro and Ser Sylvan Capello, son of
Ser Philippo, in the presence of the Chiefs of the Ten made peace
and mutually forgave (remiserunt) all injuries, according to the
decree of the Council.
[Latin.]
737. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MAFFEI.
Was greatly comforted by his letter received this morning, and
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. which evinces the same piety and zeal as demonstrated by Maffei
Library,
in all his other actions. With regard to the advice asked by
him of Pole concerning the Pope's holy intention of taking the
opinion of the Cardinals,† it indicates great regard for the common
weal, and great humility, his having recourse to a judgment so
* The names Cornèr and Cornaro being synonymous are employed indiscriminately in
this decree.
The Pope proposed holding a congregation of Cardinals and Prelates in Rome, to
effect there the reform which had not been accomplished at Trent. (See Sarpi's History
of the Council of Trent.) By this letter, it seems that Cardinal Pole was the mainspring
of this project, which limited itself at first to peace between the Emperor and France.
A A 2
372
1552.
1552.
inferior to his own in this matter, by so much the more as Pole
cannot know the particulars of the affairs, and of the persons on
whom this resolve in great part depends, namely, the affairs of
Germany and the present state of the Emperor, with which Maffei
is much better acquainted than Pole; but nevertheless, as Maffei
can command him, he will without introduction or ceremony say
what he thinks.
The Pope assigns as the chief cause of this proposed resolve, the
troubles of Christendom owing to the discord between the Emperor
and France, from which may be apprehended a great war, to the
destruction of all civil institutions, and to the utmost encouragement
of the enemies of the religion both at home and abroad, namely,
the schismatics and heretics, and the Infidels, to the perdition of
souls. Under these circumstances, his Holiness inquires what he
is to do; to which, in the first, place, I would answer that he should
do what of his piety he seems inclined spontaneously to do, that is
to say, not to remain an idle spectator of this so horrible a tragedy,
but use all diligence, and neglect no opportunity for exercising his
pastoral office, for the remedy of so many evils which threaten
Christ's entire flock, by endeavouring to make peace between
these two most powerful Princes. Although they now seem very
averse to it, yet ought the Pope to persevere in his endeavours,
which, if vain, will at least exempt him from blame before God and
man. With regard to the second point, and the means to be used,
and the persons to be employed for obtaining this peace; namely,
the mission of Nuncios or Legates, or consulting with the secre-
taries or confidential agents of those Sovereigns. Pole considers
it requisite well to ponder the magnitude and importance of the
cause, and determine accordingly by whom it could be most suitably
treated. As to the cause itself, reviewing it in every light, there is
none of greater importance to mankind, so it would appear fitting
for the greatest person in the world to be its negotiator.
But before deciding about the person, he thinks it necessary well
to consider one matter without which there would be no hope of any
one negotiating it advantageously, and that is, the root of this intes-
tine war, which has lasted so many years, and although it has been
occasionally stifled for a short time, always broke out again with
more violence, which is now greater than ever; and although all
remedies have been employed for its total extinction, none have
succeeded. This can be attributed solely to the wrath of God,
who uses this war as a scourge for our sins, so that it is necessary
to destroy the root by appeasing God, making peace first of all with
Him; and thus we may subsequently hope for peace between the
Sovereigns. The true way to do this, is but to effect what for so
many years has been so much desired by all pious inen, namely,
the Reform, which should his Holiness now choose at any cost
effectually to accomplish, as now written by Maffei, he will have
both more grace with God, and more credit with man, and on this
foundation may hope to raise an edifice no less good than profitable.
Returning to discuss the means and persons whereby to treat this
peace, it seems to Pole that the cause being of such very great im-
portance, in order to bring it to a fair conclusion, no less a person
1552.
373
1552.
would be required than the High Pontiff, although to commence
the negotiation and prepare the matter it might suffice to employ
the medium of ambassadors, as it were to break the ice (come per
rompere il giaccio), so as to prepare the way for his Holiness; who
having already despatched Nuncios for this purpose, it would now
seem fitting for him to send Legates, as instruments still nearer to
his person, they treating in conclusion for a suspension of hostilities
and a conference.
To unbosom himself with Maffei about the ministers, as he did
with regard to the cause, saying we must make peace with God if we
would fain make it with man; so does Pole inform him, with regard
to the persons who have to treat it, that in his opinion the most
suitable would be those most at peace with God, and therefore in this
case he makes no such great difference between a Cardinal or other
prelates, or agents of Princes, or other sorts of persons. Indeed
should there be found in any corner of the world, in any monastery,
wood, or grotto, monks, hermits, or others who could bring witnesses
to prove that they had more of the grace of God, or were more
at peace with him, Pole would be of opinion that his Holiness
should use the instrumentality of such a one, it having been proved
of yore that similar persons were excellent mediums for such
operations. But amongst the rest, it seems to him one of the
Scourges of the 16th century, that men of that sort are no longer
to be found; so he is of opinion that persons the most resembling
this type should be chosen, whether prelates or Cardinals or any
other condition of men.
Such is his conclusion touching the ministers to be employed
by his Holiness in so great an undertaking, as from their quality
the world will form a great opinion, both of the Pope's will and of
the success of the business. And in truth it would be necessary to
have ministers of such a description, that should they find the
Princes stubborn and averse to peace, they might have the ability
and power to make it a case of conscience, alarming them by the
consideration of the vital interest of all Christendom, which for many
centuries has perhaps never been in greater danger of universal ruin
through war.
Oct. 12.
Lettere del Col.
legio (Secreta),
Filza no. 19.
This is all he can write thus in haste, to acquaint Maffei with
his opinion before the first consistory, although even had he more time
he could say nothing more, nor so well but that it would be better
known and said by Maffei, although from modesty he evinces his
wish to depend on the judgment of others; and so Pole hopes that
the Spirit of God will inspire him with his own, disposing his heart
and tongue to say what is most for the honour and service of his
divine Majesty, whom he prays in conclusion thus to vouchsafe, and
humbly kisses Maffei's hands.
Bagnarea, 19th September 1552.
[Italian.]
738. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
374
1552.
1552.
Nov. 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 80.
Nov. 16.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 80.
Nov. 21.
Senato Mar,
v. xxxii. p. 52,
tergo.
739. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Informed by their ambassador in England that the disputes
between the two Crowns, owing to the seizure of English vessels
by the French, have been adjusted.
Ayes, 169. Noes, 2. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
740. The SAME to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian Ambassador
in England.
Announce the resignation by the Duke of Urbino of the post
of governor of the Venetian forces, which the Signory refused to
exchange for that of Captain General. Owing to this circumstance
many applications will be made for employment in their service.
If any candidates notify their wishes to him, he is to forward their
proposals.
Ayes, 176. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
741. The SAME to the SAME.
Are much disturbed by his letters of the 23rd ultimo announcing
what was said to him by the Lords of the Council about the cloths
which had been cut by the state proveditors.* The like complaint
was made to them subsequently by the King's ambassador. That
their Lordships may know the truth of this business, and the
Signory's disposition towards the English Crown, enclose a "special
information" received from their state proveditors, to whom, by
Venetian law, this office appertains. Desire him to acquaint
their Lordships with its contents, assuring them that, having been
approved by the Court of the Forty "al civil nuovo," after hearing
at great length the arguments on both sides, it was not done for
the purpose of casting any slur on English cloths, but on the contrary
to preserve their repute as true and just. When they are not
deceitful, and when marked with the King's Crown, they will
always be received and esteemed at Venice.
To inform their Excellencies that neither by this, nor by any
other accident that may occur, will the goodwill and firm friend-
ship maintained by the Republic with the Crown of England, for
which they constantly desire all prosperity and grandeur, ever be
diminished.
Ayes, 157. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
*"Certain English cloths had been cut in pieces and exposed upon a window openly
in the Rialto, declaring them to be false and untrue, and so condemned." (See Foreign
Calendar, 1552, Nov. 20, pp. 227, 228.)
1553.
375
1553.
Feb. 10.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 102.
Feb. 17.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
March 10.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
March 21.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
A.D. 1553.
742. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Their letters from Spiers mention the intended departure of the
Emperor from Thionville for Brussels, there to hold a Diet, and
he is said to have ordered his son the Prince to come from Spain
into Italy with a good number of Spaniards and a quantity of
money to wage war on the French there. His Majesty has also
ordered the Spanish and German infantry to remain in garrison in
Thionville, and the neighbouring places. The King of England
has sent two ambassadors, one to the Emperor and the other to
his most Christian Majesty, to make an agreement between them,*
the Imperial Electors also exerting themselves with the Emperor
for the same purpose; and by letters from Rome dated the 4th
instant, the Signory has heard that two Nuncios were to depart
in two days on their way to the Emperor and the most Christian
King, being sent by the Pope to urge their Majesties to consent
to his sending two Cardinal Legates, to negotiate peace between
them.
Ayes, 132. Noes, 6. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
743. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
744. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
745. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
746. MOTION made in the SENATE about the claims of Francesco
Bernardo for compensation from the Crown of England.
March 27.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxix. p. 10. On the 27th June 1552, the Senate conceded license to the
nobleman Francesco Bernardo, knight, during the term of one
year only, to obtain compensation from the King of England for
losses incurred in his service.
Put to the ballot, that the said license conceded to Sir Francesco
Bernardo, knight, be prolonged for the next following year.
Ayes, 154. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
* These two ambassadors were Sir Andrew Dudley and Sir Henry Sydney. (See
Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, 27th December 1552, and January 17-25, 1553,
pp. 234, 238, 239.)
376
1553.
1553.
April 15.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
April 22.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta).
v. lxviii. p. 117,
tergo.
May 9.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xxi. p. 18.
747. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
ENGLAND.
May 20.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 129,
tergo.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
748. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Their letters from Rome state that the Pope, continuing to urge
the agreement between the Empire and France, has despatched two
Cardinals, one to his Imperial Majesty, and the other to France for
this purpose; and by letters from England they hear that the King
is sending two Ambassadors to Flanders, and two to France, to
perform the like office.*
Ayes, 183. Noes, 4. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
May 5.
749. MOTION made by the CHIEFS in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That the jewels of St. Mark, and the armoury halls of this Council,
vol. xxi. p. 18. be shown to Mr. Thomas Stafford, the nephew of the Right Reverend
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
Cardinal of England.†
Ayes, 13. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
750. MOTION made by CHIEFS of the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That license be conceded to Mr. Thomas Stafford, an English
gentleman, to carry arms, together with his two servants, Juan, a
Spaniard, and Iseppo, a Vicentine, both in Venice and other places
in the Signory's dominions, for two months.
9
Ayes, 8
Noes, 33 Pendet.
Neutrals, 2
1
[Italian.]
751. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
Their letters from Brussels, dated the 7th instant, inform them
that the Emperor was there, and that the English Ambassadors had
arrived, but had not yet had audience of his Imperial Majesty,
whose troops were besieging Terouenne, which was held by the
French, and the King purposed succouring it. The Marquis Albert
of Brandenburg, with a good number of troops near Bamberg, had
* By the Foreign Calendar, p. 260, it is seen that for this mediation, the persons sent
by Edward VI. to the Emperor were the Bishop of Norwich, Sir Philip Hoby, and Sir
Richard Morysine; and their colleagues at the Court of Henry II. were Dr. Wotton,
Sir William Pickering, and Sir Thomas Chaloner.
†The relationship between Cardinal Pole and Thomas Stafford, is also alluded to in
a letter from Rome, dated 31st January 1551 (Foreign Calendar, p. 71.) thus, “By a
former letter he might perceive in what state Mr. Thomas Stafford, his Lord's nephew,
stands with his Grace," etc., etc.
1553.
377
1553.
June 12.
Senato Mar,
V. xxxii. p. 84.
routed the forces of the Bishops there, taking the city and the castle,
and was going towards Nuremberg.
Ayes, 166. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
June 8.
MS. St. Mark's
752. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
The Cardinal of Trent, accompanied by the Ambassador despatched
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. to the Pope by the Marquis of Brandenburg, has been with Pole on
Printed in v. iv. the Lake of Garda, requesting him to beseech his Holiness's favour
pp. 107, 108, for the concession of the See of Magdeburg to the late Bishop's
"Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli.” brother. Pole at first refused, but as they insisted, saying they
knew how much credit he had with the Pope, showing him also
letters of recommendation obtained for this purpose from the Emperor,
from the Archbishops of Metz and Treves, and from the Cardinal
of Augsburg, they induced him to give the accompanying letter.
Praises the candidate, and thinks his election at the present moment
would be beneficial, there being a great scarcity, especially in those
parts, of Bishops who can and will defend the interests of the
Church.
From the monastery of Maguzzano, 8th June 1553.
[Latin, 41 lines.]
753. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Motion made in the Senate.
Their noble Giacomo Soranzo, knight, has now resided for two
years with the King of England, and by his letters earnestly
requests the election of his successor, that the Ambassador elect
may go to his destination. The grant of this just demand being
due to the diligent and honourable service rendered by Soranzo—
Put to the ballot, that another nobleman be elected as successor
of the aforesaid Ser Giacomo, and with the same terms as stipulated
by his appointment; to be eligible from any place and office, and
prohibited to refuse under all the penalties contained in the Act of
1536; and that four months' salary be given him in advance;
his agents at Venice to receive as usual from the cashier of the
Council of Ten, 150 golden ducats monthly, so that the Signory
may thus not incur any loss by the rate of exchange; and the
Ambassador-elect to depart within the period assigned by the last
Act passed in the Senate and the Grand Council with regard to
the election of Ambassadors, and with such commission as shall
seem fit to this Council.
Ayes, 179. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
1552, X Novembris, lecta Collegio.
1553, die 9 Junij, lecta Collegio.
1553, die 22 Junij, electus Ser Federicus
Baduario Ser Aloysij.
I
1553.
378
1553.
July 5.
MS. St. Mark's
754. CARDINAL POLE to MARC ANTONIO TREVISAN, DOGE OF
VENICE.*
Letter of congratulation on his election. Alludes to his own
No date in MS. residence at the University of Padua in the lifetime of the Doge's
Printed in v. iv. father, and to his having been paternally received in the Venetian
Prays for the Republic's welfare as much as he does for
Reginaldi Poli," that of his own country.
pp. 90-91,
Epistolarum dominions.
dated Maguz-
zano, 5 July
From the monastery of Maguzzano, in the Brescian territory, 5th
July 1553.
1553.
[Latin, 43 lines.]
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
CC
July 6.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
July 10.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xxi. p. 30,
tergo.
July 15.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
July 24.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xxi. p. 33.
July 25.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
755. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
756. MOTION made by the CHIEFS in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That to the ambassador of the King of England, in addition to
the 15 ordinary licenses for arms which he now has, there be
granted ten other licenses, as to the ambassadors of the other
crowned heads; he notifying their names at the office, and making
oath that they reside in his house and at his cost.
Ayes
Noes
200
4
10 Captum de non.
Neutrals - 2
[Italian.]
757. The SAME to the SAME.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
[Italian.]
758. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
The Chiefs repeat the motion made by them on the 10th instant
(and which was negatived), for ten arms-licenses, besides the 15, to
be conceded to the Magnifico the English Ambassador.
Ayes, 16. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0. .
[Latin.]
759. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ROME.
A private courier being sent to Rome this evening, and they
having this day, by letters from their Ambassador in England, dated
* In the manuscript, this letter is headed "Laurentio Priulo Duci Venetiarum,” but
the contents of the letter show clearly that it was addressed to Marc' Antonio Trevisan,
whose election took place on the 4th June 1553, which date confirms the printed date, but
the heading of the printed letter does not assign any name to the Doge to whom it was
addressed.
1553.
379
1553.
Aug. 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 149.
Aug. 6?
MS. St. Mark's
760. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTAN-
TINOPLE.
The King of England has died; he was a youth from 15 to
16 years of age, son-in-law of the most Christian King, whose
daughter, now in her tenth year, he had promised to marry. So he
died without heirs, and the claimants for the crown are two women
(doe done), who have [each] their partisans.
Ayes, 174. Noes, 3. Neutral, Î.
[Italian.]
761. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [ALESSANDRO] FARNESE.
His love for Cardinal Farnese and the whole of his most
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. illustrious family, moves him to condole with him on the death of
No date of time his very dear brother, Duke Horatio.* The wound being so fresh
or place in MS. and great, the office is difficult to perform, and by so much the
more with the Cardinal as the affection between him and the Duke
exceeded that of the other brothers. Exhorts the Cardinal to
have recourse to the true medicine, namely, the firm faith that
everything is regulated by Divine Providence. The King, being
so magnanimous and generous as he has shown himself hitherto by
his protection of the Farnese interests, and the Duke having been
killed in his Majesty's service, will by so much the more console the
Cardinal and his family.
[From Maguzzano, on the Lake of Garda, 6th August 1553?]
[Italian.]
Aug. 6?
MS. St. Mark's
the 7th instant, heard of the death of the most Serene King, which
took place in the preceding night about three hours before daybreak,
they have thought it opportune to send him this intelligence that,
should he thus think fit, he may impart it to his Holiness.
[Italian]
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time
or place in MS.
Aug. 6.
MS. St. Mark's
762. The SAME to CARDINAL ST. ANGELO [RANUCCIO FAR-
NESE].
Condoles with him on the death of his brother, Duke Horatio.
[From Maguzzano on the Lake of Garda, 6th August 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
-
763. The SAME to the MASTER of the SACRED PALACE.†
Thanks him for the zeal with which he defended Pole's character.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.The Master had written to him that on the day after Pole's con-
* Horatio Farnese, Duke of Castro, being in the service of France, was killed when
defending the Castle of Hesdin on the 16th July 1553. (See Litta, Genealogies, and
Pallavicino, History of the Council of Trent, vol. iii. p. 286.)
†The Latin title is "Magister sacri palatij apostolici." The person elected to this post
was necessarily a Dominican, and officially the Pope's theologian. In September 1553,
this post was held by Girolamo Muzzarelli, a Bolognese nobleman, on whom Julius III.
conferred it in the year 1550; and at the close of 1553, he resigned it on being made
Bishop of Conza. Muzzarelli had distinguished himself at the Council of Trent, where he
probably formed a friendship with Cardinal Pole, and he died at Palermo in 1561. (See
Dizionario di Erudizione Storica Ecclesiastica, di Gaetano Moroni, vol. xli. pp. 200-210,
ed. Venezia, 1846.)
380
1553.
1553.
Printed in v. iv. ference at St. Paul's with the Cardinal of Naples,* he was invited
Epistolarum by that Cardinal to dinner, together with two other learned men
Reginaldi Poli." of his Order [Dominicans], and that after dinner the Cardinal
narrated to them his conversation with Pole, and the regret he felt
at, the malignant insinuations whereby it had been sought to disturb
the friendly intercourse existing between them; that he was ready
to give Pole himself any mark of his esteem and love; that the
Master was also to write to Pole in his name how much the inter-
view had pleased him, and to request he would send him the Books
which he addressed heretofore to the King of England.† Of these
the Cardinal of Naples had seen a part when the work was not yet
completed, and approved it highly, so that by so much the more
did he wish to see it in its finished state, in order to have a greater
opportunity for showing his love and esteem for the author. Now
the Father-Master had already heard from Pole's own mouth how
much the interview with the Cardinal of Naples had gratified him,
there came to pass what had been predicted by their mutual friends :
the conference removed all false suspicions, and they will be linked
by a stronger tie of affection. Accustomed as Pole is, religiously
to cultivate all his friends, he is most especially mindful of those
with whom he has been linked, not by country and kindred, but by
Divine Providence and the study of religion, of whom (when de-
spoiled of those acquired through nature and birth-place) God gave
him many, and amongst them, for age and rank (tum vetustate
ipsâ, tum dignitate), the Cardinal of Naples was preeminent; and
that he should be torn from him by the artifices of Satan, never
having lost any of those whom God had given him, was a blow that
Pole could not but lament bitterly. He therefore by so much the
more rejoiced at the Master's colloquy with the Cardinal of Naples,
as it proved that God, who had bound the friendship between him
and Pole, chose in like manner to restore it.
CC
With regard to the edition of Pole's " Books" (illorum librorum)
demanded by the Cardinal of Naples, and for the delay in the pub-
lication of which, as also of his other works (de cæteris meis scriptis),
the Master so vehemently reproves Pole because he has so long sup-
pressed and hidden the talent given him by God for his own use and
that of others, he will not answer the Master, as he does others, by
saying that he does not acknowledge his writings to contain such an
amount of talent as to render so great an increase of their circu-
lation desirable, but he will trust neither to his own judgment
nor to the Master's in this matter; and whether anything should
be edited in full (an vero aliquid omnino edendum sit), and at
what time, if found to be of any probable use, this he leaves to
the decision of him to whom God has given the right and power
to decide about all matters relating to the benefit of the universal
Church. Is aware that in this he pursues a very different course
to that of other writers, although he does not consider himself an
-
* Gianpietro Caraffa became Archbishop of Naples in the year 1549. (See Cardella,
v. iv. pp. 166, 167.)
The first four books "De Unitate et Primatu Ecclesiæ." (See note to letter dated
February 1548.)
1553.
381
1553.
author, having certainly never written anything with the intention
of publishing it,* as he sees that when printing anything they
generally profess to do so by the advice of their friends, a motive
which has never seemed just to him even should the work be very
much read; nor is it more justifiable than if a man gifted with
eloquence were, on the advice of his friends, to call the public to
the platform to harangue them about his private affairs,† or than
if an able juris-consult were to seat himself on the bench (in tri-
bunal ascenderet) to teach the public law, because his friends
persuaded him to do so. Does not see any difference between
publishing a work and haranguing the people in public, or publicly
passing sentence, if the author disputes contested matters and decides
what should be thought about them.
**
That which it is not lawful to do by word of mouth Pole has
never allowed himself to do with regard to anything written by him,
and especially in the matter of an apology written by him in defence
of himself. Cardinal Caraffa, with great friendship, dissuaded him
from publishing it, whilst others advised the contrary, in accordance
apparently with Scripture, where it is written," Maledictus homo qui
negligit famam suain;" but, on the other hand, self-defence might
be, or imply, accusation of his neighbour; so Pole had recourse to
the Pope, laying before him his doubts, and his Holiness, like the
Cardinal of Naples, counselled him to publish nothing in defence of
himself (ne quid publice mei defendendi causâ scriberem), the
Pope saying that he exhorted him to abstain from writing an
apology, not for the sake of Pole's honour, which was well able to
defend itself, but for the honour of the order of Cardinals and their
College, which might incur some mark of infamy were it but to
transpire that such strife prevailed there as to compel him, especially
from such a cause, to condescend to an apology; and the Pope
ended, not only by exhorting Pole, but by requesting him utterly to
renounce this mode of defence. He was thus reduced to silence, and
deprived himself of an infallible weapon for refuting the calumnies
with which he had been assailed. Viewing matters in their tem-
poral light, he ought to have made himself heard, but he had more
at heart the spiritual interests of the Church than those of himself
individually. His silence, therefore, was not induced by the dictates
of human prudence. Cardinal Caraffa remarked to him that, how-
ever just his defence, it must convict him of having been suspected
of crime. This would imply that he was silent from self-interest;
* Qui si quid scripsi, nunquam certe eo animo scripsi, ut ederem.
Ut privato nomine populum ad concionem vocaret, atque e suggestu verba faceret.
The "apology" here alluded to must not be confounded with the "Apologia Re-
ginaldi Poli ad Carolum V. Cæsarem. The apology which Cardinal Pole suppressed, at
the instigation of Pope Julius III. and Cardinal Caraffa, had for object to confute the
calumnies devised to prevent his election at the time of the conclave in 1549–1550.
They are touched upon in his letter to the Bishop of Badajos, dated 17th June 1550.
Amongst the accusations brought against him by his competitors for the Popedom,
were the following:-During his Legation at Viterbo, he caused but few people to be put
to death; he entertained heretical opinions; and he had a natural daughter in a convent
at Rome. The reply to these charges may be read in Pole's Life by Beccatello (vol. v.
Epistolarum, etc., pp. 371, 372). These libels had tempted him for a moment to think of
swerving from his general rule, but the aberration was momentary and did not take effect.
382
1553.
1553.
but he could use so many arguments in favour of his innocence
that his judges themselves would perhaps feel ashamed of having
compelled him to defend himself.
Is it to be supposed that Pole's manifestations of piety and
obedience towards the Church, especially as that Church is Roman,
can need defence in Rome against suspicions of impiety and apo-
stasy? Should he not appear Catholic to others, to that Church he
assuredly gave so many hostages of faith and obedience, that if
those who preside over decisions about religion at Rome distrust
them, it would be no less odious and ungrateful before God and
man than if Pole himself were to fail giving constant thanks for
having been enabled thus to do. No better security could be given
by God to prove Pole's faith and obedience to the Roman Church
than by his causing him to sacrifice everything to its honour; nor
was the supreme testimony of the blood of martyrs wanting; what
blood did he not shed for his faith and obedience to the Roman
Church? The lives of the many victims slaughtered for this cause
by the rabid enemy of the Roman Church were far dearer to Pole
than his own blood; and if he did not shed it, he shunned no danger
which could enable him to demonstrate his obedience and faith, as
exemplified by his performance of the various missions assigned him
by the Pope.
On a certain occasion Paul III., having refused him audience,
and even turning aside, explained the cause by telling the by-
standers that on that day he had received such grievous news of
Pole's family that he had not the heart to look him in the face, and
by no means could he speak to him. From that time forth Pole's
adversites have augmented, and always from the same cause, and in
like manner as he has hitherto borne these marks (stigmata) of his
obedience, so will he continue to bear them; and should anyone
hear that the Roman Church is so forgetful of all these things, and
so averse to bear in mind so many wounds inflicted on him for his
defence of its honour, as not only to feel no pity, but to allow him
to be branded in its own presence with fresh marks of infamy such
as had never been inflicted on him by any enemy, could it perchance
ever be apprehended that whilst with just reasons and sure argu-
ments he dispelled every unjust suspicion, his defence could brand
him with a mark of infamy, rather than those who, after so many
testimonies from God of his fidelity and obedience, should allow them
to be impugned? And indeed, could they, by reason of their not
having defended him ever defend themselves against the charge
of ingratitude? It is true that attempts were made to render
suspected those two luminaries of the Church, the Cardinals
[Gasparo] Contarini and Morone, and finally Pole himself, but the
attacks recoiled upon their authors.
In conclusion, if Pole individually abstained from defending
himself, it was not from fear of injuring his character, but solely
to obey the Pope. Some persons will perhaps have accused Pole of
giving too easy access and of having been too kind (nimis benig-
num) to persons of suspected faith in matters of religion, but he
believes that the Master of the Sacred Palace will approve of this
conduct, which is taught by St. Paul. Concerning the books men-
1553.
383
1553.
Aug. 7.
MS. St. Mark's
tioned by the Cardinal of Naples, Pole will publish them, should
it seem fit to the Pope; and by so much the more willingly as
in a proem (quasi proemii loco) he answers those who accuse him
of imprudence for having assumed the task of writing at such a
time to a King who would not derive any advantage from it, Pole
having, moreover, written with so much vehemence. In this
In this proem
he refutes the charge.
Again assures the Master of the pleasure caused him by being
reconciled to the Cardinal of Naples, as it is very advantageous
for persons of the same order to be true friends, and that the fact
should be generally known.
From the Monastery of Maguzzano, 6th August 1553.
[Latin, 458 lines.]
764. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Library,
The news of the succession of the Princess Mary to the kingdom
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.of England on the death of her brother, which might reasonably
have been doubted on account of the first advices, being now
confirmed through several channels, I cannot delay congratulating
your Holiness until the receipt of further intelligence, the nature
of the event appearing to me such that since many years nothing
has occurred in Christendom on which one could more reasonably
congratulate any Christian mind, and especially that of your
Holiness, this being a manifest victory of God over the long
cogitated malice of man, corroborated by such great forces and
means for the attainment of his perverse ends. And God of his
goodness, to render his proceeding (operation) more illustrious, has
chosen to annihilate in one moment all these long cherished projects
by means of a woman, who for so many years has suffered contrary to
all justice, being in a state of oppression shortly before this took place,
and who is now victorious and called to the throne, thus affording
reasonable hopes that, together with her, there will be called to
reign in that island, justice, piety, and the true religion, which have
hitherto been utterly crushed, and that the kingdom will return to
its obedience, in like manner as its alienation was the commencement
and cause of its utter ruin. And the Almighty having willed that
this should take place in your Holiness's time, and not previously,
although often attempted by your predecessor of blessed memory,
by so much the more ought I to congratulate you, as I now do with
my whole heart, praying God that, having caused you to witness
the end of this holy work, you may also likewise see the fruits
which may be hoped for, by using such means as Divine Providence
has placed in your hands to attain this end. And as I think it
might perhaps not be unacceptable (discaro) to your Holiness, as I
am of the country and heretofore negotiated this matter, to hear
my feeble opinion, and being unable at present to deliver it in
person, I have sent to your feet, together with this letter, my
Abbot (l'Abbate mio) of San Saluto [Vincenzo Parpaglia], who is
acquainted with what little I could tell you were I on the spot, and
to whom I beseech your Holiness to give gracious audience, and
such credence as you would to myself; and with all due reverence,
384
1553.
1553.
Aug. 10?
MS. St. Mark's
Aug. 13.
MS. St. Mark's
kissing your most holy feet, I pray the Divine clemency to vouchsafe
long to preserve you for the benefit of your Church.
From Maguzzano, on the Lake of Garda, 7th August 1553.
[Italian.]
765. CARDINAL POLE to the IMPERIAL AMBASSADOR [FRANCESCO
DE?] VARGAS [in Venice ?].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time piety of Vargas will cause him to rejoice at the event.
or place in MS.
[Maguzzano, 10th August 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
Announces the accession of Queen Mary, being certain that the
766. CARDINAL POLE to the QUEEN of ENGLAND.
Blesses the hand of God, that "right hand of the Lord," not
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.only for having placed her Highness on that high throne and put
Library,
her in possession of the kingdom which belonged to her since
many years--all good persons desiring the event and asking it of
the Divine goodness in their prayers-but also for bringing the
thing to pass in such a manner that not only the effect itself, but
yet more the mode of producing it, heartily rejoices all her true
servants, and above all (as Pole knows for certain her own pious
disposition) from its having happened without bloodshed, which
might with reason have been feared, considering the malignant de-
vices of her adversaries, backed by no small force, employed by them
to deprive her of her just succession, and the long period conceded
them by God, for the yet greater manifestation of his Divine
providence, at the moment when they thought already to have
accomplished their iniquitous design, which was instantaneously
frustrated, without the aid of any other forces or resistance save
that which the Spirit of God roused in the hearts of men, converting
those who, having previously been utterly given to the cause of
human malice, now all devoted themselves to the honour and service
of God and of her Highness, and to the benefit of the whole
kingdom.
Should any one marvel and inquire how against such great
malice and power her Majesty, without any external forces, and not
many soldiers with the heart to declare themselves for her, could
have recovered her crown-should any one ask in surprise, "quo-
modo factum est istud?"—the fact itself will reply, "Spiritus
Sanctus supervenit in corde hominum," and willed by these means
to give her the kingdon, and by this very notable example to make
it manifest, not only to her own people but to all those of the rest
of Christendom, and to the Infidels likewise, “quod non sit con-
silium, non sit prudentia, neque fortitudo contra Dominum, eț
quod excelsus Dominus dominetur in regno hominum, et cui voluerit
et quando voluerit dubit illud." If ever the conviction that Divine
providence governs human affairs, as principal foundation of our
faith, required to be introduced and confirmed in the Queen's king-
dom by some evident proof, this was above all necessary at the
present time, when, through the authority exercised there since so
many years by the wicked, it was become so weakened in the hearts
1553.
385
15 53.
to
CARDINAL POLEOf men, most especially of those who considered themselves more sage
QUEEN MARY and prudent than others, that it seemed quite extinguished. It
(13th August). having therefore pleased the Divine goodness to show its power by
evident signs, through her Highness's exaltation at the time when
her enemies, and many others likewise, believed her to be completely
crushed, all pious souls rejoice at this extremely.
Is certain that her Majesty rejoices more at the proof thus afforded
than at the royal crown itself; and if ever woman had merciful
grace (gratia) for which to magnify and praise God in the words
of his blessed mother, whose name the Queen bears-used in
testimony of the joy felt by her at the Divine providence in her
own favour and salvation and that of the human race, when,
replete with the Holy Spirit, she sang, saying, "Magnificat anima
mea Dominum," the Queen herself has more cause than any
one to sing likewise the sequel of that canticle, feeling within
herself what everybody perceives-that the goodness of God res-
pexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ, fecit potentiam in brachio suo,
and at once, deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.
Hopes this effect of the Almighty's providence with regard to her Ma-
jesty will become daily more manifest by her [form of?] government,
with such increase of joy and contentment as desired, to the honour
and praise of his Divine Majesty, for whose Church, and for the sake
of the Queen herself, Pole is bound to warn her of one single thing at
this commencement of her reign, which is, that having received such
especial favour from the Divine goodness she be pleased well to con-
sider from what root the great disorders in matters relating to justice
and the true religion proceeded; the which disorders in England
have for many years been seen to increase daily, greatly to the
ruin both of private and public interests.
By doing so, her Majesty will perceive that the beginning and
cause of all the evil, commenced at the time when the perpetual
adversary of the human race placed in the heart of the King her father
the perverse desire to make the divorce from the blessed Queen her
mother. To this great injustice towards God, towards her and Queen
Mary, and towards himself at the same time (alla quale grande in-
giustitia verso Dio, verso lei et voi et se stesso insieme atque illi
magnæ in Deum, in ipsum, in Te, in se ipsum injuriæ, majus
additum est scelus, etc.), he added another much greater, that of
divorcing himself from Queen Mary's spiritual mother, and from all
faithful Christians, that is to say, from the Holy Catholic Church, from
which he departed by departing from the obedience of the Apostolic
See. From this iniquitous and impious seed there subsequently
sprang up those pestiferous fruits which have so corrupted every part
of the kingdom, that since many years scarce any vestige has been
seen either of justice or religion, as if both one and the other had
been banished the realm when reverence and obedience towards the
Church were abolished; and I venture to make this prophecy, that
they will never return, be the government whatever it may, until
this divine obedience be again received into the mind of the ruler
(di chi regge).
This the Queen may believe on the authority of one who is her
servant, and who, of all those yet living, has suffered the most both
5.
B B
386
1553.
1553.
to
CARDINAL POLE on this account and for the Queen's cause, never neglecting any
QUEEN MARY opportunity for defending it, whenever it seemed possible to find any
(13th August). remedy whereby to extricate her from her grievous troubles. If his
diligence and toil failed to obtain the fruit always most earnestly
desired by him, he having several times risked his life for it, he now
perceives the reason, and is much more comforted than if he himself
had been the means of assisting her. Acknowledges in this instance
the manifest compassion demonstrated towards her by the Almighty,
who has not chosen any other hand to be interposed, neither that
of the Emperor, who always showed himself anxious in this matter,
nor of the Pope, who never failed aiding it, he likewise being pre-
pared to give the Queen all favour and succour. Pole's intercession
with both one and the other was assiduous, he having always urged
this most pious cause, for which the goodness of God had determined
to give the Queen assistance, at the time appointed by Him, with
his own hand, and in the meanwhile to treat her in the way He
is wont always to adopt with his most dear and chosen children,
placing and educating her in every sort of adversity and tribulation,
that the flower of his grace might strike deeper root, so as to blossom
better, and then, when it should please Him to give her prosperity,
produce more noble fruits, which the hope of all good men now
expects from her, and that of Pole above all others, as he has had
a better opportunity of knowing from her infancy (fanciullezza)
the virtues (gratie) with which the graciousness of God has endowed
her.
This renders him also the more anxious to warn her Highness
of this great and important point of obedience to the Church
(della obedientia della Chiesa), knowing that he is now so much the
more bound to desire and seek to learn how her mind is inclined
and disposed towards this matter; for being at a distance of 300
miles from Rome, in a monastery-whither he betook himself some
days ago to be able with more quiet to pray God for her Majesty
and the whole kingdom-immediately on hearing the auspicious
news of her accession, he was informed by the Pope and Cardinals
that he had been elected Legate from the Apostolic See to her
Majesty, and to both those two great Princes, the Emperor and
the King of France, to congratulate her on the victory of God
in this cause, which is so thoroughly his own.
Before doing anything further, knowing how important it is, he
has thought it well as aforesaid to endeavour to learn in what way
God now moves the mind of her Majesty (in qual modo Idio mova
hora la mente di Va. Mta.) For this purpose he sends the present
messenger [Henry Penning]* with this letter, not indeed from any
doubt of her Highness's goodwill (buona mente), having always
known her gratitude towards God, and the internal affection of her
heart for obedience to the Divine laws and institutions, including the
* The name Henry Penning is given by Pallavicino in his History of the Council of
Trent, vol. iii. p. 289. In Dr. Hook's Life of Pole, p. 220, it is stated that Penning arrived
in London with Commendone on the 8th August, but as this letter was written on the 13th
August, the supposed date of his arrival is a mistake, and Pallavicino (p. 289) says
distinctly that the mission of Commendone preceded that of Penning, nor were they in
London together.
1553.
387
1553.
to
CARDINAL POLE obedience of the Apostolic See (la obedientia della Sede Apostolica),
which her Highness, above all others, is bound to favour, as for
QUEEN MARY
(13th August). no other cause did the King her father renounce it than because the
Roman Pontiff persevered in favouring her cause, and would never
consent to his strange and iniquitous desire; but as this great
change was made many years ago, and as such great malice has
been used to alienate the minds of the people from this obedience
and extinguish it completely, Pole has therefore thought fit to
endeavour in the first place thus to hear from her the time and
mode (il tempo et l'ordine) which she would wish him to observe
(che Io tenghi) in performing the embassy to her from the Vicar
of the Lord, for her own comfort and the benefit of the realm, the
quiet and happiness of which have been crushed (oppressa) more
and more, hourly, ever since the government commenced opposing
and depressing this holy obedience.
Has therefore determined to await her Highness's reply, and
prays God that it may be in conformity with his hope and expecta-
tion, and such as all pious persons have conceived from the grace
of his Divine Majesty vouchsafed to her, to the confirmation and
increase of the joy felt universally at her exaltation. Should her
Majesty grant him gracious audience, he hopes by the grace of God
to convince her (farle conoscere) that in this point of obedience to
the Church (la obedientia della Chiesa) consists the establishment of
her crown and the entire welfare of her kingdom; and praying the
Almighty of his infinite mercy to uphold and prosper her royal state
with that same hand which placed her in it, he ends his letter
beseeching her Highness to accept it cordially, as God has always
prompted him to act (as he is certain she knows) for her honour
and felicity.
From Maguzzano, 13th of August 1553.
[Italian, "translated from the English."]*
Aug. 13.
767. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Had despatched the Abbot of San Saluto [Vincenzo Parpaglia] to
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.congratulate the Pope on this auspicious and truly miraculous event
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
in England, and to mention what little occurred to him on the
subject. When near Bologna the Abbot met the Papal messenger
with the briefs and Pole's legatine commission. Yesterday the Abbot
returned with the messenger, who rejoiced the Cardinal by his
account of the Pope's ardour, from which he anticipates that this
good beginning will produce an equally good result. As his Holi-
ness has authorised him to proceed in this matter as he deems most
expedient, thinks fit, before moving further, to send a messenger
express to Flanders, there to apply to the Cardinal Legate,†
hoping thus to obtain from him, as also from natives of England,
some additional intelligence whereby to regulate his negotiations;
*The foregoing letter is diffuse, as most documents of the period are, but it contains
something more than "the usual commonplaces" (see Hook, p. 219). I have given it in
full, because the Italian translation is more complete than the Latin version in Quirini, iv.
pp. 428 and 116-119.
† Gieronimo Dandino, Bishop of Imola, Legate at Brussels.
BB 2
388
1553.
1553.
Aug. 13.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
and that, in the meanwhile, the Bishop of Worcester (Mons. di
Vigornionsi (sic)*) should be sent to the Imperial Court to perform
such offices with his Majesty as the Legate shall think desirable
according to the advices received through Pole's messenger in the
first place, and from such news as shall be heard from day to day.
Sends his Abbot [of San Saluto] to give the Pope particular ac-
count of his proceedings, referring the whole to his Holiness's most
prudent judgment, being always most ready to obey and serve him
with his life blood; and with all due reverence kissing his most holy
feet, he prays the Almighty to vouchsafe this great favour to his
pontificate, to restore Engiand to the union and obedience of hist
Church, as it may be hoped of his goodness He will do.
From Maguzzano, 13th August 1553.
[Italian.]
Aug. 13?
MS. St. Mark's
The Pope having elected Pole Legate for the affairs of England, as
the Cardinal of Imola will perceive by the accompanying copy of a
brief from Rome, he thinks fit, before moving further, to send the
present messenger to Flanders to obtain such more precise informa-
tion as seems necessary in this matter, to avoid the risk of doing
what might prove undignified and unbecoming the authority of his
Holiness and the Apostolic See. Has charged him to apply in the
first place to the Legate whom he (Pole) requests to give him such
intelligence as shall have been received through the Imperial Court.
The messenger will acquaint him with such intelligence as has been
obtained through other channels; and, if necessary, will then go
as far as England. Has also thought it well for the Bishop of
Worcester (Vigorniensi) [Richard Pate] to proceed to the Emperor's
court, as the Legate will hear from the bearer of the present letter.
Will send by the Bishop copies of the briefs, and write also to the
Emperor, hoping in all matters to receive every possible information
from the Legate about this business, concerning entirely the honour
of God and the benefit of his Church, which they may hope will be
attained, having in truth such great and miraculous security from
his divine hand. Thanks the Legate 'greatly for the letter written
by him to the Cardinal of Trent for communication to him (Pole) who
for the rest refers himself to the statement of the messenger [Henry
Penning ?].
[From Maguzzano ?] 13th August 1553.
[Italian.]
769. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL SANTA CROCE [MARCELLO
CERVINI].*
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
768. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF IMOLA [GIERONIMO
DANDINO], Legate [at Brussels].
Considering that the superintendence (la cura) of the affairs of
No date in MS. England is common to himself and Cardinal Santa Croce, and, as
* Richard Pate, Bishop designate of Worcester. The Pope offered Cardinal Pole to
appoint Richard Pate as nuncio, to be employed as the Legate should think fit. See
Quirini, v. iv. p. 110.)
† See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 226.
1553.
389
1553.
Aug. 20.
MS. St. Mark's
usual, relying much on his prudence and piety, Pole has desired
his Abbot [of San Saluto], the bearer of the present letter, to
acquaint him with the cause of his going to Rome, and to request
Santa Croce to give the Abbot and himself such suggestions as he
shall think opportune and expedient for the service of God in this
matter, which is of such great importance that it must make all the
faithful (as it certainly will Cardinal Santa Croce) heartily pray
for the Divine goodness to grant the desired result, which may be
anticipated from so good and auspicious a commencement; and for
the rest he refers himself to the Abbot's statement.
[From Maguzzano, 13th August 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
Aug. 19.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
770. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
The letters from England, down to the 24th ult., announce the
v. xviii. p. 152. proclamation as Queen, of the Lady Mary, sister of the late King,
and the Emperor's kinswoman. She was expected in London.
The Signory's letters from Rome purport that the Pope has revoked
the recall of his two Legates, who are now to remain with the
Emperor and the King of France.
Ayes, 177. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 5.
[Italian.]
771. CARDINAL POLE to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
After the great and constant affliction endured for many years by
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. the kingdom of England solely on account of impious and iniquitous
Library,
rulers, it has pleased the Divine mercy to comfort the realm by
giving it this governess, to whom the crown by right belongs, and
which by reason of her goodness was desired for her by all good
persons; and that this should come to pass by means of the Em-
peror's direction.*
It therefore seems meet to Pole,-for him-
self and all other Englishmen (tutti noi di quel regno) to return
especial and infinite thanks to his Imperial Majesty, to whom, after
God, all the praise and honour of this achievement (fatto) should
be given; beseeching the Divine goodness, with regard to what
remains for the completion of this holy work, to vouchsafe to use
the same medium (mezo) used by him for giving it so auspicious a
commencement. Of all the things which remain to be done to this
end, none is of greater importance than the restoring England to
the obedience of the Apostolic See (che il restituire quel regno all'
obedientia della Sede Apostolica). Considers it certain that the
Emperor, of his great piety, does not require to be stimulated by
others but is disposed spontaneously to seek this restoration ac-
cording to opportunity. Nevertheless, as the goodness of God has
given this great pledge of his mercy, granting to England one sole
governess (governatrice), more inclined and able than any other
* Per mezo dello indrizo di V. Mtà.
390
1553.
1553.
person to bring this holy work to perfection, with the aid and
counsel of his Imperial Majesty, and it having pleased the Pope
and the Apostolic See to appoint him (Pole) Legate to treat this
business with his Majesty and such other princes, and private
persons as shall seem expedient, he thinks he cannot too speedily
commence proposing this cause to the Emperor, whom it chiefly
befits by reason of his supreme grade above all princes, and for
so many other self-evident reasons unnecessary to mention. His
Majesty both heretofore and at present has obtained many and
great victories; but in Pole's opinion he has had none comparable
to this one, and from which he may hope for greater and more
efficacious (più potente) fruit, to the honour of the Divine Majesty
and of himself, and to the eternal benefit of the Church, and of
England. And as it has pleased the goodness of God, after so many
affronts (dispiaceri) received by his Imperial Majesty owing to the
perverse government of the realm of England, now deservedly to
comfort him in the matters relating to its temporal jurisdiction, it
may be expected of his goodness that the first partakers of this
consolation will be those who were most afflicted, and principally
the Apostolic See, which, for defending the just cause of his
Majesty's lineage (per defendere la giustitia del sangue di vostra
Maestà), lost its authority in that kingdom. Although the reco-
very thereof does not seem easy, considering the humours of the
population (havendo rispetto agli humori degli huomini), and
past events; yet through that blessed hand which gave this first
great commencement of good government, and of the kingdom's
felicity, its continuance also may be expected, when coupled with
this second boon, without which the consolation derived from the
first will be of short duration. Hopes that, as the Legates of the
Apostolic See were excluded from that kingdom for favouring the
rights of those so near akin to his Majesty, so, as God now gives
compensation, he (the Emperor) will also grant him (Pole) this
honour of opening the road for their return, to the advantage of the
realm and to the joy of the whole Church, by reason of the great
benefit which from this example may be anticipated in other king-
doms and provinces. This firm hope has induced Pole to perform
this office by letter with the Emperor, whose victorious hands.
will, he expects, prepare the way for him, to introduce the spiri-
tual authority into England, in like manner as God enabled his
Majesty, in the person of his cousin the most Serene Queen Mary,
to introduce the temporal authority there. The reasons which in a
worldly sense (humanamente) cause Pole to hope for a fair and
speedy result in this matter shall be told the Emperor at their
meeting, which he hopes will take place speedily. In the mean-
while, congratulating the Emperor with his whole heart on this
miraculous victory, he kisses his hands, constantly praying his
Divine Majesty to vouchsafe to preserve him, for the benefit and
universal consolation of all Christendom.
In the monastery of Maguzzano, 20th August 1553.
[Italian.]
-
1553.
391
1553.
Aug. 20?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
+
772. "INFORMATION " for the EMPEROR given by CARDINAL
POLE to his SECRETARY FIORDIBELLO.
When his Holiness heard of the victory which the Lord God of
No date of time his mercy gave the most Serene Queen, his Majesty's cousin, not
or place.*
only without any opposition, but moreover placing her enemies
and rebels in her hands,-hoping that with God's assistance the
kingdom of England might be re-united to the Church, and brought
to the obedience of the Apostolic See (che quel regno se habbia da
ridurre, con lo aiuto di Dio, alla unione della Chiesa et alla
obedientia della Sede Apostolica), through the authority of the
Emperor,―he elected his (the Secretary's) master the Right Reverend
Cardinal Pole as Legate, to treat this holy business with his Majesty
and the Queen, and with other princes the most suited to the matter
(et altri principi con chi fusse più opportuno) and being on the
eve of departure, his Right Reverend Lordship has chosen him to
come beforehand to his Majesty.
In the first place he has charged him to congratulate the Emperor
on so auspicious an event, then to thank the Emperor for his
counsel, management, and favour.
Cardinal Pole was on the point of departure to perform this
office of congratulation with his Majesty by word of mouth, to
thank him in the name of all pious inhabitants in England, and to
execute his Holiness's commission.
.
Should his Majesty say that it is not opportune to treat this
matter now, as the affairs of that kingdom are not yet well.
established, and that it is therefore not expedient, [he is to be
told] that Cardinal Pole himself likewise considered this, and
moreover dropped a hint about it to the Pope, notwithstanding
which, he is convinced that this delay would not only, not profit,
but would injure the cause; and the reason is, that it is customary
in England, in the first Parliament and convocation of the three
estates, to propose the matters relating to the reordination of the
kingdom, all persons who consider themselves aggrieved then
stating their complaints; and the affairs of the religion and the
union of the kingdom [with the Apostolic See ?], which is the most
important and necessary, not merely for the salvation of souls, but
also for the quiet of the people and the stability of the realm,
would be irreparably prejudiced if at the present moment, when
persons of every grade are striving which shall evince the greatest
obedience to the Queen, the opportunity should be lost for bringing
back (redure) the realm to the union of the Church and to the
obedience of the Apostolic See, without which the other matters
concerning the religion cannot be established. As God therefore has
sent this opportunity, it should be seized.
Should the Emperor allege the example of Germany, or, even, with-
out alleging it, say that it might appear to some persons, or that
some persons might think it difficult, from the example of the Ger-
mans; to reply that the affairs of Germany and of England are diffe-
rent, as in Germany the thing (la cosa) is popular, which excuse has
*The date may be conjectured by that of the letters addressed to the Emperor and the
Bishop of Arras.
392
1553.
1553.
been occasionally made by some of the German Princes, whereas
in England, by the rising in the time of the late King, it has been
seen that the people were well disposed towards the religion, and
wished things to return to their former state, as they demanded
to live in that faith which her father King Henry had conceded
them, and which he ordered to be observed, with regard to the mass
and the other sacraments of the Church.
In the next place, what greater sign of their goodwill could
be desired than to see with what universal readiness and joy they
hailed the Princess Mary for their Queen ?—especially the Londoners,
from whom this was the less to be expected, as they had always
been considered much more opposed to the religion than any others
(che alcun altro), they knowing and being very well aware of
the sincere and Catholic mind of her Majesty, and of the faith
which she has always professed and professes. So as to the dogmas
(quanto a id ogni-sic), it seems there would be no such great
difficulty; and even with regard to the schism, and the return to
the obedience of the Apostolic See, the people at that same time
of the insurrection showed their goodwill, when amongst the other
articles they demanded that his [Fiordibello's] master (although
he had never been in that part of the country, and they had
no particular knowledge of his Right Reverend Lordship or of his
family) should not only be restored to his native soil, but also have
a seat in the King's Council, a very evident sign that as they could
not openly demand the restitution of the Pope's authority, which
had been forbidden them by law under penalty of rebellion, they
demanded it indirectly. The people therefore being well inclined,
and their ruler the Queen most excellently disposed, and those
who would have chiefly sought to thwart the matter being by
God's justice in her hands, it is to be hoped that this restoration
will not prove difficult, most especially when backed by the
Emperor's authority; and it may be very reasonably supposed that
the people of England will resume their obedience to the Apostolic
See, since they can allege no grievance against it, as no kingdom
enjoyed more prerogatives and exemptions than England, during
her acknowledgment of the papal supremacy; and moreover, because
subsequently, owing to this change, the losses (danni) and burdens
of the country have been endless.
As to the difficulty on account of the interests of the nobility,
Cardinal Pole hopes a remedy will be found, and reserves its
discussion for his interview with the Emperor, as he desires and
hopes that his Majesty will be the person to adjust, regulate and
adapt (accomodare) this part, as an excellent medium between his
cousin and the parties concerned, so that all the praise and glory
may rest, as is very fitting on every account, with his Majesty.
Should the Emperor maintain that the Legate's passage to Eng-
land at present would be premature, Fiordibello will reply that
should it seem premature for the attainment of the end, Cardinal
Pole's presence will at least give the Emperor and the Queen
greater opportunity for discussing and negotiating this matter;
and if this were abandoned the cause would become hopeless.
In addition to this, the mere presence of the Emperor [at Brussels ?]
1553.
393
1553.
1
should be a sufficient reason for Cardinal Pole's going into those
parts to confer with him, and hear his most prudent opinion;
although besides this, it can by no means seem premature to obtain
that the Queen should at least send a person to discuss and
treat this matter with him, as the King her father, although
the open enemy of the Apostolic See, was induced of his own
accord, at the time of Cardinal Pole's former legation [in the year
1537], to send some of his dependents (alcuni delli sui) to him,
namely, the King's own confessor and some doctors, who had already
departed on their way, as affirmed by the Bishop [designate] of
Worcester, who was then in the King's Court, though they did not
cross the Channel, having met a courier with news of Cardinal
Pole's departure for Italy [from Liege in August], he having been
recalled by the Pope.
as
The Emperor of his extreme prudence has also to consider,
should anything sinister befall the Queen, that remaining in their
present state the affairs of the religion would run great danger,
some powerful King, declaring her schismatic, might wage
war on her, and place her in great difficulties, by means of such
a protest, and perhaps also with the favour of some friendly Pope.
And if the Duke now a prisoner,* thought fit to avail himself of
the name of King Henry's second sister's granddaughter (figliuola)
[Jane Gray], for which purpose he married her to one of his sons
to colour his right (le sue ragioni) to occupy England; how much
greater reason would there not be to fear this from the grand-
daughter (figliuola) of the King's late sister, who has remained
heiress of Scotland?--both as she is descended from the elder sister,
and also because she is not schismatic. So that the Queen of England,
by reuniting herself to the Apostolic See, would secure herself
against this danger, and much more were she also to be crowned
by the hand of a Legate from the Apostolic See.
It is unnecessary to exhort his Imperial Majesty, Cardinal Pole
being very certain that for every reason, both divine and human,
he is excellently disposed to embrace this holy and glorious under-
taking.
As to Cardinal Pole, individually, the Emperor knows, should he
go to England, how much he is bound to him (quanto li sia
obligato).
The French have requested the Pope that Cardinal Pole may
pass through France, and his Holiness left it optional with him to
do so, showing, however, that the straighter and more fitting way
was to the Emperor, which Cardinal Pole has with reason determined
to take.
Fiordibello is to apply to the Cardinal Legate Dandino, and con-
sult with him as to how much of Cardinal Pole's commission he is
to impart; and is to communicate everything to him.
[Maguzzano, 20th August?]
[Italian.]
* John Dudley Duke of Northumberland.
394
1553.
1553.
Aug. 21.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
Aug. 22.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
773. CARDINAL POLE to the ARCHBISHOP OF CONZA, Papal
Nuncio [with the Emperor].
Is sending his Secretary, Messer Antonio Fiordebelli, to congratu-
late the Emperor on these auspicious events in England. Has
charged him to salute the Nuncio in his name, and acquaint him
with the particulars of his commission, hoping that the Nuncio
will give him hints for the benefit of this common cause, which -
is so important for the Apostolic See. Requests him to do so, and
refers himself for the rest to the Secretary.
Maguzzano, 21st August 1553.
[Italian.]
774. THE SAME to the BISHOP OF ARRAS [ANTOINE
PERRENOT DE GRANVELLE].
Has received a brief from the Pope, informing him that his Holi-
ness and the Sacred College have elected him Legate to the Queen
of England and the Emperor, and other Princes likewise, as may
seem opportune and expedient to him for the re-organization (per
indrizzar) of the affairs of the religion in that kingdom. This was
done immediately on hearing of the miraculous success in favour of
the just cause, of Queen Mary. Has thought it his duty to an-
nounce the appointment to the Emperor by letter, to be delivered
by the present bearer, his Secretary, praying his Majesty at the
same time, that in like manner, as he always wished that kingdom
to return to the obedience of the Apostolic See, and negotiated and
exhorted in order that the King and his guardians (governatori),
from whom but little could be hoped, might be brought thus to
do, so he will now be pleased vigorously to interpose his authority
with the present Queen, made, it may be said, by the hand of
God, and who will give much more credit to the opinion and counsel
of his Imperial majesty than to all the other Princes and private
individuals in the world united, as she ought and has great cause
to do, and especially by reason of the experience she has had of
his Imperial Majesty's very prudent guidance (prudentissimo in-
drizzo) in obtaining, by means of his ministers, the crown which
by right belonged to her. Doubts not but that these Imperial
ministers, together with the divine assistance, took a great part
in bringing this vessel into such safe harbour; so as he desires and
hopes that the end may correspond to so auspicious a beginning,
he has recourse to the same medium. Knows well that there is
no need to urge the Bishop of Arras readily to employ the grace
and favour enjoyed by him with the Emperor, to exhort his
Majesty to undertake this cause with becoming zeal, promptitude,
and resolution, being convinced of the Bishop's piety towards God
and his Church, and of his regard for the honour of the Emperor,
who cannot assume any undertaking which could obtain for him
more honour and reward with God and man than this one, or one
which is more expected by everybody on many accounts from his
holy and victorious hand. But as he (Pole) hopes (please God) to
find himself shortly in the Emperor's presence, he will then be able
to confer in particular with the Bishop about the means whereby
1553.
395
1553.
Aug. 26.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
this pious and holy work may reach its due end; and therefore
in this letter he will not dilate upon it further, referring himself, for
whatever else he might now say, to the statement of its bearer.
From Maguzzano, 22nd August 1553.
[Italian.]
775. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
ENGLAND.
Enclose advices for communication as usual.
Vigore deliberationis Illmi Senatus,
diei 25 August.
[Italian.]
Aug. 27.
776. CARDINAL POLE to QUEEN MARY.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
As it is now very probable that the report of your restoration
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.to the right of the Crown of England, circulates throughout
Christendom, your Majesty may believe that in no part of it is
there any person of a Christian mind, who on hearing of this
most auspicious event does not feel great joy and pleasure, to
which fact, in Italy, from what I hear and see, I can bear ample
testimony, so that I think many years have elapsed since any news
has been received here with greater joy and applause. This pro-
ceeds not merely from the thing itself, that is to say, that your
Majesty has been restored to the dominion of that realm which by
right and justice belonged to you,-a joy peculiar to England, and
most especially to those already acquainted with the endowments
(gratie) given you by God, to enable you to rule and govern,—but
the means whereby you have obtained possession of the kingdom is
what gives matter for rejoicing to all nations, and all private indi-
viduals, there being thus evidently manifest the hand and power of
God for your defence, against such malice and violence as was
employed against you to deprive you of your right. It is also
seen, not only that, deprived as you were of all human succour,
you were released from the hands of your enemies, but that they, in
arms, against you who were defenceless, became your prisoners
without bloodshed or sword-stroke, all their malicious counsel
recoiling on their own heads, they being the identical individuals
who shortly before ruled with such iniquity and license, as if the
providence of God had nothing to do with the government of this
world. You perceive "quod est ubique Deus judicans illos in
terra."*
This is the principal cause which rejoices the hearts of all
men who, by thanks and praise for the grace and mercy of God,
celebrate this fact in such wise that no feast can be more univer-
sally kept with greater good-will and joy than this one of your
accession to the Crown (ingresso al regno). And those same persons
who so greatly rejoice at this are anxiously waiting to see the
manner and order which your Majesty will take to provide what
is requisite for the honour and service of God, who has given you
* "Judging the people of the land."-2 Kings xv. 5, Chr. xxvi. 21.
396
1553.
1553.
CARDINAL POLE SO great a victory, in retrieving the great losses and injuries hitherto
to suffered by the kingdom, most especially in the two principal founda-
QUEEN MARY
(27th August).
tions of its quiet and welfare, namely in the true religion and civil
justice, which have been so violated and crushed by the late rulers
(governatori), that never, I am certain, have similar confusion and
ruin been witnessed in any hostile persecution since Christians have
had dominion there. On this, I say, all honest men are intent,
and have their eyes fixed; and secretly all are anxious to see
how ready your Highness will be to render the title of the primacy
of the Church on earth to him to whom the supreme head both of
heaven and earth has given it,* restoring to him the due obedience,
immediately on the banishment of which, all true religion and even
justice were in like manner expelled; and for its return, in order
that both one and the other may come back, I am now sent to
your Majesty by him, to whom in truth and justice this title
belongs.
Of how great importance and moment this is, both for England
and the Church of God, your Majesty, without the perusal of books
which treat this matter, may read, I say, in the much clearer testimony
of the blood of those, who you knew were considered the first in the
kingdom for their fame of true doctrine and religion. The providence
of God, therefore, has chosen that in like manner as the authority of
his Son, God and man, to whom he had given all power in heaven
and earth, was testified by the death of so many martyrs; so was the
authority given by him to his Vicar on earth testified and defended
by the effusion of innocent blood. And this has always been my
argument against those who most despaired of the restoration in
England of the authority of the Apostolic See, as I could not believe
that the blood of those to whom God had given the grace to die
for the confusion (confussione, sic) (confessione?) of this authority,
and the prayers of many others who have suffered for the same
cause, constantly appealing to his mercy for its restitution, should
not prove efficacious,† when to his providence the time seemed
opportune. That time is, I hope now come, the goodness of God
having rendered to your Highness your due title, in order that the
title of Supreme Head of the Church may be restored by you to
whom he gave it, and the true religion and justice return at the
same time into the kingdom.
I will not now expatiate further on this matter by letter,
hoping to do so in person, or to be informed where the subject
could be treated most conveniently for both parties, not so much
for the declaration of the truth, of which I cannot believe that
there is any doubt in your mind, but to find the mode and
means that, being agreed about this truth its fruit may be re-
ceived into the kingdom.
I know-what is well known to all
Mag
* The act of the royal supremacy was not repealed until January 1555. (See Froude,
vol. vi. pp. 98, 300, 301; ed. 1860.)
† Non potendo Io credere chè il sangue di quelli a' quali Dio haveva data gratia di
morire per la confussione di quest' autorità et le oratione de molti altri che per la medesima
causa hanno patito gridando di continuo avanti la sua misericordia per la restitutione di
quella non dovessino esser essaudite quando alla providentia sua fusse parso tempo
opportuno.
1553.
397
1553.
to
CARDINAL POLE other persons acquainted with the state of that kingdom-that when
this truth was expelled thence (non (sic) [ne?] fu scacciata), the
QUEEN MARY
(27th August). malice employed to deprive your Highness of the just title to the
Crown was not greater than is now used to despoil the Apostolic
See of the true just title of the primacy of the universal Church,
and, should this ever be possible, bury it, so that it might never
again be mentioned. But of this I am convinced, that should ever
that title be buried for a while with your own which is so just, until
the two together are resuscitated, your justice will never be able to
produce the fruit desired and hoped for by all good men ; and my
hope that your Majesty will perform this divine and noble act, to
the honour of God, and benefit of the Church and of your kingdom,
proceeds not so much from the singular providence of God as
witnessed by your restoration to the right of the Crown, as from
his paternal care demonstrated in permitting you, the daughter of a
King, and then his only child, endowed by his Divine Majesty with
such exalted qualities, to be deprived in your tender age of due
rank and honour, and this, as shown by the sequel, for the purpose
of educating you in that school of tribulation, in which his dearest
children are wont to be instructed; so that by there learning how
to rule themselves for their own comfort, they may subsequently
become better able and fitted to rule others for the general comfort.
This I consider to have been a great favour granted by God to
your Majesty; the affliction, I say, endured by you hitherto, in
order that you may be the more easily able to relieve the afflictions
of others; and as you have now so troubled a kingdom to rule,
all my hope is fixed on this, that in like manner as during the time
of your tribulation it was, as it were, the theatre of the world, in
which were represented the cruel and pitiable cases of persons high
and low, than which few written tragedies contain more lament-
able ones; so, under the government of your Highness, who has
been tutored in the school of God how to rule yourself, it will
become as it were a mirror of complete good order and true justice.
to the comfort of all good men, so that the other Sovereigns. by
reason of the good religion and justice they shall see resplendent
there, will come to take example for the good rule and govern-
ment of their people. My expectations will be the more confirmed
the sooner I shall witness the return of the kingdom to the union of
the Church, and to the obedience of its supreme head on earth;
and that this is the true door whereby to introduce some good order
in the kingdom may be in part understood by what occurred after
this stone was first removed from its place, when all good and just
government commenced failing, and being at length entirely
removed, all justice fell to the ground like an edifice deprived of its
foundation.
But as I have already mentioned, the declaration of the importance
and necessity of this point I reserve until the Lord God shall conduct
me to your desired presence, although I do not in the least fear that
the thing requires greater confirmation in your Majesty's own mind ;
and in like manner I hope you are also convinced that I speak on the
subject and am eager about it for no other reason than because
I am persuaded that what I exhort you to do is your duty before
398
1553.
#
1553.
CARDINAL POLE God, and for your own benefit and that of your kingdom; although
to this obedience has been styled since many years a great and
QUEEN MARY
(27th August). tyrannical yoke of servitude, which, were it so (as I am sure it is
not for those who use and understand it as they ought), no con-
sideration for any person whatever, nor any profit or honour in
the world, would assuredly make me consent to be the means of
introducing into my country, where I wish no one to give me
any credit if any man can prove that I ever consented to any
injustice against it, or to any abuse in Rome or elsewhere. And
your Highness may the more believe that in this cause, I speak
sincerely and without passion, knowing that I have been educated
in the same school in which the Divine Providence, as I said
before, educated you likewise, I entering at the same time with
you, and learning the same lesson from the same Master ; so I
hope that it can never enter your Majesty's mind that I ever say
or counsel otherwise than becomes a pupil from that school; and
thus do I affirm before its Master, from whom I learnt what I shall
say, that my whole intent in persuading you to this obedience of
the Church, is for no other end than to bring back this your regal
power sub suave jugo Christi, so that both you and your subjects
may enjoy the charm (dolcezza) of it, for their benefit and salvation
in this world and the next. And coming to your Majesty's individual
case, I say that the establishment of this obedience is a greater
establishment of your right to the Crown than any confederacy
whatever which might be formed with any foreign Prince, or than
the goodwill of your people at home, both which things are
unstable, and from any slight cause may, and doubtless will, fail,
should your Crown not be confirmed by the obedience of the
Church, which is what will remove all the impediments which
might hereafter be raised against you, and would win for you the
complete good friendship of Sovereigns and the goodwill of your
subjects, gaining for them, by this pious and divine act, the favour
of God and of his Church for your protection and defence.
This is what renders me the more fervent in this cause, as
I deem it of such great importance both for your own honour
and for the benefit of your people, that at this commencement of
your reign this should be established before all the other important
matters. Nor is it unknown to me that before this can be done,
owing to the many impediments devised by the adversaries of
this power when they were the rulers, it is requisite to treat it with
good and mature counsel, for which purpose I am proceeding on
my journey towards your Majesty, awaiting your gracious and
benign reply, enabling me at least to treat this cause in such place
as shall seem most expedient to your goodness, so as subsequently
to effect its perfect conclusion, And for this purpose, in like manner
as on receiving notice of my legation, I immediately despatched
one of my secretaries [Henry Penning] to your Majesty, so now
when commencing my journey, it has seemed fit to me to send
you this letter by another who is an old and confidential secretary
of mine,* and, as I believe not unknown to your Majesty, who will
* On the 30th November 1553, Cardinal Pole's servant Thomas Goldwell was
arrested at Calais on his way to England (See Turnbull's Calendar, p. 84), so I do not
1553.
399
Aug. 28.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
1546.
CARDINAL POLE Vouchsafe to give him gracious audience concerning such matters
as he is commissioned to acquaint you with on my behalf. And
(27th August). in conclusion I pray the Lord God, that as He has placeed your
to
QUEEN MARY
Highness in this exalted station, so of his goodness will he dedicate
your whole life to his divine honour, on which depend all your own
honour and stability, and the entire welfare of your kingdom.*
From Maguzzano, 27th August 1553.
[Italian.]
777. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER [STEPHEN
GARDYNER].
The Grace of our Saviour Jesus Christ be with you, and infinitely
praised be his Divine goodness, which has brought it to pass that
for all those who have the greatest zeal for the honour of God and
the welfare and preservation (salute) of that kingdom, and who in
this such great need can and desire to aid both one and the other, it
is lawful to unbosom and freely communicate their thoughts re-
ciprocally to this end, with the hope of producing fruit in conformity
with their pious and holy design, the which liberty has been impeded
(impedita) since many years by the malice and perverseness of
wicked rulers, so that those, who more than others, had both
good will and knowledge of the common weal and advantage, were
ill able to confer together, and still less could they be heard; and
even had they been heard they were sure of their own ruin, without
any hope of benefiting the public. From this miserable state the
goodness and providence of God has now liberated England, by the
miraculous protection and exaltation of that most noble Queen, who,
having always shown herself devoted to the true religion and every
sort of justice, has suffered for this cause more than any other
person; and whoever ponders the work of God's hand in the mode
of her Highness's restoration to the crown, or has any knowledge of
her person and of the excellent qualities conceded her by God,
cannot but firmly hope that her rights being now all restored to
her, there will simultaneously return into the kingdom every sort
of justice and good order, together with the true religion, all which
things, since the time when her Majesty's rights (giustitia) com-
menced being combated and crushed, were banished thence, so much
to the detriment both of public and private interests.
.
And as her Majesty's exaltation has caused great joy to all pious
and Christian souls in general, especially to our country people, and
above all to those who with sincere and constant faith have loved
and revered the rare and noble qualities given by God to her Majesty,
amongst whom I do not consider myself one of the last; I therefore
assure your Lordship that on hearing of your releaset I derived very
great joy from it, as from the first effect of justice produced by this
think he was the bearer of this letter of the 27th August. It may perhaps have been
conveyed by Michael Throckmorton, but I am only guessing. The instructions of Cardinal
Pole to Goldwell (Cotton MSS. Titus, B. ii.) are quoted by Froude, vol. vi. pp. 133,
134.
* "Così per sua bontà voglia indrizzare tutta l' etade di Lei al divino suo honore dal
quale depende tutto l' honor vostro, stabilimento, e tutto 'l bene del vostro regno."
† Stephen Gardyner, Bishop of Winchester, was released from the Tower on the 3rd of
August 1553. (See Froude, vol. vi. p. 50.)
1
400
1553.
1553.
to BISHOP
GARDYNER.
(28th Aug.)
CARDINAL POLE miraculous and divine commencement; hoping at the same time
that in like manner as the Lord God held his most merciful hand
over you, giving you the grace, when shut up in your prison between
the strongest walls, to place yourself in the presence of his Divine
Majesty and before man tanquam murum domui Israel, so that
pious souls might not remain helpless, and utterly oppressed by the
impiety and malice of those who were intent on nothing but to
disseminate and establish their perverse and impious doctrines ;* so
by your release you ought to be a great and powerful instrument
for helping to release the kingdom both from the schism and from
all heresy.
I have by so much the more strongly conceived such hope of
you, considering the course (progresso) of your actions since the
first time when I knew you, and your great qualities, both natural
and acquired through your toil and industry, and also the providence
and especial care which the Divine goodness has always evinced
for you; so I was already of opinion that had your Lordship
at the commencement chanced to serve a good Prince, and one
somewhat moderately inclined towards the honour of God and
the welfare of his realm, you would have displayed your ability
and goodness in the service of your master and for the common
weal much better. But as you had to serve a Prince of such a sort
as was but too plainly shown to the whole world by his deeds, if
you were not seen to yield such fruit as was reasonably expected at
the first, the cause of this is rather to be attributed to the quality of
the master you served, and to the infirmity of human nature, than to
your own will and election, not having yet well learnt at that time
prælia Domini, nor the mode of resisting schism, as you did at a
later period, which was assuredly a very signal gift from the good-
ness of God, it being so rarely seen that the man who falls into
the first error does not rush headlong into the second. And this
is what (much to my comfort) I remark in your Lordship, when I
consider that God, after calling you to be one of the chief shepherds
of his flock, granted you much greater favours than some persons
anticipated for you, bearing in mind your past life.
And that same Divine goodness having given you a higher grade of
honour, which is, to suffer for love of him both shame (dishonor) and
imprisonment, with loss of temporal goods, I remain convinced that
He will now so multiply in you his supernatural gifts and favours,
that on this present opportunity for manifesting them to the world to
his honour, your actions will be of much greater service to his Divine
Majesty and to the Church than they could be hitherto; you having
acquired by means of trouble and tribulation suffered for love of
Christ, much greater favours than when, by favour of your Prince,
you were made Bishop without any trouble at all.
A
*“Con darvi gratia che nella vostra prigionia stando rinchiuso tra fortissimi muri, vi
siate apposto innanzi sua Divina Maestà, et nel conspetto degli huomini, tanquam murum
domui Israel, acciò che gli animi non restassero senza alcuna resistentia totalmente oppressi
dalla impietà et malitia di coloro, i quali ad altri non attendevano che a seminar le loro
perverse opinioni et impie." I believe this to signify that the Bishop of Winchester
performed mass in the Tower, when a prisoner there, in the teeth of the Gospellers, and
that he had a numerous congregation.
1553.
401
1553.
CARDINAL POLE
to BISHOP
This hope, induced by the singular graciousness of God towards
GARDYNER. your Lordship, moves me to write to you and exhort you that—as
(28th Aug.) no greater opportunity could be afforded you for serving God and
your country at the same time than that which is now given you
by the goodness of its Governess (Governatrice), who, having found
the kingdom in extreme confusion with regard to religion and every
sort of justice, has not only freed your Lordship from every sort of
restraint (distretto) and tribulation, but has even called you to be one
of her chief privy councillors,* for the reform both of the religion
and of justice,you will so use all your energies, that amongst the
many errors and acts of injustice to be provided against with time,
there be first of all removed that error which, when introduced into
the kingdom, gave admission to all the other abuses (inconvenienti)
and disorders which subsequently ensued.
This, your Lordship knows, was the withdrawal (il mancamento)
of the obedience to the Roman Church and to its head; the which
obedience, from the day that the Christian religion was received
in England until our miserable time, was always preserved, as in
all other Christian realms, unpolluted by heresy; and no sooner
was it banished from that kingdom than every sort of injustice
and impiety entered it, as no one knows better than your Lordship,
who also perceives that, if the restoration of the true religion and
justice, together with the due obedience to a head of the Church
of God on earth, namely, to him who rules the Roman See, ought
ever to be expected from the ministers (governatori) of any King
or Queen of England, it is to be expected from her present
Majesty more than from any one else,† not merely by reason of the
devout and religious disposition evinced by her at all times towards
the true religion, but also on account of the gratitude which
she is so greatly bound to show towards that Church, which, for
maintaining the just cause (la giustitia) and honour of her
Highness, is so unjustly deprived of its due honour and supremacy
in England.
Now, therefore, when the most holy providence of God has re-
stored the just title of the Crown to her Highness, nothing better
becomes her noble, just, and pious disposition (animo) than to
restore to the Roman Church its just title of supremacy, and to do
so regardless of any worldly consideration (senza rispetto humano),
most readily and joyfully relying on that omnipotent Lord who
has placed everything in her hands. This is the hope of all good
men who have at heart the honour of God, the service of his Church,
the establishment of the Queen's Majesty, and the welfare of her
kingdom, as conceded by the Almighty, immediately on hearing of
the victory given her so miraculously by God over the usurpers of
the Crown.
When this news reached Rome, who as a loving mother had
long bewailed the unjust affliction and tribulation of her dearest
and most tenderly loved daughter, and in vain attempted all
* "Ma l' etiandio chiamato ad esser uno del suo secreto in supremo grado.'
+ "Si deve aspettar mai da governatori di Re ò di Regina alcuna di questo regno ciò
si deve più che da ogni altro dalla Maestà dalla Regina presente."
""
"
5.
CC
402
1553.
1553.
to BISHOP
GARDYNER.
(28th Aug.)
CARDINAL POLEmeans to assist her, on hearing at length that God with his own
hand had released her, joyful thanksgivings were immediately
rendered to God by the Church, in testimony of which I, who was
then absent, being known to be an Englishman and the Queen's
faithful kinsman and servant, was elected Legate to congratulate her
Majesty, and with the most ample authority and faculty that could
be desired for her comfort and that of the whole kingdom and its
inhabitants individually; not doubting but that daughter, who
from the hand of God received her due title to the Crown, which
had been usurped by those who simultaneously usurped the supre-
macy of the Roman See, will with her own hand restore to her
mother the due title of the primacy (primato), lost for love of that
daughter.
Having written diffusely to her Highness on this subject in
two letters, I now write this to your Lordship, hoping that as you
have been called to the royal Council for assistance, and to devise
an opportune remedy for all the disorders and abuses introduced
into the kingdom, so will you not fail to use the grace which God
has given you, by exerting yourself with all industry, that the joy
and satisfaction now received by the kingdom through the recovery
(recuperatione) of its true head, to whom the Crown was in all
justice due, may augment in every quarter to the true and perma-
nent consolation of all men. This result it will no longer behove me
to wait for* when I shall see the head of the Church of God on earth
consoled by that honour and obedience which is due to him, and by
means of that hand which, more than any other, is in duty and justice
bound to do so. And for this I hope that the Lord God will have
elected your Lordship as his great and powerful instrument, to
which effect I will not fail earnestly to pray his Divine Majesty to
vouchsafe always to have you under his gracious and merciful pro-
tection, long preserving you for his honour, and for the benefit of
the kingdom and the service of his Church.
From Maguzzano, 28th August 1553.
[Italian.]
778. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL PIGHINO.
Library,
Did not receive the letter which Pighino sent him by the secre-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. tary who brought the legatine brief ;† had it reached him he would
No date of time have written sooner, thanking the Cardinal heartily, as he now
or place in MS. does, for affection which Pole has always felt to be beyond his
deserts, though he thoroughly reciprocates it. Knows most cer-
tainly that Pighino of his piety earnestly desires that in the holy
cause intrusted to him he may have such success as is hoped from
so good and miraculous a commencement. By God's grace Pole has
no lack of ready will to sustain all toil and trouble for this end. It
remains for them all to pray God to favour the work commenced
with his own hand; requests the Cardinal thus to do for his own
Aug. 28?
MS. St. Mark's
* Del chè al hora Io non aspetterò l'effetto quando vederò il capo della Chiesa di Dio
in terra consolato di quell' honore et obedienza chè si li deve.
† Cardinal Pighino was "Datario," and in right of his office despatched the brief
appointing Pole Legate to England, which document is alluded to in Pole's letter to the
Pope, dated 13th August 1553,
1553.
403
1553.
Aug. 30?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
honour, for the consolation of all Christendom, and for the welfare
of the realm of England, which has been harrassed and ruined by so
much adversity.*
[Maguzzano, 28th August 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
779. STATEMENT made to CARDINAL POLE by the Abbot of
San Saluto [Vincenzo Parpaglia], after his audience of Pope
Julius III. in August 1553.†
No date of time
That the Pope referred himself entirely to the will and opinion
or place in MS. of Cardinal Pole with regard to delaying or hastening his departure
and the mode of proceeding in this negotiation, leaving the whole
burden of it to his prudence, hoping that in this holy work he
would be guided by the hand of God; so his Holiness purposed
regulating himself in this especial business as the Cardinal shall
judge best, nor will he fail fully to agree with him about whatever
he considers fitting, in like manner as he gave him full powers to
exercise or renounce the legation during such time as shall seem
best to him, and with authority to act (should he think it desirable so
to do) as a private individual having at heart the welfare of England
his native land.
That his Holiness was content that Cardinal Pole should tell the
Queen of England in the Pope's name that he wishes nothing more
from her, nor from her kingdom, than the salvation of its souls, and
its quiet and peace, as also that of her Majesty, whose accession to
the Crown has been willed by God for the exaltation of His holy
name, and for the reunion of that realm to the obedience of His
holy Church; and as when it was apprehended that her Majesty
might incur some molestation, the Pope determined to render her
every assistance and favour by appointing Cardinal Pole legate to
her, so now when the Almighty has removed all obstacles, the Pope
has thought fit to give him full powers to absolve and do whatever
else is necessary for the salvation of those souls, and for the peace
and quiet of her Majesty and her kingdom.
That he is also content that Cardinal Pole do promise the Queen
and her Council that his Holiness will do whatever shall be thought
expedient by the Cardinal and the Queen and Council for the
welfare and benefit of England, in case the kingdom resume its
obedience to the Apostolic See.
In conclusion, the Pope says he is aware that our Lord God has
preserved Cardinal Pole for him to render this holy service to his
country, and therefore the will and intention of his Holiness is, that
he do whatever God shall inspire him to do; and that his Holiness
does not intend to give ear to others, nor to credit them, save so far
as the Cardinal shall think well and fitting in this negotiation. And
in like manner, should he have occasion to stop in Flanders or in
other places near their Majesties, the Emperor and the King of
* At the foot of this letter there is a transcript in the MS. of the reply given to it by
Cardinal Pighino, who died at the close of the year 1553, and not in 1551, as stated by
Moretti. (See Cardella, vol. iv. p. 322.)
† See letter from Cardinal Pole to the Pope, date 13th August 1553.
CC 2
་
404
1553.
*
1553.
Sept. 2?
MS. St. Mark's
780. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL CORNARO.*
Library,
Is
very certain that he will have heartily rejoiced, as they have
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. all reason to do, at the prosperous events in England, by so much
No date of time the more on account of the extraordinary and miraculous mode in
or place in MS. which they have been brought to pass, to the honour of his Divine
Majesty, and the benefit of his Church and of England, which for
so many years has been in every way so sorely persecuted. Prays
God to be enabled to serve Him in this holy cause, in like manner
as he has been endowed with the will and readiness to undergo any
toil for it; his Holiness and the sacred College having conferred on
him the legation to England. Thanks Cardinal Cornaro for his
loving offers, of which he will always avail himself with the con-
fidence given him by his many acts of courtesy and affection; and
for the present will merely request him, during Pole's absence, to
continue to protect Bagnarea, and the monks of Sant' Onofrio,†
which favour he granted to Pole on his departure from Rome. It
would also be much to Pole's satisfaction that the Cardinal should
use his apartments in the palace, and whatever else he possesses,
having given this commission to his Abbot of San Saluto, whom he
sent lately to Rome, desiring him to mention this to anyone who
spoke to him on the subject, including his Holiness if necessary.
Has also given the like instructions to Messer Gio. Francesco Stella,
whom he is now sending to Rome to remain there as his agent,
requesting the Cardinal to protect him likewise.
[Maguzzano, 2nd September 1553?]
[Italian.]
781. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of ST. GEORGE [GERO-
NIMO CAPODIFERRO].‡
Believes the Pope has written to him about the office he is to
perform with the most Christian King concerning the matter of
England, independently of what the Cardinal will have done
spontaneously; but his Holiness having appointed Pole Legate for
these affairs, he requests him to do his utmost to obtain the favour
and support of his Majesty, knowing how much it will conduce to
the return (reduttione) of that realm [to the Roman Catholic
religion]. Being convinced of the Cardinal's piety, and also because
Sept. 3.
MS. St. Mark's
France, the Pope thinks of recalling the two Legates [Dandino and
Capodiferro], and commissioning Cardinal Pole to treat for peace
between them, with the hope of effecting some good result, that he
may thus delay his journey with greater dignity and await the
opportunity for crossing over to England (et con maggior dignità si
possa trattenere et aspettare l'occasione di passar in Inghilterra).
[Rome, 30th August 1553?]
[Italian.]
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
* Andrea Cornaro; see before, date February 1st 1550.
† An Hieronimite Monastery at Rome, in which Torquato Tasso died on the 25th April
1595.
The Cardinal of St. George had been sent as Legate by Pope Julius III. to Henry II.
King of France, to make peace between him and the Emperor, but the attempt failed
(See Panvinio, Lives of the Popes, p. 674.)
❤
1553.
405
1553.
Sept. 3?
MS. St. Mark's
the business is not yet further advanced, it is unnecessary for him
to say more on the subject; about which he is writing a letter to
the Cardinal of Lorraine, and sends him a copy of it that he may be
acquainted with the whole. Should the Cardinal of St. George write
to him he is to address his letters to the care of the Legate at the
Emperor's Court.
From Maguzzano, 3rd September 1553.
[Italian.]
782. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL FARNESE.
Library,
Does not remember ever to have spoken to the late Pope Paul of
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. blessed memory about the affairs of England, without hearing from
No date of time him that it was the wish of his most Christian Majesty to bring
or place in MS. that kingdom back to the Catholic religion, and to its obedience to
the Holy See; the like being told him frequently by the French
ambassador at Rome, notwithstanding the many and great diffi-
culties which opposed the project. It having now pleased God
thus miraculously to facilitate this holy work, Pole is very certain
that what his most Christian Majesty was inclined to attempt at a
most unfavourable moment, will now be moved by him with such
ardour as required by his usual piety and observance towards the
Apostolic See. Being appointed Legate in England for this pur-
pose, with orders to apply to the Emperor and the King of France,
as the circumstances of the case may require, and being on his way,
as written by him to the Legate in France, and to the Cardinal of
Lorraine; thinks it advisable to pray Cardinal Farnese—either
alone or with the two Cardinals aforesaid, as he shall deem most
expedient to advocate this cause with his most Christian Majesty,
as Pole is sure he will do, of his usual goodness and piety.
[From Maguzzano, 3rd September 1553?]
[Italian.]
783. The DOGE and SENATE to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Sept. 6.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
tergo.
v. lxviii. p. 154, By his letters of the 24th July and 8th August, received detailed
accounts of the proclamation of the Lady Mary as most Serene
Queen of England, and of her arrival in London, together with
the rest of the events which had occurred in those parts; and
as the office performed by him with the Queen, and her Majesty's
reply, were most satisfactory, they desire him again to congratulate
her in their name on her accession, adding that good and sincere
friendship having always subsisted between the Crown of Eng-
land and the Signory, and they having such great esteem for
her Majesty (by reason of the virtue, prudence, and religion which
they know her to possess), equal to what they entertained for
some of her ancestors, they were very glad to hear what she said to
him about persevering in this friendship, which her Majesty both
at present and hereafter will assuredly find reciprocated by the
Signory, as will be announced to her more fully by an ambassador
for this purpose.
Is also to present himself to the Lords of the Council, so that
being convinced of the Signory's goodwill, they on their parts may
!
*
406
1553.
1553.
Sept. 8.
MS. St. Mark's
also have cause to continue in the same, and protect the Republic's
subjects, as they have done hitherto.
And be it forthwith voted, that at the next sitting of the Senate,
an ambassador be elected to the most Serene Queen Mary of England,
to reside at her Majesty's Court, and remain in that legation for the
period appointed by law, and with such other commission as shall
seem fit to this Council; the person thus elected not to refuse under
the penalties according to the Act passed by the Senate and the
Grand Council.
Sept. 7.*
784. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
As the bearer of the present letter is to be Messer Gio. Francesco
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Commendone, to whom Pole has given especial instructions with
regard to what he is to relate to the Pope about the affairs of
England; he having also been told what occurred to Pole on the
subject; and as Commendone is so faithful and prudent, as moreover
shown by him in this business, and in order not to detain him
longer; Pole thinks he can rely on his statement, without giving
any detailed account to the Pope of his own opinion, which in
short is, that he thinks it by no means fitting that this point of
returning to the union of the Church and obedience to the Apostolic
See should be passed over in silence at the first meeting of the
English Parliament; nor can the appeal be made, save through the
medium of some Papal agent, who, if not in England, should at
least find himself in person in the neighbourhood. Should this
be in accordance with the opinion and will of his Holiness, Pole
requests the Pope to let him know whether he is to proceed towards
the Imperial Court, and in the meanwhile he will not move from
the environs of the Lake of Garda, but await there the Pope's
orders. Should the Pope think fit again to send any one for this
purpose to England, Pole would be of opinion that this same
Commendone, who has already commenced the negotiation, might
prove a very fitting person, referring himself, however, to the very
prudent judgment of the Pope, whose most holy feet he kisses with
ail respect.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
To have for his expenses 150 golden ducats per month, of which
be he not bound to show any account, such having been the salary
received by the other ambassadors lately resident in that kingdom.
Ayes, 134. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
·
From San Francesco, on the Island of the Lake of Garda, 7th
September 1553.
[Italian.]
785. CARDINAL POLE to the MASTER of the SACRED PALACE
[GIROLAMO MUZZARELLI.]
Most blessed Father in Christ, most dear as a brother.
Considering the cause of England the cause of God, as it in truth
is, Pole willingly communicates what relates to it, to those who
* In the manuscript this letter is misdated 7th November, the local date, however,
being correct.
1553.
407
1553.
are most zealous for the honour of his Divine Majesty and for the
advantage of his Church, and whose sentiments are the least worldly
(et manco passioni humane). Believing the Master to be one of
this class, he will tell him what follows, not merely for the sake of
acquainting him with the present state of affairs, but also to obtain
his assistance, most especially knowing how willingly the Pope listens
to persons of his sort, and particularly to the Master himself, as Pole
has frequently heard from his Holiness's own lips.
The chief point (capo) in this case of England is the method
(modo) to be used for bringing back that kingdom to the obedience
of the Apostolic See, and concerning this method, the opinion of
those whose aim and desire are concordant, is nevertheless at
variance. Pole will first state his own opinion, and then say in
what he differs from others. His opinion is this. The power of
God having been manifested by his so miraculously giving the
kingdom to that person for whose sake the Apostolic See endangered
its authority there, and that person evincing such gratitude as is
heard, it seems to Pole that the mode of proceeding whereby to obtain
the desired end is taught them by the Queen herself. Thus far
there is no discrepancy of opinion, but here it commences; as it is
seen that at this commencement of her reign her Majesty is unable to
do what she wished in this matter, owing to the violent opposition
of those who, having derived great profit, which they continue
making, from the disobedience to the Apostolic See, cannot for their
own interest consent to the proposal of this point, and yet their
consent in this case is necessary. It is therefore said, that all
address must be used, taking advantage from time, and allowing
the matter to be well matured, and not to bring it forward at this
commencement.
In this part Pole differs from others, as whilst admitting
that it is necessary to proceed with address, and also to give a
little time for maturing the matter, he nevertheless says, that
having the Queen's disposition for a good beginning, and as
according to custom, immediately after the coronation, a Parlia-
ment will be held, in which it is usual to demand the redress of
wrongs endured in preceding reigns, he is therefore of opinion
that so flagrant an act of injustice and impiety as the disobedience
to the Apostolic See, causing such injury and detriment to the
entire ecclesiastical body (stato), should by no means be passed over
in silence, and that is the time for making the motion.
Touching the address to be used, Pole says that the Pope having
appointed a Legate, if the moment has not yet come for him to go
straight to England, yet is the time mature for him to be in the
neighbourhood, to enable him to assist the Queen's good intention,
as though it might not yet seem opportune to issue the decree for the
return of the country to its obedience to the Apostolic See, there would
nevertheless be time not to let Parliament adjourn without proposing
this matter and negotiating, for if the Queen were inclined to do so,
she might send persons to treat with Pole about the means to be
devised for setting it forward, so that the measure might not be
utterly roprobated (si che egli (sic) non fosse in tutto abhorrito)
when the time should come for proposing it.
408
1553.
1553.
This is his opinion about the time and the address to be used at
present, and in the meanwhile the Emperor and the King of France
might be requested to encourage the Queen as aforesaid.
Pole being of this mind, and on his way to act accordingly, having
commenced his journey towards Flanders, was overtaken by Messer
Francesco Commendone, who had been sent express to the Pope by
the Cardinal of Imola [Gieronimo Dandino, Bishop of Imola], Legate
to the Emperor, with orders to go to Pole and acquaint him with his
Right Reverend Lordship's commission relating to the affairs of
England. Commendone having delivered the Legate's letter, which
expressed very good hopes of the cause, provided they acted with due
and necessary caution, and referred himself to the bearer's statement
for further particulars; Pole inquired whether Commendone could
tell him what the Legate meant by "due and necessary caution,"†
because as he did not explain himself further, Pole was at a loss
fully to comprehend his opinion.
*
Commendone replied by narrating in the first place all that he
had negotiated in England, having been sent thither by the Cardinal
of Imola to see and learn the state of the kingdom at this commence-
ment, so as subsequently to dispose and negotiate the business better,
and hear what hope there was for it. The substance of his report
purported that after speaking with several intelligent persons, and
having at length obtained admittance to the Queen, he found her no
less well disposed than had been hoped; but that in this affair of
obedience to the Pope (dell' obedientia del Papa), she nevertheless
proceeded with great reserve (rispetto); and although she did not
allow anything whatever to escape her about realizing her good
will, yet from what Commendone could see and learn concerning
her Majesty and the kingdom, he inferred that there was need of
great prudence and reserve.§
In conclusion, replying to Pole's inquiry about the interpreta-
tion of the Legate's words, Commendone said that the caution
(temperamento) to be used in this business, related partly to the
commission, given him with great secrecy, to ask as an act of grace
from his Holiness, that as the Queen was so well inclined to bring
back the realm to its obedience when the moment shall be oppor-
tune, he be pleased to exempt England from every interdict and
censure, so that the Sacraments of the Church may be celebrated
and used without any scruple of conscience, although in public they
[the Catholics], like the others, consent to the schism.
Pole is of opinion that before making this concession, the point
* Pur che si andasse con il debito et necessario temperamento.
† Quel che S. Sria Rma intendesse per il debito et necessario temperamento.
Et benchè non si lasciasse intendere di cosa alcuna circa il mettere in essecutione la
sua bona mente.
§ Nondimeno da quello che egli haveva potuto vedere et intender di lei et del Regno
ne faceva questa conclusione, che bisognava andare con gran maturità et rispetto.
|| In Graziani's account of Commendone's mission to England (Fléchier, pp. 48-59)
this demand is not mentioned. The words of Cardinal Pole are as follows:-"Era stato
comesso in gran secreto di domandare a sua Santità gratia, che havendo la Regina questo
buono animo di volere secondo che il tempo servirà meglio, ridur quel Regno alla obe-
dientia, che in questo mezzo sua Santità levasse del Regno ogni interdetto et censura
acciò possino celebrare et usare i Sacramenti della Chiesa senza scrupolo di coscientia
non ostante chè publicamente co' gli altri acconsentino al scisma.”
1553.
409
1553.
Sept. 9.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
should be well pondered, and prays the Master freely to say what
his conscience dictates in this case, he being apprehensive lest under
this demand, so very pious and religious apparently, something of ill
savour be concealed.* Pole also said this to Commendone, who
asked him his opinion; and he told him besides that, were not he
himself Legate, he should say that the most fitting reply would be
to refer all that (tutto ciò) to the Legate, giving him the faculty,
should this demand relate to the scruple of conscience, to absolve
the internal scruples after some external demonstration of re-
nouncing the schism, and not previously, as whatever the schisma-
tics do, they do it publicly.† Pole does really not know whether
he said so much to Commendone, but will assuredly say it to the
Master, praying him, for his love of God, his Church, and the Apo-
stolic See, immediately on receiving this letter, to obtain audience
of the Pope about this matter, which is of great importance, and
to inform his Holiness, in Pole's name, that on the one hand he
has complied with the Legate's wish, by halting on his journey
until he knows the Pope's will, but that to this other demand his
conscience forbids him to consent.
Will await the commands of his Holiness.
From San Francesco, on the island of Garda, 8th September 1553.
[Italian]
786. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF IMOLA, Legate [in
Germany, Geronimo Dandino].
By the Legate's order, Commendone has been with Pole, and de-
livered the Legate's letter, giving him detailed account of all he saw,
heard, and negotiated in England. Pole told him what he thought
on the subject, and when writing to the Pope, referred himself to
Commendone's relation (relatione), merely stating his opinion, that
at this commencement to pass over in silence this point of the
union (unione) of the Church, could not but be very injurious to
the cause, for the same reasons as those which the Legate will have
heard from Pole's secretary, Fiordibello. Although it might seem
imprudent (immaturo) for a Papal Legate or Nuncio to go to
England at present, yet does it not seem to him by any means
imprudent (in-maturo) to approach that neighbourhood, and com-
mence treating the matter. Pole will await such orders as the Pope
may be pleased to give him after hearing Commendone. With regard
to the fitting and necessary caution (seperamento―sic-tempera-
mento?) to be taken in this matter,* Pole will agree with the Legate,
provided it do not exclude the commencement of negotiation, and the
subsequent discussion in the first Parliament of this point, on which
he is perfectly convinced there depends not only the advantage (bene-
ficio) of the Apostolic See, but the salvation (salute) of that entire
kingdom. From Pole's past experience in similar causes (cause) he
fears greatly that the proceeding with too many worldly considera-
* Non lateat aliquid " di non troppo buon odore."
† Facendosi publicamente tutto quello che fanno i scismatici.
Quanto al conveniente et necessario seperamento da usarsi in questo negocio Io
convenirò con Lei purchè non escluda eti.
Dorm
410
1553.
1553.
Sept. 9 ?
MS. St. Mark's
787. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Library,
The Archpresbytership of Lonato, in the diocese of Verona, near
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.the monastery where Pole now finds himself, having been conferred
No date of time by the Bishop on Pole's chaplain, a Veronese, a very learned and
or place in MS. worthy person, for no other reason than to provide for the care of
souls in that place, which is of great importance, Pole requests the
Pope to favour this election, and to hear from the bearer of the
present letter the Bishop's rights to this nomination, he being a
prelate entitled to all support, both ordinary and extraordinary, as
this and all his other acts are directed to the honour of God, and the
advantage of this diocese.
[Monastery of San Francesco, on the island of Garda, 9th
September 1553?]
[Italian.]
Sept. 9.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 157,
tergo.
Sept. 11.
Miscellaneous
Correspondence,
Venetian
Archives.
tions (humani rispetti) in a cause in which, as the Cardinal of Imola
writes, God has so miraculously shown his power and goodness,
may rather prove very injurious, irritating his Divine Majesty by
the encouragements given to the wicked, whereas by proceeding
throughout according to the other extreme (che quando se procedesse
in tutto per l'altro estremo)
.I
May the Almighty vouchsafe to inspire his Holiness, the Emperor,
and the Queen with what is most for His honour, and for the benefit
of the Church, and of England. Pole has not received the letter
which the Legate says he sent him by the ordinary Roman post.
In the monastery of San Francesco, on the island of Garda, 9th
September 1553.
[Italian.]
788. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO AT
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Duke of Northumberland and two other gentlemen [Sir
John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer], who opposed the Queen, were
beheaded by her Majesty's order. To communicate this to the Porte
as usual.
Ayes, 198. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
789. GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian Ambassador in England, to
the CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
After acquainting me with the reply to be made to Cardinal
Dandino, the Queen subsequently had a very earnest request made
to me, to let him know that for the benefit of the incipient nego-
tiation and for the quiet of England, Cardinal Pole should by no
means come hither either as Legate or as a private individual,
but that he should delay his coming until a more fitting time; and
her Majesty also wished his Holiness to be very certain that this is
not because she has changed her mind from what she said to Com-
Maou
* Blank in the manuscript.
1553.
411
1553.
mendone, or that she should not be glad to see Cardinal Pole, as she
bore the same good-will as ever towards both one and the other, but
that the nature of the times required this.
Has written the whole to the [Venetian] Ambassador, Da
Mulla [at Brussels ?], that he may communicate it to Cardinal
Dandino. The person sent by the Queen to Brussels, to bring to
England the person who said he had letters for her Majesty from
Cardinal Pole, did not return until today. From what Soranzo
hears he came alone, but as yet he has been unable to learn any
further particulars.
London, 11th September 1553.
(Signed) Giacomo Soranzo, Kavr, Ambasciatore.
In cipher, with contemporary decipher.
[Italian.]
Sept. 19.
790. The SAME to the SAME.
Miscellaneous
Correspondence,
Archives.
Wrote to them on the 12th* what Cardinal Dandino's secretary,
Venetian Francesco Commendone, negotiated with the Queen about re-uniting
England to the Roman Church. Received letters subsequently from
Commendone, at Brussels, informing him that as soon as he had
acquainted Dandino with his negotiations, he was despatched im-
mediately to stop, wherever he should be found, a Bishop,† whom
Cardinal Pole was sending to England, and also to prevent Pole
from proceeding farther; Commendone being ordered then to go to
Rome to execute the commission received from her Majesty; and
he urged him (Soranzo) to acquaint the Queen with this, assuring
her that nothing would be done which could cause her trouble or
displeasure. In consequence of this, understanding it to be gene-
rally divulged throughout England, that the Pope had determined
to send Cardinal Pole thither as Legate, thought it fit that the Queen
should know what Commendone wished, and by the same means
as those employed for Commendone's introduction,‡ he acquainted
her with what is aforesaid. The Queen gave no other answer, save
that she greatly thanked Cardinal Dandino for the good-will demon-
strated by him. But subsequently, from another quarter, heard that
at Brussels there is another person [Henry Penning], who is bring-
ing her letters from Cardinal Pole, but not choosing to cross the
Channel without the Queen's permission, her Majesty sent him word
to come, so he is expected from day to day.
London, 19th September 1553.
(Signed) Giacomo Soranzo, Kavr, Ambasciatore.
In cipher, with contemporary decipher.
[Italian.]
*The letter has not been found.
† Richard Pate, Bishop designate of Worcester.
By this it appears that the ambassador Soranzo was the person who caused Com-
mendone, on his first arrival in London in August 1553, to be introduced to the Queen by
Lee; whose name is mentioned by Graziani and Lingard.
412
1553.
1553.
Sept. 26.
Parti Comuni
Consiglio X.,
v. xxi. p. 50.
Sept. 28.
MS. St. Mark's
791. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That ten ducats be given to Alvise Agostini, late Secretary resi-
dent in England, and the like sum to Hieronimo Zuccato, who
previously held the same office there.
Ayes, 16. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Latin.]
792. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Congratulates himself on the course pursued by his Holiness and
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. the Queen with regard to the affair of England. Hopes the Pope's
Library,
Sept. 28?
MS. St. Mark's
conjectures about the negotiations for peace between the Emperor
and France may not be verified, as Pole fears, but his Holiness has
at least acted in accordance with his station and piety. Suggests
that a jubilee be proclaimed to invite all Christendom to pray for
the restoration of England to the Church of Rome, and for the
peace, and that the wrath of God may be averted. Thanks the
Pope for his gracious opinion of him, which binds him the more
to serve faithfully in this holy undertaking, and to proceed if
necessary at the risk of his life, without any regard for his own
interests or those of any of his kinsfolk (ò de alcuno de' mei), using
all possible caution so that all his actions may prove to the comfort
and honour of his Holiness, whom he refers for further particulars
to the bearer of the present letter. Did not receive the Pope's
letters and brief until last evening, and tomorrow morning will set
out on his journey (mi metterò in viaggio) with all diligence.
From the Island of the Lake of Garda, 28th September 1553.
[Italian.]
793. CARDINAL POLE to his Secretary FIORDIBELLO [at
Brussels].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Since Fiordibello's arrival at the Court, has received letters from
Misdated in MS. him dated 1st, 2nd, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 18th instant, giving full
20 November. account of all that he has negotiated with the Legate [Cardinal
Dandino] and the Bishop of Arras, and is much satisfied with his
diligence. After the arrival of Commendone, whilst awaiting the
Pope's decision about his own journey, Pole received on the sudden
last evening a despatch assigning him a fresh legation, so he
purposes continuing his journey tomorrow morning with speed.
Is writing to Cardinal Dandino,_requesting him, should he not
have any other order from his Holiness about announcing this
new legation to the Emperor, to perform the office with his
Majesty in such form as he shall deem expedient. Has also re-
quested Cardinal Dandino, should his departure take place before
Pole's arrival at the Imperial Court, to let him know what road
he takes, that Pole may meet him, which he is very anxious to do,
that he may obtain from him such information and warnings as
may be expected from his prudence and affection; and in that
case, Fiordibello may be the person to bring Pole the news, but
1553.
413
1553.
Sept. 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
Sept. 29.
Senato Terra,
v. xxxix. p. 51,
tergo.
Sept. 29.
Senato Mar,
V. xxxii. p. 104,
tergo.
Oct. 1.
MS. St. Mark's
he is to regulate himself throughout according to Dandino's opinion.
Refers himself for the rest to [the letter of] Monsignor Priuli.
[From the Island of the Lake of Garda, 28th September (?)* 1553.]
[Italian.]
794. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
in ENGLAND.
Enclose summary of advices for communication as usual.
Vigore partis die supto.
[Italian.]
795. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Motion made in the Senate.
It being fitting for their beloved nobleman Ser Zuan Michiel,
Ambassador-elect to England, to be instructed about current affairs,
having shortly to go on his legation—
Put to the ballot, that said Ser Zuan Michiel, Ambassador-elect
to England, may come into this Council, but without the right to
ballot, as done by all other Ambassadors-elect.
Ayes, 205. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian]
796. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Confirmation of the motion made on the 2nd September autho-
rizing Ser Zuan Michiel to sit in the Senate.
Ayes, 205. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
797. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Wrote to the Pope on the 28th [September], the day before his
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. departure from the Island of the Lake of Garda, and arrived today
Library,
at Trent, being greeted and received by the Cardinal Bishop with
all love and courtesy. On the road, near Trent, was overtaken
by a courier despatched express by his secretary Fiordibello from
Brussels on the 24th ultimo, having come in six days, and bringing
him letters from the first messenger sent by him to England
[Henry Penning], the same who brought him the briefs of his
first legation; the copies of which letters, translated ad verbum
from the English, the Pope will receive with this present; nor has
he anything more to say on this subject, save to congratulate his
Holiness on the excellent will and disposition clearly evinced by
the Queen through her demand for absolution. Her Majesty
having given this hint, Pole, in accordance with the license (licenza)
given him by the Pope in this matter, will write to her that this
same demand having been already made of his Holiness in her
name [by Commendone ?], he wrote to ole that he Pwould by all
means (in ogni modo) grant her this consolation, proceeding
* I derive the date from the preceding letter alluding to the Pope's brief, etc.
414
1553.
1553.
however with the utmost secrecy in compliance with her desire;
and that her Majesty may thus remain with her conscience per-
fectly at ease (sicurissima in conscientia), as the Lord God sees
her heart, she having also heard the will of his Vicar through his
Legate; but that Pole will nevertheless endeavour to obtain the
absolution in writing, keeping it in his own possession, and giving
notice of it to the Queen by this third messenger, whom he purposes
despatching express immediately, by so much the more willingly as
he has now received this reply, and to comfort the Queen respecting
her pious wish. Has not yet translated the Queen's letter into
Italian, but, when translated, will send a copy of it as he did of the
others, that the Pope (should he please) may see in detail what
he wrote.* The particulars of these letters have not been com-
municated by him-nor will he communicate them-to any persons
save those employed by him for writing. Has merely said, as
he will continue doing for the future to those who shall ask him
the substance of what his messenger wrote to him, that he found
the Queen excellently and piously disposed towards God and his
Church, and especially towards Pole himself individually. Will
not weary the Pope further, as the rest of the information he has
to give him will be contained in a letter he is writing to the
Cardinal del Monte; and with all due reverence he kisses the
Pope's feet, praying God long to preserve and prosper him for the
benefit of his holy Church.
From Trent, 1st October 1553.
P.S.-Is compelled to remain at Trent tomorrow, to despatch a
messenger express to England with letters to the Queen, in reply
to what Her Majesty wishes about [spiritual] consolation, as the
Pope has heard; and he simultaneously gives the Queen notice of
this new office enjoined him, to endeavour to make peace between
the Emperor and France, so that he necessarily has an opportunity
for approaching England, which he hopes she will be glad to hear,
her mind being bent, as it is, on treating at any rate in this present
Parliament, the repeal of the iniquitous laws introduced into the
realm, amongst which this one of the Supremacy is the chief. Pole
exhorts her to the utmost thus to do in this third letter, which he
has already written to her, as the Pope (should he please) can see.
Hopes it will become more and more manifest daily that God
inspired the Pope to give him this new appointment; and should
it not prove as efficacious with the sovereigns as desired, though
he will not quite despair of some road being opened by the Almighty
to the honour of his Holiness, yet at any rate it may be hoped that
by this journey Pole will be enabled greatly to benefit the first
design.
Pole also purposes despatching his Abbot [of San Saluto] from
Trent to France.
From Trent, 1st October 1553.
[Italian.]
* Acciochè vestra Santità piacendoli possa intendere particolarmente quel chè Io ho
scritto.
1553.
415
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
1553.
Oct. 1.
798. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DEL MONTE.
MS. St. Mark's
Wrote to the Pope on the 28th ultimo, and departed from the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Isola del Lago de Garda on the morrow. Arrived today at Trent,
Library.
where the Cardinal Bishop received him most lovingly and with
every sort of courtesy. Has sent one of his attendants express
to France with letters of credence to the most Christian King, to
the Constable [Anne Duke de Montmorency], to the Cardinal of
Lorraine [Charles de Guise, Archbishop of Rheims], to the Cardinal
Legate [Gieronimo Capodiferro], and to Cardinal Farnese, acquaint-
ing them with this new office, assigned him by the Pope, and with
his wish to be with the King of France immediately after
having seen the Emperor, to carry out his Holiness's pious and
holy wish to conclude the peace, for the general benefit of all
Christendom. Pole thought it advisable to do this, both to show
that the King of France was held in due account, and also to
prove that this legation has not been appointed solely for ap-
pearance and as an introduction to the other, but from the Pope's
wish to attempt the accomplishment of so salutary a measure by
several means. In order to send off this express, Pole is obliged
to remain at Trent during tomorrow, and will then continue his
journey with speed. Will not say anything more to Cardinal
del Monte about the advices from England, referring himself to
what he is writing on the subject to the Pope.
From Trent, 1st October 1553.
[Italian.]
799. CARDINAL POLE to HENRY II., KING OF FRANCE.
Through the many and constant good offices performed by the
x. Pope with his Majesty and the Emperor, exhorting them both to
make peace, the King of France will have understood his just and
pious desire to obtain this grace from God and their Majesties; and
his Holiness, persevering more and more daily in this holy purpose,
not choosing to omit any means for obtaining so great a benefit for
Christendom-and especially for their Majesties and their kingdoms
—and having thought fit to recall the two Legates [Capodiferro and
Dandino], hitherto resident with their Majesties, has been pleased
to make choice of Pole, appointing him Legate to both one and
the other of them at the same time to this effect. Being now
on his way to their Majesties with all speed, has thought it his duty
to send the Abbot of San Saluto ‡ in advance with this letter, for
presentation to the King of France. Requests his Majesty to give
him audience and credence for the statement which he will make in
Pole's name. In the meanwhile, Pole will not cease praying God to
grant him the grace to be a good and able instrument for this so
* Cristoforo del Monte, cousin of Pope Julius III. See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 306, 307.
† Mention of this legation is made in the Foreign Calendar 1553–1558 (October 27th
1553), in a letter from Dr. Wotton to the Queen.
In the MS. from which I am translating, the name is written San Saluto in abbrevia-
tion of San Solutore; an abbacy held by a Piedmontese gentleman, Cavaliere Vincenzo
Parpaglia. (See Pallavicino, Istoria del Concilio di Trento, vol. iii. p. 288: ed. Faenza,
1793.)
416
1553.
1553.
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
salutary a work, for the honour of God and general benefit of all
Christendom.
From Trent, 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
800. CARDINAL POLE to the CONSTABLE OF FRANCE [ANNE
DE MONTMORENCY].
The Pope has given him this new appointment of Legate for the
peace, to the Emperor and the most Christian King. Would that
it were possible for him to be with both their Majesties at one and
the same time; but being already on his way to Flanders, he has
thought fit in the meanwhile to send the bearer of the present
letter, the Abbot of S. Saluto, to his Majesty. Has desired the
Abbot to avail himself of the Constable's mediation and favour, for
his communications with the King, on which he relies for the
promotion of a work so beneficial for all Christendom.
From Trent, 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
801. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF ST. GEORGE [GIERO-
NIMO CAPODIFERRO, Legate in France].
Immediately on being informed of the new legation assigned
him by the Pope and the Sacred College, he proceeded on his way
towards Flanders with all speed; and in the meanwhile is sending
the Abbot of San Saluto to his Majesty. The Abbot is the bearer
of the present letter, and Pole has desired him to apply to the
Cardinal of St. George, for such information and suggestions as
may be anticipated from his prudence and experience of the
business.
From Trent, 2nd October.
[Italian.]
802. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL FARNESE.
Cardinal Farnese assures Pole, in his most affectionate letter, that
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. the grief caused him by the dire catastrophe (dell' acerbissimo
caso) which befell his brother Duke Oratio, was somewhat mitigated
by what he heard of the prosperous events in England. Pole in
like manner heard the two events simultaneously, and the deep
regret felt by him for the one for a long while modified his joy for
the other, to the surprise of those who were with him at the time;
and if he has so long delayed endeavouring to console the Cardinal
and himself, it was not from lack of his constant wish to do so, nor
from his having failed frequently to make the attempt. This in-
voluntary silence is now followed by the great satisfaction derived
by Pole from the expression of the Cardinal's sincere affection, and
his belief that it is reciprocated. Pole also rejoices to hear from him
how much the prosperous and miraculous events in England have
gratified the King of France, on account of the service of God and
of the Church, as he had heard through another channel. Is very
certain that the Cardinal does his utmost to encourage the King to
1553.
417
1553.
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
use his great authority in England, for the advantage of the cause
of God and of his Church. Would wish to see the Emperor
and the King united in so glorious an undertaking. Will en-
deavour with all his might to exhort them accordingly; and the
legation [in England] assigned him by the Pope, will render it
necessary for him to confer with their Majesties, concerning which
he wrote lately to Cardinal Farnese and to the Cardinal of Lorraine.
From the monastery "del Isola," 28th October (sic) [28th
September?] 1553.
Delayed sending the foregoing letter, that he might be able to
write more positively about his departure towards Flanders, which
decision has arrived unexpectedly, the Pope having now assigned
him this new legation for the purpose of endeavouring to make
the peace; so he immediately commenced the journey, and after.
having been with the Emperor, will proceed forthwith to the Court
of France. In the meanwhile, is sending his Abbot (mio Abbate)
[Parpaglia] to the King, and has charged him expressly to take the
Cardinal's prudent and loving counsel, on which Pole relies much
by reason of Farnese's great experience in similar negotiations.
From Trent, 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
803. CARDINAL POLE to the NUNCIO [PROSPERO]* SANTA
CROCE [in France].
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
The Pope having assigned him this new charge to continue the
No date in MS. negotiation for peace between the Sovereigns, and being already
on his way to the Emperor, he has determined to send his Abbot
of San Saluto in advance, to his most Christian Majesty, with such
commission as the Nuncio will learn from him. Requests Santa
Croce to give the Abbot all necessary assistance for the benefit
of the cause; and for further particulars refers himself to the
Abbot.
[Trent, 2nd October 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
804. THE SAME to the CARDINAL OF MANTUA.
Having quitted Maguzzano with the intention of proceeding
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. towards Flanders to perform his first legation about the affairs of
Library,
England, he wrote to the Cardinal that this legation comprised
two objects, the chief of which was the mission to the Queen, the
other his conference with the Emperor and the King of France;
and that as the road to the first was not then open, he purposed
having recourse (de recorere) to the other, aud being unable to rest
on the right side to try the left. But scarcely had he reached the
Island of the Lake, when a messenger [Commendone] arrived from
the Legate Dandino, which caused him to halt; and whilst sus-
pecting that the second road likewise would be barred him, news
5.
* The christian name of the Nuncio is given in Pallavicino (vol. iii. p. 281). He must
not be confounded with the Cardinal Santa Croce.
D D
418
1553.
1553.
arrived of the new Legation which the Pope and the Sacred College
have been pleased to assign him, so that the conference with the
Emperor and France, which was at first accessory, has now become
the principal object. So he immediately set out for Trent, where he
arrived on the day before yesterday, being received by the Cardinal-
Bishop as affectionately as the Cardinal of Mantua may imagine,
and to morrow purposes continuing his journey. Will not say more
about his last news from England, referring himself to the bearer
of the present letter, Messer Gio. Paulo Scaino, whom he sends on
account in great measure of his good parts and qualities, and also
loves him so much the more because he knows him to be the
devoted and affectionate servant of the Cardinal of Mantua; and
seeing him anxious to serve the Cardinal professionally, as he
did heretofore, Pole writes to his Lordship, not so much to recom-
mend him, being convinced he has no need of recommendation, as
that the Cardinal may know that in like manner as Pole considers
Scaino very well worthy of this grace, so will he consider it a
favour done to himself.
From Trent, 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
805. CARDINAL POLE to QUEEN MARY.
Since the very agreeable (gratissima) news received by him of
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. her Majesty's successes, he has already written twice by two
Library,
*
separate messengers, congratulating her, as he does constantly in
his heart, as also the whole kingdom and the entire Church, on her
miraculous exaltation to the throne; giving her moreover notice
that his Holiness, on receiving such joyful intelligence, immediately
created him Legate, to congratulate her in the Pope's name,† and
at the same time gave all such faculties for the dispensation of
favours, as would enable him in the present case to comfort her
Majesty's pious and religious mind, with which everybody is con-
vinced she has been endowed by the goodness of God for the
benefit of the kingdom and of his entire Church. Although Pole
has received no reply to those letters, he is nevertheless moved to
write this third letter to her Highness, owing to the reply received by
him from the Emperor to his congratulations on the same subject.
He also acquainted the Emperor with his legation to the Queen,
which had no other end than to unite England to the head and to
the entire body of the Catholic Church, on which union the esta-
blishment of the Queen's throne and the spiritual and temporal
welfare and prosperity of the realm depend. He requested the
Emperor to confirm the Queen in the pious and religious purpose
which she doubtless entertained; and that he would aid it with
his great prudence, so that all impediments being removed, the
desired result might be obtained; he, Pole, as the instrument of his
* See letters dated 13th and 27th August 1553.
† See letter of the 13th August.
The reply dated Westminster, 8th October 1553, was received by Pole at Dillingen on
the 19th October 1553.
1553.
419
i
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
QUEEN MARY,
(2nd Oct.)
Holiness, and as a member of that kingdom in which he was born,
offering his best services in this cause (with due regard for the Pope,
as also for the Emperor), to adjust the difficulties between the
Apostolic See and England, for the benefit of both parties.
To this letter the Bishop of Arras [Antoine de Granvelle] replied
by the Emperor's order, graciously returning thanks for the con-
gratulations, and approving the Pope's election of Pole as Legate
for this cause, and agreeing with Pole about ultimately uniting
England to the Church, and rendering the due obedience to the
Roman See; though he was not of opinion that it was yet time
to attempt this, by reason of the many dangers which might arise
at this commencement, as on no account are the people so ready
to rebel as on that of religion. His Imperial Majesty therefore
thinks it would be prudent for the Queen to delay this matter
until well confirmed and established on her throne; and that Pole's
legation should be deferred to another time, when the Emperor
would do his utmost to obtain the desired result.
Such was the Emperor's answer to Pole's letter. Pole cannot
deny that it was the answer of a prudent Prince, such as he is;
and most especially of one who, having encountered so many
difficulties from this same cause, has greater reason to weigh the
dangers, in addition to his wish and anxiety (desiderio e gelosia) to
see the Queen reign undisturbedly (senza travaglio). This the
Queen can only interpret to mean that she should avoid whatever
may give cause for tumult, as thus anticipated by the Emperor,
which advice Pole would recommend her to follow, did he not
clearly perceive that through the whole course of her life hitherto,
both in this her accession to the Crown and on other occasions,
she has always been guided by a greater light than could be given
her by human prudence, and it being also manifest that the cause
of the supremacy of the Roman Church is not of such a sort as to
be treated with similar arguments based on human prudence; so he
is more and more convinced that the counsel which it behoves the
Emperor to give, as a prudent Prince friendly to the Queen, cannot
reasonably be followed by her, for the cause already mentioned.
That which would perhaps be less unbecoming in anybody else,
could not but be most unfitting in the person of the Queen, when
she calls to mind the great benefits received by her from God, and
the light which his Divine goodness has always given her in matters
of religion beyond that of any human prudence.
Amongst other things, she has here to remember the time when,
by the iniquity of the rulers, the religion was so persecuted in Eng-
land that from schism it fell to manifest heresy, the sacraments,
especially the one styled "sacramentum sacramentorum," to which
all the others are directed (indrizati), being abolished. At that time
the Bishops of England, and many learned men, who refused their
consent to such iniquities, were despoiled of their revenues and im-
prisoned; no one else having the courage to profess the true religion.
If ever there had been a time for those who had regard for worldly
honour, and for the preservation of their state (on which human pru-
dence is always chiefly intent), to dissemble, it was then. Who had
DD 2
420
1553.
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to.
QEEEN MARY,
(2nd Oct.)
ever greater cause to act thus than the Queen-her brother being
already perverted by his Governors, and she herself, by miracle,
not following the same religion? When was her state ever in
greater danger than then? Yet would she never allow herself to
be vanquished in the least by their malice, although it had already
reached such a pitch that her chaplains were imprisoned for having
performed their office. What more could they do, unless it were
to lay hands on her royal person? And still God gave her
always that light and strength of mind which was needed, as oil
to feed the light of true religion in her, to be seen by the
rest of the kingdom (per esser visto dal resto del regno), as if
it were the light of a lantern placed in a dark place when all
other lights seemed put out, that the light in Israel might not
be extinguished. This was the grace which at that time God
gave her Highness, a light supernatural as it were, independent
of all human foresight, guiding and not allowing her to fall, by
concealing her true piety and religion, although the danger of her
state was placed constantly before her eyes.
The divine grace therefore having preserved her most virtuous
Highness's (virtuosissima Madama) light of religion and piety, as it
were in a lantern, during such stormy times, will it be fitting—now
that God has transformed that great tempest into such a calm, placing
the government of the kingdom in the Queen's hands, and choosing
as it were that the light which formerly burned dim in a lantern,
(in una lanterna) be now placed super candelabrum ut luceat
omnibus-to dissemble at such a moment the cause which concerns
the union and obedience of the Church ?-which obedience was
abolished in England by human malice, at the commencement,
together with the sacraments. What else would this be but to
do contrary to what is said by Christ himself, who gave the Queen
her light? "No man when he hath lighted a candle (lucernam)
placeth it under a bushel, but on a candlestick (candelabrum), that
it may give light to all who are in the house" (ut luceat omnibus
qui in domo sunt).* How could it be reasonable for the Queen
to dissemble this cause of the union and obedience of the Church,
and to hide this light under the bushel, Christ having placed her on
the throne, that she might set it on a candlestick to be seen by
the whole kingdom, and to give light to everybody? and how can
it become her to do this from fear of turmoil, after having been
freed by Christ from such manifest perils, when she was destitute
of all human aid and protection, He showing that his hand is with
her, and that it has dispersed the storm which was coming against
her? The Queen (nobelissima Madama) should therefore consider
what dishonour it would be for the Lord and spouse of her soul,
if, having come to her, that she and all others might see him, her
Highness were to turn back, lamp (lampada) in hand, as if it
lacked oil, and she were going to the vendors to keep her
light burning, although she had sufficient oil given her by favour
* St. Mark iv. 21., St. Luke xi. 33.
1553.
421
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
QUEEN MARY,
(2nd Oct.)
of her said Lord and Spouse, who expects to be better seen and
known by the light which his oil has hitherto fed, than by that
light which may be fed with the oil sold in the shops of human
prudence (nelle botteghe della prudentia humana).
If therefore the Queen considers well (as Pole does not doubt she
will, much better than he can express it) what God has constantly
done for her, she will immediately know what counsel it is best and
most fitting for her to follow in this case. Nor does he give the
warning because he believes it to be so very necessary, but rather
because others counsel her to dissemble the point of the obe-
dience and supremacy of the Church for a while, as he believes
many do, and above all, the Emperor; but, the greater his
prudence and the more he desires and favours the Queen's esta-
blishment, the less can he at first sight give her any other counsel
than he has done. As his Imperial Majesty, by reason of his long
and varied experience, sees and knows this danger of the Crown
(pericolo di Stato), Pole's wish would be that the Queen, ac-
knowledging, as she ought, such light as God has given her, should
remove this fear from his mind, and encourage him with regard
to that point about which he has not the heart to encourage
her; doing this by means of the example already afforded by God
in the Queen's own person, through his having released her from
other greater dangers; that as it has hitherto been He who
always defended and assisted her, because she never hid that light
which His divine goodness had given her, so is it to be hoped
that He will assist her much more at present, by reason of the
greater honour and service which will thence redound (ritornare
to his Divine Majesty, especially as that light shall be diffused
and seen by all men, through the sublime station (sublime luogo)
in which God has placed her.
With regard to this matter the Queen might make it clear to his
Majesty how the Divine goodness has provided for the removal of well-
nigh all the difficulties which he fears may arise on proposing in the
first Parliament the affair of the supremacy of the Church, as the whole
body of the Parliament consisting of the people, the Lords, and the
ecclesiastics, should any of those three estates raise any difficulty, it
will proceed from that one, which, by the suppression (esclusione) of
the obedience of the Church has derived thence and continues to de-
rive emolument; this estate being but one of the three, and forming
but a small minority. From the other two estates, not only is no
difficulty or opposition whatever to be apprehended with regard to
this cause, but they may, on the contrary, be reasonably expected
to give it all favour and assistance, the ecclesiastical estate having
always suffered for this cause both in their honour and property;
the people, in like manner, having suffered very great detriment, as
since the abolition of the obedience of the Church, they have
been more and more oppressed daily. With regard to the estate
of the temporal nobility, which seems to have derived some profit
and advantage from the disobedience to the Roman Church (dalla
desobedientia della Chiesa Romana), besides their not being
many in number, as already stated, the majority of them are those
422
1553.
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
QUEEN MARY,
(2nd Oct.)
who hold possession of their property by the Queen's graciousness
and clemency; so from the gratitude due to her, if not on any
other account, it cannot be supposed that they alone will oppose
the royal will, and what is in like manner required for the benefit
and establishment of the Queen's right to the Crown, which, with-
out this act, might always be disputed, on the plea of its being
schismatic.
24
If Pole be worthy to obtain any favour from the Queen res-
pecting what he desires and demands, solely for the honour of
God, and for the Queen's own advantage, and that of the entire
kingdom, he would humbly request her to tranquillize the Emperor
on this point before Pole's arrival at his Court, he being now ap-
pointed Legate to him and to the King of France by the Pope, in
addition to his first Legation to the Queen, to negotiate peace
between their Majesties, for the quiet and advantage of all
Christendom, Were Pole, therefore, by the Queen's means, to
find the Emperor relieved from the fear which renders him averse
to the discussion in the first Parliament of the matter of the
"obedience" and the "supremacy of the Church," Pole knows how
much it would conduce to the speedy success of what is desired.
Respecting the time of the meeting of Parliament, which the
Emperor considers unsuited to the negotiation of this business, the
Queen has to consider whether any other time could be so proper, so
suitable, and so necessary for the proposal of this measure as that
of the first session of Parliament, and how it could accord with her
obligation to God, with the love she bears her own kingdom, and
with the establishment of her throne (stato), that-it being the
ancient custom of the realm for the first Parliament of a new reign
to reform all the acts of injustice perpetrated by past rulers, and
make good provision for the future-so great an injustice as that
of the disobedience of the Church, causing such calamity and
affliction to the kingdom that the like never befel it from any
enemy, should be passed over in silence, and without being put
forward, most especially as on such an occasion a good resolution is
necessary to remove any sort of opposition which might hereafter
be made to the Queen's just title to her Crown, which, so long as
she can be reproached with the name of schismatic, will always be
liable to some attack.
.
له
Pole therefore assures the Queen (nobilissima Madama) that
any person pondering the matter well, will perceive that for
the honour of God, for the welfare of the Church, and for the
establishment of her own Crown, this cause cannot be allowed,
as may be done with regard to many others relating to civil justice,
to pass without being treated in the first Parliament; and this is
the point about which many persons deceive themselves, from not
well understanding the quality of this cause, treating it as a civil
one, such as is wont to be treated according to human prudence,
whereas it is quite of another sort. Nor has it even to be debated
in Council, whether obedience to the head of the Church should
be acknowledged or not, as that has been already determined by
the council of God. But in the royal Council, the Queen has merely
1553.
423
Oct. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
g
to make manifest her debt to God and His Church; and as this
QUEEN MARY, encounters many difficulties on account of those who, whilst as-
(2nd Oct.) senting to the measure, fear the loss of their property, human
prudence is therefore required whereby to find means for the
removal of similar obstacles. And this is what Pole asked of the Em-
peror, that he would use his influence with the Pope, as supreme
arbiter and moderator of all these and similar matters, and be
mediator, thus demonstrating his love for the Queen, so that this
cause might be duly and maturely concluded with greater satisfaction
to all parties; and in like manner as it was Pole's opinion that it
became the Emperor's honour to assume this person of mediator, so
has the Queen just reason to make this demand of his Imperial
Majesty, who, by accepting it, can but derive great honour thence
with little difficulty, the Pope being so much inclined to gratify
the Queen and the kingdom, that nothing could be demanded for
her own consolation and the benefit of the realm, and all its
inhabitants, which his Holiness is not ready to grant. To this
none can bear more ample testimony than Pole himself, by reason
of the very full powers which he has received from the Pope in
this cause.
If the Emperor proceed thus in this business at the
Queen's request, its conclusion will be easy, honourable, profitable,
and agreeable to all parties.
From Trent, the 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
-
806. CARDINAL POLE to EDWARD COURTENAY, Marquis of
Exeter.
The greater the joy felt by Pole internally for his cousin's release
from distress and imprisonment, and for the recovery of his state
and property, the less able is he to express it externally by words
to his satisfaction, though his love for Courtenay will not allow him
to omit demonstrating it as he best may by letter; nor can his
congratulations on Courtenay's individual good fortune be complete,
unless they include those for the common weal, which God has
granted to England, and on which Courtenay's personal welfare
depends; in like manner as no one can rejoice at any good fruit
without rejoicing at the tree which produced it, and also with the
planter of that tree. In the present case, the tree is the goodness
of the Queen, who has been placed on the throne by the miraculous
hand of God, for the consolation of all lovers of virtue and piety,
and most especially of those who have suffered on that account.
That the Queen by this first fruit of her justice should have relieved
Courtenay from such unjust oppression, cannot but give great
pleasure to all those who see and hear of it; above all, because he
is the flower of the ancient nobility of England which its adversaries
sought especially to destroy root and branch. This is the first joy
felt by Pole at so gracious an act performed by the Queen, and it is
common to many others; but Pole's personal joy proceeds from the
singular love which he bears Courtenay, not solely from the natural
424
1553.
t
1553.
ties of kindred, but by reason of the affection and love which
Courtenay's most illustrious father always evinced both towards
Pole and his brother; and the late Marquis of Exeter and Lord
Montacute having been so linked by God in sincere affection through-
out their lives, He would not at the last hour allow them to be
separated, both dying together for the same cause,* which was that
of God, the most noble and glorious of any.
But to return to what was said about the love of Courtenay's
father for Pole, he mentions the following pledge (pegno). On
Pole's last departure from England [for Avignon, in 1531], he
was the last English nobleman with whom Pole spoke, being
invited to go and see him, as he was then sick
then sick; and the
first words uttered to him by the Marquis were, "Lord Cousin
Pole, your departure from the realm at this present time, shows
in what a miserable state we find ourselves. It is to the universal
shame of all us nobles, who allow you to absent yourself, when
we ought most to avail ourselves of your presence; but being
unable to find any other remedy for this, we pray God to find
it himself." These were the last words he ever said to Pole,
which, proceeding as they did from the cordial love he bore him,
Pole has always treasured in his heart; and this causes him to
rejoice at all the good fortune of England, most especially as it
shows yet more clearly that the remedy for which he said they must
pray to God has already arrived, in such a form that the whole
world can see that it proceeded solely from Divine providence, which
ordained that as the misery of that period, and all that ensued
subsequently, came through a woman, so should reparation come
through a virgin, their gracious Queen.
Courtenay will thus clearly know the double cause which Pole has
for his joy and comfort at all Courtenay's prosperity; and the third
cause of his rejoicing, and which confirms both the others is, that he
hears from many persons who know Courtenay, and are of sound
judgment, that during the whole period of his tribulation, although
under bodily imprisonment, and utterly deprived of his revenue, all
his estates being confiscated, yet did he nevertheless comfort himself
in such a way, that so far as his tender age in so hard a case could
demonstrate, it was clearly manifest that the nobility of his mind
and the imitation of his father's virtues, the greatest inheritance that
a father can leave his son, were never imprisoned nor taken from
him. This is a very great comfort to all who have regard for his
honour; and seeing him already arrived at years of discretion, and
by the Providence of God, and by means of her most gracious.
Majesty, set at liberty, they firmly hope also to see and enjoy the
mature fruits of his virtue in all things relating to the honour of
God, and of his Holy Church, for the consolation in the first place
of his mistress supreme (vostra suprema signora), and secondly, of
all the friends of his true honour and prosperity, amongst whom
Pole considers himself one who does not give way to any other.
In conclusion, recommends himself to his most illustrious cousin and
* On Tower Hill, 9th January 1540.
1553.
4.25
1553.
Oct. 8
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv, Cl. x
Lord until such time as it shall please God to make the road for
him, and open the door, so that he may personally congratulate
Courtenay, whom he requests to perform the like due office in
Pole's name, cordially and affectionately, with his most illustrious
mother.*
Is writing this letter on his way to Germany, towards the Court
of the Emperor, to whom and to the King of France conjointly he
has been sent as Legate by the Pope, to treat the peace between
them. Hopes the Almighty will vouchsafe to grant it, for the
consolation and benefit of all Christendom.
From Trent, 2nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
807. QUEEN MARY to CARDINAL POLE, translated [into Italian]
from the English.
Good Cousin, and most blessed Father in Christ.
The bearer of the present letter, his secretary,† consigned to her
Pole's letters, whereby she clearly understood the continuance of his
usual entire (intiero) love and zeal, with regard to England, his
native land, and its true heirs, and the declaration of his joy at what
it has pleased the Almighty to do in demonstration of his justice
and mercy towards her. She considers herself not a little obliged
to Pole for his good warning (avertimento), as understood by
his letters; for which advice, even were he not joined to her by
nature as he is, she should nevertheless be bound to return him most
cordial acknowledgments, assuring him that through the assistance
of the grace of God, to whom she feels very much bound to render
the most humble thanks for this-she never was, nor is, and hopes
of His mercy she never shall be, opposed to Pole's good and
spiritual exhortation, as contained in his said letters. With
regard to her obedience and due devotion towards the Church
of Christ, and her spiritual mother, his Catholic and Apostolic
Church; the bearer, who can render good testimony, will be
able to inform Pole fully what pain the Queen feels from
being unable as yet by any fitting means, to manifest the whole
intent of her heart in this matter; but so soon as it shall be
in her power, by any suitable and possible mode, to declare to
the world her due and sincere intention (animo), and the obedi-
ence (et l'obedientia), by executing it thoroughly (compitamente),
should it please God, she will not fail announcing this to Pole.
* Gertrude, daughter of William Blount, Lord Mountjoy. (See Burke's Extinct
Peerages, p. 147.)
† Henry Penning; see Pallavicino, vol. iii. p. 294.
Per il quale ancora che non foste congiunto meco per natura si come sete, Io non
dimeno sareì obligata a rendervi cordialissimi ringratiamenti, assicurandovi per l'assistentia
della gratia del Sigr. Idio al quale Io me sento obligatissima a render di ciò humilissime
gratie che Io non mai fu ne sono, nè come in sua misericordia spero sarò mai contraria alla
vostra buona e spirituale esortatione contenuta nelle ditte vostre lettere. Circa alla mia
obbedientia e debita devotione verso la chiesa di Cristo e mia madre spirituale la sua
Ciattolica et apostolica chiesa il portator di questo potrà poi a lungo informarvi il quale po
esser bon testimonio.
426
1553.
1553.
And as to her coronation, his secretary will be able to tell him
all the circumstances of it,* and many other things besides, with
which she acquainted him, having full trust in the miraculous mercy
of God, that this Parliament will abolish all those statutes which
have been the origin in England of their afflictions (piaghe). She
then hopes to obtain a general pardon from the Pope, to whom she
prays Pole to render her most humble thanks for his multiplied good-
ness shown her at the present time, requesting his Holiness to persevere
therein, and forthwith to pardon her the offences already committed ;
and remaining in good hope through Pole's medium and procurement,
he having given her such just cause to consider herself well assured
of his friendship, she recommends him to the Holy Spirit, praying
it to remunerate him for his courtesy shown her in this cause; and
thus with her most cordial recommendations will she end,
In our Palace of Westminster, 8th October 1553.
[Italian.]t
Oct. 19.
808. CARDINAL POLE to MESSER CARLO GUALTERUZZI.
MS. St. Mark's
Condoles with him on the death of his son Messer Goro, as heard
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. by letters from Messer Gio. Francesco whilst Pole was in joy and
Library,
gladness at Dillingen; but as the same letters purported that he
made a Christian end, and that Gualteruzzi bore it with Christian
resignation, Pole consoled himself, and considered it well nigh an
act of Divine Providence that Gualteruzzi, foreseeing as it were the
catastrophe, was moved to demand the favour of the "motu proprio,"
so that his office might not lapse; which favour, Messer Gio. Fran-
cesco writes, will be granted by the Pope without any difficulty,
and Pole has charged him if necessary again to petition his Holiness
warmly in Pole's name. For the rest he refers himself to their
(nostro) Monsignor Priuli, and exhorts Gualteruzzi to resign himself
to the will of God.
From Dillingen, 19th October 1553.
[Italian.]
Oct. 20?
809. The SAME to the CARDINAL OF TRENT.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Whilst waiting here [at Dillingen] (mentre che io stava qui aspet-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. tando) for the safe-conducts from the Duke of Würtemberg and the
No date in MS. Count Palatine, the first messenger [Henry Penning] sent by him
to England, arrived with letters from the Queen written to him in
her own hand, the copy of which the Cardinal will see, as also of a
letter written to Pole by Fiordibello from the [Imperial] Court.
From this messenger the Cardinal of Trent will hear additional
* The coronation had taken place on the 1st of October. (See Froude, vol. vi. p. 101,
ed. 1860.) This letter was received by Pole at Trent on the 19th October.
† As stated in the heading, the letter was translated from the original English, and
this is evidently the letter to which Pole alluded when writing to the Queen from Dillingen,
on the 1st December 1553, and complaining of her having then written to him "latino
sermone et non patrio, quo solent principes cum suis agere, sive scribant, sive loquantur,
quo etiam ipsa paucis ante diebus ad me scripserat, equidem non potui non mirari." A
Latin version of the letter exists in Quirini's 4th vol., pp. 429, 430, without any mention
of its having been translated from the English.
1
!
1553.
1553.
427
news, both of English affairs and of the Imperial Court, towards
which, God willing, Pole will proceed on the day after tomorrow.
Hopes in the meanwhile to receive the safe-conduct from the Pala-
tine, in like manner as he has received the one from the Duke of
Würtemberg, by means of the Cardinal of Augsburg, of whose
courteous and affectionate reception of Pole it is needless for him
to speak. Is of opinion that Divine Providence supplied him
with the Cardinals of Augsburg and of Trent, as with two great
and necessary aids and references (aiuti et indrizzi) in this business.
Providence has also decreed that in like manner as in the house
of the Cardinal of Trent, he received the first good news from
England, so should the second reach him here at Dillingen.
Thus far Pole has availed himself of the services of Messer
Giovanni Giacomo, who was sent to him, according to the orders of
the Cardinal of Trent, by the Bishop elect (da Monsr. eletto). Is
much satisfied with his management, and would have trusted to
him for the rest of the journey, had not the Cardinal of Augsburg
thought it desirable that Pole should take one of his people, who is
very conversant with each individual place through which he has
to pass as he proceeds on his way. Is therefore sending Messer
Giovanni Giacomo back, together with the mules, one of which he
has taken the liberty to retain.
Supposes that on the arrival of this letter his nephew* will be
already on the road, but should his indisposition detain him with
the Cardinal of Trent it is unnecessary for Pole to recommend him
further, knowing with how much courtesy he always considers Pole
and all he has recommended to him. Refers him for the rest to the
bearer of this letter, and humbly kisses his hands.
[Dillingen, 20th October 1553?]
[Italian.]
Oct. 20.
MS. St. Mark's
810. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [CRISTOFORO] DEL MONTE.
Wrote to the Cardinal when about to quit Trent, and then came
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. on here to Dillingen, where they were received by the Cardinal of
Library,
Augsburg as lovingly and courteously as could be desired, and by
good fortune there met the Cardinal of Imola [Gieronimo Dandino]
with whom he remained a day. Was compelled to stay five days
more waiting for the safe-conduct from the Duke of Würtemberg
and from the Count Palatine, which last he has now received; so
tomorrow, God willing, he will proceed towards Spires, where he
thinks of embarking. Yesterday he was joined by the first messen-
ger sent by him to England [Henry Penning], who will be the bearer
of the present letter, Pole having thought fit to send him to the Pope
that he may give his Holiness full account of the affairs of England ;
and to him he also refers the Cardinal, kissing his hands.
From Dillingen, 20th October 1553.
[Italian]
* Thomas Stafford ?
MODE
1
428
1553.
1553.
Oct. 21.
811. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
MS. St. Mark's
Wrote to his Holiness from Trent, enclosing copy of a letter
Cod xxiv. Cl. x. written to him by his messenger in England [Henry Penning], and
Library,
Pole having come on subsequently to Dillingen, where he has been
compelled to remain, awaiting the safe-conduct from the Duke of
Würtemberg and from the Count Palatine, has been joined by this
messenger, who has returned from England. Thinks it fit to
send him express to the Pope, that he may give him full account
of everything, and he will also bring a copy of the autograph letter
written to Pole by the Queen.* Congratulates the Pope with his
whole heart, for that the Lord God vouchsafes more and more daily
to favour his excellent intention with regard to this holy work, as
it may
be hoped he will continue to do until the end, to the glory
of his Divine Majesty, to the benefit of Christendom, and to the
especial advantage of his Holiness's pontificate. As Pole believes
that this messenger [Henry Penning ?] may reach Rome before the
Cardinal of Imola [Gieronimo Dandino], he will not omit to tell the
Pope that he met him, and that they remained together a day. The
Cardinal of Imola did not deceive himself in the least about the
way in which the first announcement of Pole's second legation to
the Imperial Court would be received, as the Pope will perceive by
the copy of the letter from Fiordibello, which he is sending to his
agent.† Leaves it to the Pope's extreme prudence whether it shall
seem expedient-as it would seem to him, Pole-not to allow
the Queen's letter to circulate (di non lasciar uscire fuori la lettera
della Regina); and for the rest he refers himself to the messenger's
statement humbly kissing the feet of his Holiness, whom he prays
God long to preserve for the benefit of his Church.
From Dillingen, 21st October 1553.
PS. The farther Pole proceeds on his way towards England,
the more clearly does he perceive what a stormy sea he has to
traverse. Thus far he has been on the mainland, always in the
midst of friends. Has now to commence traversing the towns
of the Lutherans, and although provided with a safe-conduct,
yet is it notorious how ill affected they are towards the Pope
by whom he is sent, and towards the object of his mission. In
the next place, he has to pass through places which are almost
all suspected of plague and infected with it, according to general
report, and through the towns of the Count Palatine. Should
these obstacles, by God's grace, be overcome, it will remain for him
to encounter the Imperial Court, a gulf as it were of the sea, from
which hitherto a very contrary wind seems to blow, to say nothing
more of the opposition he will meet with in England, should it please
God that he arrive there. Writes this to the Pope for no other
reason, than to show him how much need he has of the Divine
assistance, there being nothing else on earth to comfort him, save
the pious disposition (la pia mente) of his Holiness who sends him,
and of the Queen to whom he is sent; and to pray the Pope to help
* Copia della lettera che la Regina mi ha scritta di mano propria.
† Che Io mando il (sic) [al?] mio agente; namely, the agent of Cardinal Pole at Rome.
1553.
4.29
:
1553.
him to obtain that assistance by his prayers, and to have the like
done by others, for this so great a need. With the sure hope of
being thus assisted, he will speedily and willingly continue his
journey, trusting that by these means the ship will be piloted by
the Lord God, the director of all his Holiness's actions, for his glory,
for the benefit of his Church, and for the consolation of all
mankind.
From Dillingen, 21st October 1553.
[Italian.]
Oct. 21.
812. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF TRENT.
MS. St. Mark's
The Cardinal of Trent will have heard from the Cardinal of
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Imola [Gieronimo Dandino] in what good quarters Pole and he met,
and what little else Pole learnt from him about the affairs of the
Imperial Court. May it please God to show by experience that in
these matters what seems impossible to man, is easy to Him, in
cujus manu sunt corda regum.
Has taken the liberty not only to make use thus far of the mules
of the Cardinal of Trent, but moreover to keep one for the rest of the
journey, sending him back the others, and thanking the Cardinal as
much as he can, but not as much as he ought, for this, in addition to
so many other acts of courtesy. As the Cardinal of Augsburg
thinks Pole should have one of his people very conversant with all
those places through which he has to pass, and well known in them,
he has therefore thought fit to send back Messer Gioan Giacomo,
who was sent him on the road by the Cardinal's "Bishop elect,"
according to his order; he performed all possible good service, and
Pole would have taken the liberty to take him with him for the
rest of the journey, had it been necessary. Requests the Cardinal,
for Pole's sake, to hold Messer Gioan Giacomc dearer than ever.
Dillingen, 21st October 1553.
[Italian.]
813. REPORT to be made to the POPE by the messenger* returned
from England [Henry Penning].
Oct. 21. ?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
To state to his Holiness, first of all, what I said to the Queen at
No date in MS. the first audience, concerning the joy felt by his Holiness on receiving
the news of Her Majesty's auspicious accession, together with the
offers made to her by his Holiness for her own consolation, and the
salvation of souls in that kingdom, and about the legation to which
my Right Reverend Cardinal had been appointed, and the ample
powers given him by his Holiness in this legation; and the reply of
the Queen, who said she had always been most obedient and most
affectionate towards the Apostolic See, and that "interiormente " his
Holiness had no more loving daughter than herself (non haveva
*This "report" bears no date of time or place in the manuscript, but was evidently
drawn up at Dillingen on the 20th or 21st of October 1553, by Cardinal Pole's messenger
or secretary, Henry Penning, who probably arrived in London early in September, and
remained there a month. This date is confirmed by the notes to Pallavicini (vol. iii.
p. 294), which also state that the messenger sent by Pole to Rome, was charged to recall
Penning then on his way to the Pope, but of this I find no note in the MS. in St. Mark's
Library.
430
1553.
1553.
figliuola più affettionata di lei), and that within a few days she
hoped to be able to show it openly to the whole world; and that
thus far, she thanked our Lord God that she had never consented in
any way to the heresies and impious laws made and published
in England of late years, but had always been, and would continue,
firm in that same religion in which she had been educated from her
girlhood, as she hoped in a few days to show his Holiness and the
whole world; but that it was first necessary to repeal and annul
by Act of Parliament many perverse laws made by those who ruled
before her.
And because this Parliament could not be held before the corona-
tion, such being the custom of the realm, while she wished to be
absolved by the Right Reverend Cardinal [Pole], as Legate from your
Holiness and the Bishop [of Winchester, Gardiner], who was to crown
her, also knowing that ceremony ought to be preceded by the general
reconciliation to Holy Mother Church-she charged me for this pur-
pose immediately to send an express to his Right Reverend Lordship,
which could reach him before the day of the coronation, so that on that
day her Majesty might remain with her conscience at ease, and believe
herself absolved; and thus did I promise and do. And her Majesty
talking of the delight and pleasure felt by her at being Queen, said
to me fervently, that did she not believe herself called by God to that
dignity, in order to be of some use to this poor country, she would
rather elect to be her laundry-maid's servant-wench (che se non
fusse che lei credeva di esser chiamata da Dio a quella dignità per
fare qualche utile a questa povera patria, che più tosto ellegerebbe
esser serva della sua lavandera). And speaking about the Bishop
of Winchester who was to crown her, and of the few other Catholics
now there, her Majesty wished them also to be absolved, that they
might be able to say mass and administer the sacraments without
sin, until able to have the general absolution.
To this I answered her Majesty as God inspired me-neither my
learning nor my experience being more than enough (non havendo nè
lettere nè pratica più che tanto che fa),—that I had always heard
say, that the Holy Mother Church absolved and pardoned those alone
who had repented them of their errors, and resolved no longer to
commit them; but not that his Holiness would absolve those who
persevered in their errors. In reply to this, her Majesty said to
me that the Sig. Commendone had well nigh promised. it her;*
and this her Majesty charged me to keep secret.
The Queen then desired me to await the coronation, as when that
was over, she should be better able to despatch me, and more to her
own satisfaction and to mine; seeming to have some suspicion of
tumult and also of some personal danger; having on that solemn
occasion to pass through a crowd, containing no lack of malignants,
both Londoners and countrymen; there being also many of the new
religion in the government (come molti ve ne sono della religione
nuova governo (sic) [nel governo ?]), who foresee (prevedendo) that
it is her Majesty's intention utterly to extirpate this pestiferous
* Commendone seems to have left London on the 23rd August: see Pallavicini, vol. iii.
p. 291.
|
431
1553.
1553.
contagion; so they do not fail forming all possible evil designs,
though, with God's assistance, they will not accomplish anything:
and the less will such persons succeed, they being vile and of low
condition (et tanto manco faranno queste tali persone, per esser vili
et di bassa conditione).
Thus, by the grace of God, she was crowned without disturb-
ances, and to the great joy of the majority of the people. And
that solemnity being ended, she again had it intimated to me
that I was to delay my departure for four or five days, on ac-
count of the many matters she had to treat. During that interval
Parliament met, being opened on the 5th [instant]; when the
Bishop of Winchester made a very fine speech, in which he treated
amply of the union of the religion, and that it should be resumed
(nel quale trattava amplamente dell' unione della religione et che si
dovesse retornare... a quella (sic)), without which nothing good
could be done; demonstrating how many disadvantages had befallen
the realm owing to its separation (mostrando quanti inconvenienti
erano intervenuti in quel regno per la separatione di essa).
He accused himself and all the bystanders (astanti) as guilty of it,
telling them that Parliament was assembled by her Majesty and
Council to repeal (cancellare) many iniquitous laws made against the
said union, and to enact others in favour of it. On the following
Saturday, the 7th of October, her Majesty informed me that matters
had proceeded well; as in the Parliament she had found many of
the chief personages of the kingdom who encouraged her to push
the affairs of the religion and of the union; whilst others were of
opinion that she had greater need of curb than spur.
Her Majesty did not impart her negotiations with me to any of the
Lords of the Council, nor to any one else; having previously ordered
me to conceal myself, as I did. Her Majesty's final decision about
my despatch was that his Right Reverend Lordship [Cardinal Pole]
was to come leisurely (pian piano) towards Brussels, where he
would hear further what could be hoped about his proceeding
farther; and she promised me letters for the Right Reverend
Cardinal by the hands of the Bishop of Arras at Brussels, from her
fear lest they should be seized on my quitting England either by
her ministers, or by the French. Her Majesty gave me the copy
of the oath taken by her at the coronation, which she had thoroughly
considered beforehand, and added a few words having for object
to maintain her Majesty's integrity and good-will (alcune parole
che furno al proposito per la conservatione della integrità e bona
mente di Sua Maesta); as may be seen by the identical copy. Her
Majesty also told me she had given commission to the Knights
of ..
* to hold a chapter for the re-establishment of
all the due ceremonies relating to the honourable dignity of that
Order, which consist in the saying of certain masses, and confessing
themselves at certain seasons, and celebrating the festival of St.
George, according to their original institution. Her Majesty also
* Blank in MS., "the Garter" being omitted.
432
1553.
1553.
Oct. 22.
MS. St. Mark's
814. CARDINAL POLE to PIER FRANCESCO ZINI.
Library,
What he had not time to tell Zini by word of mouth at Trent,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.x. he now says to him by letter. Exhorts him not to cease residing
on his benefice although his friends advise him to the contrary,
asks his prayers.
showed me the holy oil, which she had sent to obtain at Brussels
from the Emperor.
[Dillingen, 21st October 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
Oct. 22 ?
MS. St. Mark's
When Zini writes to the most noble Pietro Contarini, he is to
salute him in Pole's name, and say how much he regrets Contarini's
having arrived at the moment of Pole's departure [from Trent ?];
and in such bad weather that Pole could not allow Contarini to keep
him company on the road for a few miles. Requests the prayers of
Contarini, and of all those poor servants of God of whom Contarini
has such good care. Wishes Contarini to divide the present year's
surplus revenue (l' augumento) of Pole's abbacy into two parts, one
to remain in Contarini's hands for distribution amongst the poor,
remembering the priests of St. Nicholas; the other half to be sent
to Pole's Messer Gio. Francesco at Rome, for the same purpose.
From Dillingen, 22nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
815. The SAME to the CARDINAL OF TRENT.
Library,
Not choosing to commence either by returning thanks or com-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. plaining of the too great courtesies received throughout this
No date of time journey from the Bishop elect [of Trent] by commission from the
or place in MS. Cardinal, having great cause to do both one and the other, it
merely remains for him to pray God, and the Cardinal likewise,
to give him opportunity for serving his Lordship, in proportion to
his desire and obligation. Through the occasion afforded by this
journey Pole has had the very great pleasure of knowing the ability
and virtue of this most high-bred gentleman, from whom the
Cardinal may anticipate more and more consolation daily; and
thus may it please God that he prove, to his service and glory. For
the rest, he refers himself to the Bishop elect, and humbly kisses
the Cardinal's hand. Yesterday evening Pole's Master Thomas *
arrived at Dillingen, nor can he ever say enough about the great
courtesies received from the Cardinal, and wishes Pole to be debtor
for these likewise, to which he consents willingly, although Thomas,
independently of other respects, deserves all favour for himself
because he has always been most attached to the Cardinal of
Trent.
[Dillingen, 22nd October 1553?]
[Italian.]
Query, the nephew alluded to in the letter dated 20th October, Thomas Stafford?
1553.
433
1553.
Oct. 22.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Oct. 22?
MS. St. Mark's
Oct. 22.
817. The SAME to the CARDINAL MORONE.
MS. St. Mark's
Has long been anxiously awaiting news of his arrival at Rome,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. both that he may have more frequent letters from him, and also to
Library,
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Oct. 24.
MS. St. Mark's
816. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL OF IMOLA [GIERONIMO
DANDINO].
Whilst waiting at Dillingen for the safe-conducts from the Duke
of Würtemberg and the Count Palatine, his Master Henry (Messer
Henrico mio) [Henry Penning] arrived with an autograph letter
from the Queen, written with all piety and graciousness, the copy
of which he is sending to the Pope by Henry [Penning?], that he
may acquaint his Holiness fully with the affairs of England; and
by the copy of the letter addressed to Pole by Fiordibello, the
Cardinal of Imola will perceive that he did not deceive himself
about the mode in which the first news of this second legation of
Pole would be received at the Imperial Court. Prays God to
dispose the minds of these Princes as necessary for the need and
common weal; and referring himself for the rest to the bearer,
kisses the Cardinal's hands.
From Dillingen, 22nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
818. The SAME to the MASTER OF THE SACRED PALACE
[GIROLAMO MUZZARELLI].
Would have much to say were he to thank him adequately for
No date of time his great charity with regard to the present business, which is he
or place in MS. hopes well advanced (bene incaminato); requests the Master's
prayers, and refers him for further particulars to Messer Gio.
Francesco. Leaves it at the Master's option to communicate the
contents of Pole's letters to the Queen and the Bishop of Winchester
to any personages of the Roman Court he pleases, relying on his
piety and prudence. For the present he does not think it fitting to
give copies of them to any one.
[Dillingen, 22nd October 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
receive such advice as he can promise himself about this so im-
portant a cause, from the piety and prudence of Cardinal Morone.
Refers him for further intelligence to the bearer of the present
letter and to his Messer Gio. Francesco (et a Messer Gio. Francesco
mio).
From Dillingen, 22nd October 1553.
[Italian.]
819. The SAME to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
By the quality of the person whom his Imperial Majesty has
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. been pleased to send to Pole, more than by the Emperor's own
Library,
letter, or by the statement of the said Don Juan [de Mendoza], he has
understood the Emperor's desire and will (desiderio e volontà)
about his stopping, until he knows what to do after hearing what
5.
E E
434
1553.
1553.
else his Majesty shall have intimated on this subject;* and although
this proposal was on many accounts a surprise to him, nevertheless,
following the Emperor's opinion, he has thought he could not do
better than to remain in the meanwhile with the Cardinal of
Augsburg at Dillingen, near which place he now is. Hopes it may
please God that all this do prove in conformity with his Divine will,
and to the honour and service of his Imperial Majesty, and that
He will preserve and prosper him for the general benefit of all
Christendom.
From Stayndeayn (sic),† 24th October 1553.
[Italian.]
Oct. 27 ?.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Emperor by Don Juan de Mendoza.
No date of time Don Juan de Mendoza, having come to me and delivered his
or place in MS. credentials from the Emperor, which I read, then commenced telling
me about his commission, which in substance was this: That the
Emperor, having heard both of the first legation as also of the
second, could not but praise your Holiness's zeal, and choice of
person (et la elettione della persona), but deemed the execution of
both untimely, as his Majesty had fully informed the Cardinal
of Imola [Gieronimo Dandino] on his departure, not knowing that
I was on my way. On hearing this, he sent a courier to your
Holiness with letters explaining the causes why I was on no account
to proceed farther at present, and therefore he most earnestly ex-
horted and requested me to halt and await your Holiness's reply to
what had been communicated to you by his Imperial Majesty, who
considered this business of such importance that he had thought fit
to send me this commission express by one of his councillors.
Such was the substance of what Don Juan said to me in a long
speech to which, in reply, after demonstrating to him the account in
which any suggestion and advice from the Emperor ought deservedly to
be held, I said, that with regard to myself I should always be ready
to do as exhorted by his Majesty, but that in this present instance
it behoved me to have great respect for the duty of the person
sustained by me, I being the Legate of your Holiness, from whom
I had the express commission to go forward; so I did not see how I
could now halt, unless acquainted with some new and extraordinary
cause whereby to justify myself with your Holiness for not execu-
ting your first commission; so that if Don Juan had anything to
tell me, I would willingly do what his Majesty proposed to me. He
uttered many words, but nothing more in substance than had been
already said and proposed repeatedly; so I replied that as he brought
nothing further, I deemed it necessary to continue my journey, it
seeming too disgraceful to me to interrupt it.‡
820. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Account of the communication made to him in the name of the
* Fin che io sappia quella che io faccia poi che haverò inteso quanto ella in questo
proposito haverà fatto sapere di più.
† In the letter dated 27th October, it is stated that this place was situated three leagues
from Dillingen.
† Parendomi troppo gran scandolo l' interromperlo.
1553.
435
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
POPE JULIUS
III.
To this, he said that the other reasons and causes written
to your Holiness had not been communicated by the Emperor
to him; and when I still repeated that in order to be persuaded
(27th Oct.) to act contrary to my commission, it would be fitting for some
new and cogent reason to be assigned me for doing so, and that
not hearing anything further I knew not how I could accede
to his request, he merely said he prayed me to think better
about it, and to my rejoinder, repeated the same arguments, all
based on the maturity of the time (la maturità del tempo), of which
he said the Emperor, being the prudent Prince he is, and near
England, and anxious (as he said) about her affairs, was better able
than anyone else to judge whether it had arrived. And as to the affair
of the peace, the Emperor said that the former legates having been
recalled so recently, it was not yet time to renew the negotiation ;
in addition to which, it seemed as it were a reproach to his Majesty,
sending first to him, as if it was chiefly by his fault that the peace
had not been effected; and Don Juan hence inferred that by pro-
ceeding farther I should damage both matters, whereas by waiting
a while I might benefit them, expatiating much on the Emperor's
bias towards the common weal, and his wish for some good resolve
to be formed with regard to both causes, and especially about his
Majesty's affection for me; and coming to the conclusion that his
reply and demand were not because I was personally disagree-
able to him, or that he did not wish success to the affairs of
England and of the peace, but that for both one and the other of
these matters he merely desired a fitting opportunity (la debita
maturità). Nor did he now ask more of me than that for the exe-
cution of commissions respecting these two matters I would await
sufficient time for the arrival of a reply from Rome, which would
not exceed ten days or a fortnight.
I rejoined, directing my whole discourse to what he took
for his chief basis about the maturity of the time (la maturità)
for discussing these two matters; and with regard to that of
England, I demonstrated by the same arguments used by me
heretofore to your Holiness, not only that the time for treating
it was come, but that it was already so ripe, that if they
delayed moving it in this first Parliament, which has already com-
menced, it would outlive its time, and rot like over-ripe fruit,†
and that I must be pardoned, both because I am of the country,
and because I know the custom of the realm, and the national
character (gli humori de quelli homini), for presuming to have some
knowledge of the ripeness of this business, and of the mode and
time for treating it; and that I believed, were I in his Majesty's
presence, it would be in my power to convince him that any delay in
proposing and treating this cause by means of a Legate will greatly
injure the desired result. As to the affair of the peace, I repeated
that any time was good for treating it, and that the personal duty
of your Holiness required that, although the Princes might refuse
to listen to you, your Holiness, notwithstanding, should never cease
* The session opened on the 5th of October. (See Froude, vol. vi. p. 109, ed. 1860.)
† Et come frutto troppe maturo si verebbe a guastare.
EE 2
436
1553.
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
POPE JULIUS
III.
insisting opportunely and inopportunely, most especially as no one
could be importunate in endeavouring to prevent the disasters of war;
and I ended thus, reminding him of his Majesty's honour, and of how
(27th Oct.) great a scandal it would be in the eyes of the world on its coming
to light that he had raised any obstacle to both one and the other of
these matters.
At this point Don Juan interrupted me, saying that I ought
not to take the thing in this sense, as if the Emperor did not
choose these matters to have that good success which he desired
most earnestly. I replied that in this I did not so much propound
my own judgment, although I could not entertain any other opinion,
as that of all Christendom, my legation not having been made in a
corner so that it could remain concealed; and on its being heard
that his Imperial Majesty had refused my coming (recusata la mia
venuta), the necessary interpretation would be either that the per-
son or the cause did not please him; and as both one and the other
of the causes for which I am sent are so holy and praiseworthy,
his Majesty ought well to consider what becomes his honour, and
that I for my own part should consider it much less unbecoming to
say that which his Majesty would not say, that he had never been
satisfied with the person.* And I here commenced demonstrating that
though princes, are in other respects superior to private individuals,
their fame is more subject to the tongues and opinions of mankind,
on which depend their repute, and thereon, very frequently, success
and advantage in their negotiations.
In his reply to this, Don Juan again repeated that it was not
because the person or the causes did not please the Emperor, but
that his Majesty asked nothing but a little delay, and that it was
fitting to refer to him, he being so prudent and exalted a personage,
this decision about the maturity of the time, most especially as it was
only a few days. I rejoined in such decorous form as becoming,
coming to the conclusion that with regard to time, I might loiter
on the road until the reply arrived; but that, according to my
duty, I could not fail to continue my journey.
At length, finding me so averse to stop, Don Juan said that
it would not displease his Majesty so much, were I to choose
to loiter on the road, adding however that on arriving near the
Court, I must halt at Liège, and there await the time appointed
for my interview with the Emperor. I here showed how much
more unfitting and indecorous it would be for me to be stopped
when so near his Majesty, rather than at a distance; which
would be, as if having had leave to go and speak to any body,
entrance were denied me on arriving at the door, and I had
to remain waiting outside; which thing I could not believe
it was his Majesty's intention to do, he being so gracious and
honourable a Prince as he is. Don Juan repeated that his Majesty,
nevertheless, could not do otherwise, and, in short, that I had to
decide the point of remaining for a few days either here, or at
* Sua Maestà deve guardar bene quel che conviene ad honore suo et che io per me
haverei per molto manco inconveniente a dire quello che Sua Mta non voleva dire che la
persona mai non li satisfacesse.
1553.
437
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
POPE JULIUS
III.
Liège, or in some other place near the Court; and that he could
not assure me when the Emperor would let me go to him.*
I asked him whether he had an express commission from his Majesty
(27th Oct.) to tell me so. He replied that he was not indeed come to make
protests; but that he was very certain, that for the reasons written
to your Holiness by his Majesty, he was compelled to make the
demand which he, Don Juan, had communicated to me in his name;
and that by allowing some time to elapse, I should see how well
affected his Majesty was, both towards myself individually and
towards this cause, and how willingly he would embrace both one
and the other. And insisting on a reply as to what I thought it
necessary to do about stopping, he said how fitting it was, that
such an Emperor should receive satisfaction with regard to a
demand of such a sort. At length, having taken time to think
about it, I formed my resolve, saying that as I found myself
compelled to stop either here or near the Court, it seemed to me
the lesser evil to await your Holiness's reply, remaining here with
the Cardinal of Augsburg; and so, having only gone three leagues
beyond, I returned to Dillingen.
Such is the substance of the conversations held by me with
Don Juan; who more than once dropped a hint to me incidentally
about the Queen's marriage, saying it seemed to him that this
ought to precede everything else, then proceeding to civil justice
(alla giustitia civile), and in the last place to those of the
religion (a quelle della religione), and inquiring whether I was
of the same opinion; to which I replied that I, together with
himself, was of opinion that these three things should be accom-
plished, but that I thought it was fitting, first of all, well
to regulate the affairs of the religion; secondly, those of civil
justice; and finally, by the marriage, find means to preserve both
one and the other. And when he said that the Queen, by marrying
a native rather than a foreigner, might cause discontent amongst
the English nobility, I merely said that they were matters worthy
of great consideration. Nor did he proceed further with me, though
indeed subsequently, with some of my attendants, he gave himself
clearly to be understood that the Emperor purposed and hoped
that the Queen would take the Prince his son for her husband;
and this was to be settled in the present Parliament, which he well
knew did not please many persons, who were in all ways endea-
vouring to thwart this marriage, although it would effect the quiet
of England and of all Christendom.
From this, I comprehend that these difficulties about not
allowing me to go forward, proceed from nothing else; and
that until the business be accomplished according to the Emperor's
desire, or his Majesty be altogether quite certain of being able
to conclude it, he always will find means to prevent my going,
being unable, from what I believe, to convince himself that I
would assist him to place my country in the hands of a foreigner.†
* Quando l' Imperatore fusse per lasciarmi andar da lui.
† Non possendo esso per quanto io credo assicurarsi che io fussi per aiutarli in fare
che la mia patria andasse in mano de un forestiero.
438
1553.
1553.
CARDINAL
POLE to
POPE JULIUS
III.
(27th Oct.)
And I also think, that he therefore would have preferred my
going to Liège, both to make sure that your Holiness would
not send me by another road, as also thus to find favour with
those who are to support this wish of his. The matter seems
to me in such a state that one can, as it were, do nothing but
wait till his Majesty has well settled this point, and then, what-
ever the result may be, so far from impeding my journey, he will
facilitate it; and to pursue any other course would seem to me to
be forcing things too much, and irritating the Emperor, with more
fear of evil than hope of good.
This I have chosen to say, presupposing that your Holiness will
wait to hear my opinion, which I however always refer to your
consummate prudence and judgment, being most perfectly ready
willingly to follow whatever order you shall give. What Don Juan
told me the Emperor had announced to your Holiness is, I believe,
that the Queen has written that I am not to go farther for the
present, which she also wrote to my secretary [Henry Penning?],
after he had quitted England, but presupposing that I had not yet.
set out; so the messenger told him that having heard I was already
far on the road, he did not think it would be either decent (decente)
or fitting to stop me. And this letter of the Queen's doubtless
proceeds from the Imperialists, as after she had agreed with my
messenger [Henry Penning] that it would be well for me to advance
as far as Brussels, she said to him, "It will be well to communicate
this to the Emperor, letting him know that I have called the
Cardinal;" and as at that very hour the Imperial ambassadors were
in the antechamber, and her Majesty immediately on his departure
had them ushered in, there is no doubt of her having acquainted
them with this; and hence arose the subsequent change on the part
of her Majesty ?
From Dillingen, 27th October 1553?
[Italian.]
821. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Oct. 27.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Having on the day before received the safe-conducts from the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Duke of Würtemberg and the Count Palatine, left Dillingen to
continue his journey towards the Imperial Court; and being lodged
in the evening at a place belonging to the Duke three leagues off,
he during the night received a letter from the Cardinal of Augs-
burg, acquainting him with the arrival of Don Juan de Mendoza, sent
express to Pole by the Emperor with letters and commissions of
importance; so the Cardinal, on behalf of Don Juan, requested Pole
to wait for him where he was, as he did. Don Juan arrived in
the morning, and remained with Pole the whole day. From the
* Et allora in qualunque modo la cosa riesca non solo (sic) [non ?] impedire ma
solicitare l'andata mia.
† Poichè ella hebbe concluso co 'l messo mio che fusse bene che io andassi inanzi fino
a Bruselles, gli disse, "sarà bene comunicare questo con l' Imperatore facendolo intendere
che Io ho chiamato il Cardinale;" et essendo al' hora propria gli Ambri del Impre nell'
anticamera, Sua Mtà subito che egli fu partito, li fece chiamare dentro, onde non è da dubi-
tare che essa non communicasse loro questa cosa, et di qui poi sia nata la mutatione
della Regina.
1553.
439
1553.
1
;
copy of the Emperor's letter, and from Pole's reply, as also from
the minute of his conversation with Don Juan which he is sending
to his Holiness, the Pope will be fully acquainted with the whole
and Pole hopes he will approve of his choice (as the lesser evil) of
one of the two proposals made to him in this matter, most especially
considering that whenever the Pope pleases, the other can be
adopted, which is not the case with the first (ma non così al
contrario). Refers himself for the rest to what is written, and to
the statement of his messenger. Humbly kisses his Holiness's feet,
praying God long to preserve and prosper him for the benefit of
his Church.
From Dillingen, 27th October 1553.
[Italian.]
Oct, 27.
822. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of MANTUA.
Library,
.
MS. St. Mark's Having occasion to send the present messenger to Rome, to give
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. notice to the Pope of the letter received from the Queen, as also
of his stoppage at Dillingen, he has charged him to communicate
both circumstances to the Cardinal, who will hear from him every
other particular.
From Dillingen, 27th October 1553.
[Italian.]
823. The SAME to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
Oct. 28.
MS. St. Mark's
The more he considers this stoppage of his after having spoken
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. With Don Juan de Mendoza, the less does it seem to him in accord-
Library,
N
ance with the honour of the Apostolic See and of his Majesty, and
with the obligation of the Queen to God and to her own advantage.
Thinks it his duty to God and his Church, to his Majesty, and to
the Queen, to communicate what occurs to him in this matter, not
only to the Pope but to his Majesty and the Queen likewise, refer-
ring himself for the rest to the Emperor's sage consideration, and to
what Pole said diffusely to Don Juan. With the Emperor he will
speak but of this one point, that it seems immature at present to
settle and treat this matter of the obedience of the Church, whereas
Pole is of opinion that it may be injurious for the Queen's interests
to delay it (which is the chief object of his being stopped), as the
principal foundation of the Queen's right to the crown rests on the
legitimacy of her mother's marriage, which depends on the Papal
dispensation [of Julius II.]; so that by abrogating the authority
of the Pope, the Queen's right to the crown is in like manner
abrogated, and by deferring the establishment of the Papal
authority in England, the establishment of the Queen's right to
the crown is in like manner deferred; and thus it is evident that
the first day Parliament commenced, the time commenced being
mature for treating and establishing the obedience of the Church,
and indeed had not the disobedience been confirmed by Act of
Parliament, the time for establishing this point would have
been not only before the meeting of Parliament, but even before
the coronation. It therefore seems that the "maturity of the time"
(la maturità del tempo) depends entirely on the arrival in England
440
1553.
1553.
of the Papal Legate to confirm the Queen's right; and should her
Majesty be of a contrary opinion, Pole respectfully beseeches the
Emperor, of his prudence and authority, to let the Queen herself
thoroughly comprehend how much this (independently of other
respects) especially concerns her own welfare, which Pole is certain
his Imperial Majesty has more at heart than any one else.
In the next place, with regard to Pole's second legation about the
peace, the Emperor should consider that the detriment caused by
the war between him and the King of France, being common to all
Christendom, it is always the time to treat of peace, and by reason
of his office the Pope is always bound to "knock at the door" by all
means; and at present, by reason of the season of the year, the armies
having gone into quarters, this time is most opportune for maturing
this fruit.
Oct. 31.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
As therefore he cannot see how it can in any way be expedient
either for the affair of England or for that of the peace, in like
manner as it can neither be honourable for the person of the Pope
who sends him, nor for that of the Emperor to whom he is sent,
that he should be detained midway at Dillingen, and prevented from
entering the presence of his Majesty; so does he pray him to
find means for speedily removing any impediment to his journey,
that he may come to him forthwith to fulfil his legatine office and
serve him in these two causes for the honour of God, for the general
benefit of Christendom, and the personal advantage of the Queen,
and for the increase of the honour of the Emperor, to whom in like
manner as he feels himself very much obliged, so has he been, and
ever will be, disposed to serve him, praying God long to preserve his
Imperial Majesty, granting him all the consolation he desires, for the
common weal and advantage.
From Dillingen, 28th October 1553.
[Italian.]
824. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in
ENGLAND.
The ambassador of the most Serene Queen having lately come
into the College, after announcing the confirmation of his appoint-
ment in her Majesty's name, stated in very ample terms her good in-
tention to maintain those friendly relations which have always existed
hitherto between that most Serene Crown and the Signory, giving
them particular account of the present state of English affairs, and
of the good measures instituted by her Majesty for their prosperous
progress, and principally with regard to the religion; all which
having been heard with much mental satisfaction, desire him to
thank her Majesty in their name for the loving office which she has
performed with the Signory. To congratulate her Majesty on the
prosperous events hitherto vouchsafed her by the Lord God, as
matters have thus far been brought to that good pass in which they
find themselves. As to the ambassador above-mentioned, to tell
her Majesty that his confirmation has proved most agreeable to them,
as in all his negotiations he has acted with prudence and address.
Ayes, 21. Noes, 0. Neutral,1.
[Italian.]
1553.
441
1553.
Nov. 2.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
825. REPORT of the Piedmontese Gentleman Vincenzo Par-
paglia, Abbot of San Saluto or San Salutore, Secretary of
Cardinal Pole, who sent him to the French Court from
Trent, on the 2nd October 1553.*
Arrived in Paris on the 15th October; announced his commission
to the Nuncio. The King [Henry II.], having already heard from Pole
that he was appointed Legate to their two Majesties, was ready to
give him (the Abbot) audience, and would be glad that Pole should
come. On the 18th October, he went to Villers-Cotterets, where
the King was, and applied to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who imme-
diately presented him to his Majesty, to whom he delivered Pole's
letter. The King replied that the Pope's election of Cardinal
Pole pleased him, and that his coming would be most agreeable to
him, and that he would embrace him as his good cousin and great
friend; and he would be most cordially and honourably received in
his kingdom. The Cardinal of Lorraine confirmed this assurance,
adding that it was thought Cardinal Pole should come first to the
King, and that this would please his Majesty, for no other reason than
that he might see him and enjoy his company sooner. With regard
to the peace, he said the King would always willingly listen to his
Holiness and make the peace, provided the terms be reasonable, but
that he would not condescend to anything unworthy, having shown
to the world his means of defence and offence; therefore the Em-
peror must not hold to the articles lately proposed by him, which
were inadmissible. The like was said to him by Cardinal Farnese,
who added that their sole reason for wishing Cardinal Pole to come,
was to benefit England, his Majesty being very desirous of aiding
the re-establishment of religion there, and of reconciling England
to the Apostolic See; wherefore Farnese exhorted Pole to come
forthwith, as he would find the King most ready to perform every
good office in this especial business (in questo special fatto).
On the 22nd [October] was despatched by the King with his reply
to the Cardinal, and unasked his Majesty caused him to receive safe-
conducts for Pole, should he have to pass through his kingdom,
evincing the wish for him to come immediately. He in like
manner received letters from the Cardinal of Lorraine and Cardinal
Farnese; and on that same day departed towards Peronne and
Cambrai, and entered Flanders, arriving at Brussels on the 24th
without any opposition or impediment whatever. On hearing that
Don Juan de Mendoza had been sent by the Emperor to Pole, to
exhort him to stop until he had fresh advices from Rome from the
Pope; thought it his duty to go to the Bishop of Arras, whom he
acquainted with the commission received by him from his Cardinal
to go to the King of France and tell him of the legation conferred
on Pole for the negotiation of the peace between their Majesties,
and with the King's reply, purporting that he would willingly listen
to the Cardinal.
The Bishop expressed surprise at his having crossed from
the French towns to those of the Emperor, it being expressly
* See entries under that date.
442
1553.
1553.
Nov. 8.
MS. St. Mark's
826. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL SAN CLEMENTE.*
By reason of the virtue and merits of Messer Hieronimo da
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Imola, Doctor of Philosophy, resident since many years at Rome,
No date of time Cardinal Pole has loved and respected him; and as the Cardinal
in MS.
San Clemente has always evinced courtesy and favour not only
with regard to Pole's personal interests, but also respecting those
of his friends and servants, he most earnestly requests him to
afford Messer Hieronimo all such favour and assistance as he requires
for the affairs of the University (nelle cose del studio), that his
labours may be duly acknowledged; which Pole will consider an
especial favour.
The bearer of this letter will acquaint Cardinal San Clemente
with the latest news from England.
From Dillingen, [8th November 1553?]
[Italian.]
prohibited for any one to pass; and he evinced some displeasure
at this, and at length inquired whether he (the Abbot) wished to
speak to the Emperor, or that the Bishop should acquaint him with
his arrival, and with the reply received by him from the King of
France. Answered he had no commission from his Cardinal to
speak, nor to do anything else but return to him; and on hearing
that the Emperor had sent to delay Pole's coming, thought he
should not err in letting the Bishop know why he went to France,
and the King's answer. Went that same day to Louvain on his
own private business, and on his return again waited on the Bishop
of Arras, to hear, as they had sent to stop Cardinal Pole, and as
the French wished him to go first to them, whether the Emperor
would think it fitting for him to go to France before coming to his
Imperial Majesty, as Arras had told Antonio Fiordibello, Pole's
agent, that the Emperor would have been better pleased had Pole
gone first to the Court of France. The Bishop instantly said no ;
and that he (the Abbot) was to persuade Pole to follow the advice
given him in the Emperor's name by Don Juan de Mendoza; and
that were he to consent to stop until he received further instructions
from his Holiness, it would greatly please his Majesty, who, as soon
as he could, and in a few days, would let the Cardinal know when
he could go to him and negotiate according to his commission.
Thereupon he quitted Brussels, and arrived at Dillingen on the 2nd
November 1553.
Dillingen, 2nd November 1553.
[Italian.]
Nov. 8.
MS. St. Mark's
827. The SAME to the CARDINAL OF CARPI.†
Has received the Cardinal's letter in recommendation of the
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Knight of St. John's of Jerusalem, who has however not presented
himself, having probably heard that Pole had stopped at Dillingen,
* Giambattista Cicala, a Genoese, created Cardinal with the title of San Clemente by
Pope Julius III. on the 20th December 1551. (See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 325, 326.)
† Ridolfo Pio of Carpi. (See Cardella, vol. iv. pp. 173, 177.)
1553.
443
1553.
Nov. 14.
MS. St. Mark's
Library
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
as may be known to the Cardinal, and will therefore not have cared
to come thus far out of his way, without hope, for the present, of
receiving any assistance at the Court from Pole, who would have
rendered it, and will gladly do so, out of regard for the Cardinal of
Carpi, should the opportunity present itself.
Refers himself for the rest to his agent, who will communicate the
latest news from England.
From Dillingen, 8th November 1553.
[Italian.]
828. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [CRISTOFORO] DEL MONTE.
Yesterday by a courier express, who came from the Imperial
x.Court at Brussels in three days and a half, Pole received Del Monte's
letter of the 28th [October] acquainting him with the Pope's inten-
tion about his stopping, in conformity with that of the Emperor.
Has thoroughly considered and understood the whole, nor will he
swerve from the obedience due to his Holiness, as will be more
particularly narrated to Del Monte by Pole's agent. Being obliged
to stop, has been truly fortunate to find himself in such good
and noble company as that of the Cardinal of Augsburg, most espe-
cially as had he proceeded farther he might have found himself in the
midst of places infected with the plague, which still continues in all
the towns on the Rhine and thereabouts, although in some places it
seems to be slightly diminishing. At Dillingen during the last few
days they have been in alarm on account of the Marquis Albert,*
who had taken the field with 2,000 horse and 12 companies
(insegne) of foot, and occupied some towns and places belonging to
the King of the Romans; but it is now heard that the Duke of
Brunswick, captain-general of the confederates his opponents, has
made him retreat into a fortified castle of his own, with the loss of
100 horse between killed and wounded, and the rout of the infantry;
so they are quite free from all fear of seeing him at Dillingen, most
especially as all the neighbouring places are on the watch, and with
fresh garrisons. The Lord God will provide for all their need, and
they will take counsel according to circumstances, as Dillingen is
not more than moderately secure (non essendo questo luoco più
sicuro che tanto).
From Dillingen, 14th November 1553.
[Italian.]
Nov. 15 ?
829. The SAME to CARDINAL MORONE.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Some benefices have lately fallen vacant in the church of Magde-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.burg, about which the Emperor has written in favour of a German,
No date of time his councillor, named Bokhler, and the Cardinal of Augsburg gives
or place in MS.
assurance that he is Catholic and a very worthy person, so he
supports his appointment to these vacancies; and as it is heard that
the Pope has referred the matter to Cardinal Morone, Pole requests
* Albert Alcibiades of Culmbach or Bareith. He was proscribed in 1553, expelled
in 1554, and died 8th January 1557, aged 35 years. (See Chiusole, p. 340.)
444
1553.
1553.
Nov. 17.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 176,
tergo.
him to support Bokhler and oblige the Cardinal of Augsburg, from
whose agent, Messer Annibale, he will hear further particulars.
[Dillingen, 15th November 1553?]
[Italian.]
830. The DOGE and COLLEGE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The two Cardinals-Legates sent by the Pope, the one to the
Emperor and the other to the most Christian King, to negotiate
peace between their Majesties, perceiving the difficulty of effecting
it, have departed on their way back, by order of his Holiness.
The Queen of England was crowned on the first of last month, and
proclaimed, to the universal satisfaction and gladness of the realm.
Ayes, 148. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
Nov. 17.
831. The SAME to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR in FRANCE.
Deliberazioni
Informed by their ambassador in England that eight French
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 177. armed ships seized in the port of Plymouth the ship « Viara," laden
with wines, belonging to divers Venetian noblemen and subjects,
bound to London, which having been taken to Dieppe and not yet
unloaded, the Signory's ambassador in London obtained letters of
favour from the French ambassador there to the Governor of Dieppe,
and also wrote a full account of the affair to him [the Venetian
ambassador in France] that he might do what was necessary with
his most Christian Majesty for the vessel's release. Desire him,
should the ship not have been yet released, to repair to the King,
and let him well know in how great account they hold this matter,
not merely on account of the loss sustained by their nobles and
subjects, but by reason of the detriment done to commerce by so
gross an injury in return for so many loving demonstrations made
on every occasion towards the subjects and dependents of the most
Christian King.
To urge the King to cause the said ship with its cargo to be
immediately released, and compensation made for the losses in-
curred, and that stringent orders be given to prevent the repetition
of similar attacks on the ships of the Republic's subjects and
ministers, and that for the future their vessels be not molested in
French harbours, but treated as becomes the good friendship be-
tween his most Christian Majesty and the State. The perpetrators
of the outrage to be also duly punished, in proof of the good under-
standing between his Majesty and the Signory, and to show the
respect with which the King means them, their subjects, and their
affairs to be treated; and in this matter they both expect and desire
an ample demonstration from his Majesty.
To remonstrate with the Constable and the Admiral, and with
such other persons as necessary, and so far as compatible with the
Republic's dignity.
Ayes, 156. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian]
•
1553.
445
1553.
Nov. 18.
MS. St. Mark's
·
832. CARDINAL POLE to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
Has received his Majesty's letter of the 19th [October] and what
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.the Pope caused to be written to him by the Cardinal [Cristoforo]
Library,
del Monte. Although he holds all the opinions and counsels of the
Emperor in such great respect and esteem as is due, and though the
Pope desires him thus to do, especially in this matter relating to
England, yet nevertheless, being compelled to tell the Queen what
he thinks in reply to her demand, he deems it his duty to do the
like by the Emperor. Does so
Does so the more willingly, as it seems
to him that Divine Providence presents a very fitting instrument
for the performance of this office in the person of the Rev. Father
Friar Pedro Soto, the bearer of the present letter, and who will tell
the Emperor Pole's opinion and his own likewise (le dirà il senso
mio et suo insieme) with regard to this subject. Requests the
Emperor to hear him graciously, as his very sincere devotion and
love for his Majesty, and that of Pole likewise (who yields to
none in wishing him all prosperity and grandeur, to the honour of
God and the benefit of Christendom), deserve; and referring himself
for the rest to Soto, he humbly kisses the Emperor's hand.
From Dillingen, 18th November 1553.
*
[Italian.]
833. The SAME to the MAGNIFICO PIERO CONTARINI.
Although he would gladly have seen Contarini a second time, he
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.is unwilling to cause so much inconvenience to him and others, who
No date of time so constantly need his charitable assistance. Prays him, therefore,
or place in MS. to rest content with having now performed this office by letter, and
to pray, and obtain the prayers of others, that God may grant
such completion as is hoped for, to the miraculous work of his hand,
which Contarini justly considers a univeral cause of rejoicing seeing
that the Divine Providence has demonstrated itself in those parts,
where of late years it has been the least acknowledged, and has
thus chosen to regard (esaudir) the blood of so many martyrs.
Nov. 18?
MS. St. Mark's
Has written to the Doge according to Contarini's suggestion,
as he will perceive, and cannot but greatly marvel that so many
impediments and delays should be found in so clear a case of
right, and to the detriment of so many souls. Salutes Contarini's
brothers, and prays God to preserve and prosper them and Contarini
himself.
[Dillingen, 18th November 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
834. The SAME to the DOGE OF VENICE [MARC ANTONIO
TREVISAN].
Nov. 18.?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
The Bishop of Verona having conferred the Archpresbytership of
No date of time Lonato on Pole's chaplain, Messer Pier Francesco Zini, quite un-
or place in MS. known to Pole, being moved thus to do solely by his knowledge
* This mission is mentioned by Pallavicino, vol. iii. p. 295. The Dominican monk Pedro
Soto had been confessor to the Emperor. In 1553, he was theological professor in the
University of Dillingen, and in May 1555, he was employed by Cardinal Pole for church
reform in England until September 1556, when the Emperor reappointed him his
confessor, and I believe he held that post until the Emperor's death.
将​物
​446
1553.
1553.
Nov. 25.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 6.
of Zini's good and sufficient qualities, Pole, so far from im-
peding this election, favoured it, although he thus deprived him-
self of such a servant; and he now hears that although the Bishop's
right to confer the benefice has been recognized and approved by
the Pope, the adverse party does not cease thwarting its colla-
tion, greatly to the cost of Zini, and to the detriment of the souls of
his parishioners, who in the meanwhile remain without a rector.
Requests the Doge to order the Commissioners appointed for the
cognizance of this case to report upon it to the Doge without
further delay, that it may then be despatched with such speed as is
required by right, which Pole will consider a particular favour.
[Dillingen, 18th November 1553 ?]
[Italian.]
835. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
By his letters of the 29th ult., perceive that English affairs are
proceeding prosperously for the Crown, especially with regard to
the religion. Are glad to hear this, and commend his diligence.
Understood the commencement of his negotiation with Commen-
done, and its result (successo); so, perceiving it to continue, they
desire him adroitly to decline this business, and withdraw from it
entirely, so as not again to meddle by any means; without letting it
appear that he has any order from the Signory.
Ayes, 17. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
In the College, in the presence of the Chiefs of the Ten, the noble
Soranzo being absent. *
[Italian.]
836. CARDINAL POLE to QUEEN MARY.
Dec. 1.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
1553.
Received her Majesty's letter, written to him in Latin, but as it had
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. been thrown into (conjectœ) a packet with other letters (the person
Printed in v. iv. who sent it from the Imperial Court making no mention of the
pp. 123-127.
"Epistolarum
Queen), Pole had no idea that any one of them was from her, till he
Reginaldi Poli."had read the others, when he recognized her autograph signature
Dated Dillingen, on the last page; yet as it was written in Latin, and not in the
1st December vernacular, which Princes are wont to employ when writing or
speaking to their subjects and "cum suis," in which she had more-
over written to him a few days previously,+ he in truth could not
but feel surprised. Should her Majesty have perchance acted thus
supposing that so many years' exile had made him forget his native
tongue, she really had good reason to do so, for he had found this
to be the case with some of their countrymen, and it has very
frequently happened to himself to be at a loss for certain words
when making any continuous discourse (aliquid perpetuâ oratione) ;
* 1553, Die 25 Novembris in Collo. intervenientibus excellmis. D. Cap Illmi Cons. X.
absente clmo superantio.
The Chief of the Ten, Soranzo, withdrew because he was the kinsman of the
Ambassador.
† Query, letter dated Westminster, 8th October.
1553.
447
1553.
though whatever may have been the cause of this, nothing could be
pleasanter or more desired by him than to read letters from her
Majesty in whatever language. But as in her former letter, the
Queen mentioned the danger in which she then found herself, and
asked his advice about avoiding it, he thought fit to write the
answer in his native tongue that he might be much more surely and
distinctly understood, and sent it by a trusty messenger, that he
might in the same tongue explain Pole's meaning, had it been at
all obscure. Hopes that the letter and the messenger produced the
necessary effect, and to her Majesty's Latin letter, will now in like
manner reply in Latin, and supply any possible omissions in his
former letter; nor does he desire any greater eloquence from the
language, than that it may enable him to render the danger as visible
to the Queen as it appears to himself, although by asking his
opinion about avoiding it, she shows herself well acquainted with
the fact, but is not this a proof that she does not know it entirely?
Were a shipwrecked mariner to ask advice whether he should seize
a plank or embark in a little skiff (parvam scapham), would this
prove knowledge of the greatness of his danger? The Queen, or at
least England, was assuredly wrecked when she threw herself
overboard from St. Peter's ship, into the sea of this century (in mare
hujus sæculi). It is true that this cannot be properly called
shipwreck, as St. Peter's ship can neither go to pieces (frangi) nor
founder. At present, Pole, and through him, God and the Apostolic
See, show her the mode of escaping from the waves of the sea; which
is, to re-enter the ship. If the Queen hesitates to do so, does she not
show ignorance of the greatness of her danger? But she may be
perfectly sure that those who remained out of the ark and were
overwhelmed by the flood at the time of the Deluge, never incurred
greater danger than those whose souls are now flooded by increasing
cupidity and depraved opinions; whereas when they were joined to
the body of the Church, before throwing themselves out of St. Peter's
ship, it served them for an ark. Nor may the Queen'suppose herself in
less danger, because in her mind she never departed either from the
ark or from her obedience to the Church, although materially
consorting (etsi corpore cum iis versaretur) with those who plunged
overboard. This might serve as an excuse before her accession to the
Crown, but the accusation now becomes graver, as being saved
herself she should save all others, just as the pilot of a ship puts his
hand to the helm, but by delaying, hesitating, and consulting, they in
the meanwhile all perish.
Has drawn a picture of the danger; her Majesty will judge
whether it is the time to deliberate, or rather to act as
ordained and prescribed her by divine and human counsel, for
he sees that the Divine goodness has given her two advisers
(consultrices) in this cause, the one divine law, the other that of
nature. Both her letters show that she had employed them,
when she writes that having been educated (enutritam) in the old
religion, she was determined to adhere to it until death, and that it
* Dated London, 28th October, and 15th November 1553. (See Epistolarum Reginaldi
Poli, vol. iv. pp. 119-123.)
448
1553.
1553.
Dec. 15.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 18.
had taught her that the title of Supreme Head of the Church, did not
become a King, as she knew the powers, dignities, and prerogatives
(officia) of a King and of a priest (sacerdotis) to be distinct, the
one being a political body, of which the King is head, the other
ecclesiastical, having a priest for its head. All this indeed she learned
from the divine law, but when she added that the title of Supreme
Head of the Church in her kingdom misbecame her sex, this is
taught both by divine law and by the law of nature, as shown by
St. Paul, who, when he forbids a woman to teach* in church, shows
sufficiently how absurd and iniquitous it is for her to personify the
supreme head in church, whose chief duty it is to imbue the people
with doctrine; and as the same Apostle affirms that the wife of even
one man alone cannot usurp authority over him, because it is
contrary to the law of nature, so for a woman to call herself the
head of that multitude which constitutes the Church, is forbidden
both by divine as well as natural law. With the authority of these
laws, what more can the Queen require? She has received from God
the spirit of counsel; let her Majesty now entreat the spirit of
fortitude necessary for the completion of the undertaking, which will
infallibly ensue, should she have placed all her hope in Him from
whom she received the kingdom, who said "Be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world," and who is the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, to whom he prays for her Majesty incessantly.
From Dillingen, 1st December 1553.
[Latin, 116 lines.]
837. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Are certain that by their letter of the 25th ult. about his
withdrawing adroitly from the matter of religion in England, he
will of his prudence have also understood their intention with regard
to other negotiations about matters unconnected with the Signory;
having nevertheless heard it reported in certain quarters that an
envoy (un homo, Renard ?) has been sent to England by the most
Christian King to persuade Edward Courtenay (al Sig. Cortoni) not
to brook the introduction of a foreign King nor to wrong himself, the
envoy promising him his most Christian Majesty's assistance, and
employing his (Soranzo's) mediation with Courtenay; although they
do not believe the matter to have passed thus, or that he (Soranzo)
meddled with it; will acquaint him with what has been told them, in
order that, should these suspicions proceed from any close and con-
stant intercourse between him and Courtenay, or from other causes of
which he will be able to judge, this warning may put him on his
guard, so as by courtesy and address to prevent anyone from sus-
pecting such a thing for the future on such occasions as may
hereafter present themselves; and in this the Chiefs are sure he will
succeed, by means of his prudence and dexterity.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* 1 Timothy ii. 12.
1553.
449
ई
1553.
Dec. 21.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 183.
Dec. 29.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
Dec. 28.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 5.
839. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
By letters from Brussels and France down to the 3rd instant, are
informed that the greater part of the Imperial and French troops
have gone into winter quarters, but the cavalry on either side forage,
and both Sovereigns are amassing considerable sums of money.
By the letters from England hear that a marriage is being nego-
tiated between the Queen and the Prince of Spain, the Emperor's
son.
Ayes, 190. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
840. MOTION made in the COLLEGE in the presence of the
CHIEFS OF THE TEN.
Should the Imperial ambassador present himself to the College
before the sitting of the Council of Ten, the justification (expurga-
tione) with regard to the matter of England to be made in such
manner as shall seem fit to the prudence of the person appointed to
perform this office.
Ayes, 16. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
5.
841. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
By his letters addressed to them on the 10th instant have under-
stood what the Bishop of Arras said to him by the Emperor's order
concerning their ambassador in England, and what he prudently
replied, for which they praise him greatly; and, with the Council of
Ten and Junta, charge him immediately on receipt of the present
letter to do his utmost to obtain audience of the Emperor, with
whom they choose him in any case to confer, that he may explain to
his Majesty in their name the regret and trouble caused them by
hearing not only that the Emperor, but that others likewise, believed
their ambassador in England to have performed any office detri-
mental to the interests of his Majesty or of the most Serene Prince
his son, the Signory not having had so much as the slightest thought
or idea of the sort, still less of giving him such a commission, as
they are certain the Emperor, of his great wisdom, may easily com-
prehend and know clearly, should he but be pleased to consider on
how many occasions for many years they have proved their con-
stancy by sincerely preserving the good friendship formed with him,
which they will also maintain for the future, both with his Majesty
and with his said most Serene son. Having proved this frequently,
they deem it superfluous to convince his Majesty; yet, although they
cannot believe in the performance by their ambassador of the offices
attributed to him by persons, perhaps for their own ends, they have
nevertheless written to him in such form as becoming, it being their
will and intention that neither by their own acts nor by those of
any of their ministers may any suspicion be formed, contrary to the
true good will and extreme observance borne by them towards the
Emperor and his most Serene son.
F F
450
1553.
1553.
Dec. 29.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
Dec. 30.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 183,
trrgo.
The ambassador is in any case to perform this office with his
Majesty and the Bishop of Arras, so that they may remain tranquil
and well satisfied; and of the execution of this order he is to give
notice to the Chief's.
And be it carried that tomorrow morning, the Imperial am-
bassador resident here be sent for into the College, and after the
withdrawal of all who are not members of this Council, a com-
munication be made to him in conformity with the present letter,
in order that he may perform the like office by letter with his
Imperial Majesty.
Ayes, 26, No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
842. THE CHIEFS OF THE TEN TO GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Since their last, giving him notice of its having been reported
that the French, by his means, sought to impede the marriage of
that most Serene Queen to the most Serene Prince of Spain, they
have received letters from the Signory's Ambassador with his
Imperial Majesty, informing them that by the Emperor's order the
Bishop of Arras had complained to him seriously, that he (Soranzo)
did not scruple to perform evil offices against the Emperor and the
most serene Prince, his son, and against the whole Spanish nation,
and endeavoured to render it hateful to the English; expatiating
greatly on this matter, although he professed to believe that he
(Soranzo) had acted thus without the Signory's orders but from
some opinion of his own. Will comprehend how much this has
troubled them, it being their will that in matters which do not
concern the State, their ambassadors are neither to interere nor lean
more to one side than to the other, as much trouble and disturbance
might ensue, to the Republic's detriment. They, therefore, with the
Council of Ten and Junta, have chosen immediately to despatch the
present missive, to order him entirely to abstain from similar offices,
and not to take any action in that matter, associating both with
the Imperial and French agents with such moderatiou (modestia)
and prudence, and so uniformly, that the one side may not have
cause to consider him more confidential and partial than the other;
avoiding also such conversations as might create suspicion, owing to
the casualties (occasioni) of the present time, so that they may not
again have reason to repeat anything further to him about a matter
of this quality; and of the receipt of the present letter, together
with what he may have to say on the subject, he is to give notice
to the Chiefs.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0. Neutral 1.
[Italian.]
843. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
The Imperial Ambassador having had audience of them this
morning, to acquaint them, by the Emperor's order, with what has
been negotiated in England, and with the fair prospect of the
1553-1554.
451
1553.
15x4.
Jan, 5.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 183,
tergo.
Jan. 12.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
Queen's marriage to his son the Prince of Spain, as by the enclosed
writing, which he then presented, they answered in such terms as to
make him convince his Majesty of their good-will towards him and
his said most Serene son, for the fuller expression of which they charge
their ambassador to wait on the Emperor and thank him for this his
confidential communication, letting him know that whatever pros-
perity and felicity may happen to his Majesty and the most Serene
Prince, the Signory is very greatly pleased and comforted by it, as
becomes their sincere friendship and the extreme observance which
they bear his Majesty.
Ayes, 189. Noes, 10. Neutrals, 11.
[Italian.]
A.D. 1554.
844. The DOGE and SENATE to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Her Majesty's Ambassador resident with them had audience of
the Signory a few days ago; and after announcing what had been
treated in the English Parliament, and that the marriage of the
Queen to the Prince of Spain was negotiated, the Ambassador
added her Majesty would always maintain the friendship which had
subsisted between England and the Republic. The Signory thanked
the Ambassador. Desire him (Soranzo) to repeat the Signory's
thanks.
Ayes, 157. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
845. The COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA to the VENETIAN AM-
BASSADOR with the EMPEROR.
By his letters of the 15th and 17th ult., have heard how pru-
dently he conducted himself respecting Sir Francis Barnard's coming
to the Imperial Court (nella occasione della venuta a quella Corte
del Cavalier Bernardo).
By these same letters, perceive what he in the first place caused
to be done by his secretary, and what he himself did subsequently,
about the audience given him by the Emperor; and with regard to
the Signory's ambassador in England. Although these offices were
performed with the best intention, and for a good end, nevertheless,
with regard to the words which he told the Bishop of Arras he had
written to the ambassador in England, charging him "neither by
signs, gests,” etc., the Ten and Junta would have wished that, with-
out descending to so many particulars, he had expressed himself
with greater regard for the Signory's dignity, as done by him on
former occasions, and as—with his usual prudence-he will know
how to do for the future.
In his letters of the 23rd, received after the above-written, he
FF 2
452
1554.
1554.
Jan. 19.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxiii. p. 188.
846. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The Emperor has sent four personages of distinction as ambassa-
dors to England to treat the marriage between the Prince of Spain,
the Emperor's son, and the Queen. By order of his father, the
Prince will cross from Spain to Flanders in the spring. The
Emperor is arming in Flanders, and the Signory's letters from
France, purport that his most Christian Majesty is doing the like,
and that he has sent Pietro Strozzi into Italy, where he has already
arrived, being now Governor of Sienna.
Ayes, 161. No, 1. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
Jan. 19.
Lettere Secrcte,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 5.
asks their orders whether he is to speak to the Bishop of Arras that
he may desire Hironimo Falconeto to desist from the language held
by him (as the Ambassador writes) about Soranzo in England. As
Soranzo, by his letters of the 11th ult., has assured them that what
was said about him concerning this affair of the marriage * deviated
utterly from the truth (as written by him, they believe, to the Am-
bassador likewise, and as they themselves considered certain even
before the receipt of his letters); and as their last missive prescribed
to him the office he was to perform in this matter with the Emperor
and the Bishop of Arras, they think that will suffice; and that it
would be unfitting to do anything more, or to seem to take so much
thought for every word uttered at the Court, even by malignants or
frivolous persons; as so far from doing any good it would but rather
increase suspicion.
Have chosen freely to unbosom themselves to him; and are very
certain that being prudent, as he is, he will perfectly realise their
intention.
Ayes, 24. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
847. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Wish to know whether a Dalmatian, Captain Berislao, who was
in the pay of the late Kings Henry and Edward, and now receives
stipend from the King of the Romans, still continues or has been in
receipt of any stipend from Queen Mary. Require also information
about his condition and qualities; whether he is a man of valour
and honour; and whether the English Government is satisfied with
him. To obtain particular information, as it were on his own account,
and with all becoming caution, and to acquaint the Chiefs with the
full result.
Ser Thomas Contarini, C.C.X.
Ser Aloysius Donato, C.C.X.
Ser Hermolaus Barbaro, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
Lectæ Ex'mis D'nis
Cap. utr. manus.
* As Francesco Bernardo had greatly aided the peace between England and France in
1546, the Imperialists might have suspected him of some similar negotiation in 1554.
1554
453
1554.
Jan. 19.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi
Consiglio X.,
File no. 5.
Jan. 23.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
848. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the KING of the ROMANS.
Wish for information about Captain Giacomo Berslao (sic), a Dal-
matian in the pay of the King of the Romans; what sort of man he is,
and what pay or pension he receives from his Majesty ; how long he
has served him; and whether he is considered valourous and faithful;
whether he is treated well, or in what form; whether his stipend or
pension is current; and whether he has any stipend in England.
To give them especial notice of all that he knows about this man, as
they understand he was lately at the Court of the King of the
Romans, who despatched him (et è stato espedito da Sua Mtà.), and
that the Ambassador is aware of this. Should he not have full
information, to write what he knows.
Ser Thomas Contarenus, C.C.X.
Ser Aloysius Donato, C.C.X.
Ser Hermolaus Barbaro, C.C.X.
[Italian.]
Lectæ Ex'mis D'nis
Cap. utr. manus.
849. QUEEN MARY of ENGLAND to CARDINAL POLE.
Most Reverend Lord and my good Cousin,
Owing to the change of the religion many persons who seem
to be heretics,* as also married priests, have been found in the enjoy-
ment of the principal ecclesiastical benefices of the realm, amongst
whom are certain prelates, including Archbishops and Bishops who
have been deprived and dismissed their sees by the last decree of the
Parliament.†` The Queen, therefore, pondering within herself how
necessary it is to provide their churches with other pastors, and not
choosing in any way to attempt anything whatever against the
authority of the Pope and the Apostolic See, nor against the
privileges and ancient customs enjoyed and observed by the Kings
of England her predecessors, before this evil modern religion was
introduced into the realm, she has thought it well to give Pole
notice of this, that she may be better acquainted with his opinion;
and also learn, by what way, without scruple of conscience, she
could provide for the said churches until the obedience of the
Catholic and Apostolic Church be again established in England;
and she, therefore, with all earnestness, requests him to inform her,
if, in virtue of his faculty, he has authority to confirm the collation
of these benefices, or whether the Pope has reserved the disposal of
them to himself. She also wishes to know whether Pole can
confirm in the benefices already vacant the persons appointed to
them, on account of their worthy qualities, and not without the
advice of the most Catholic and lettered men of the kingdom.
In case recourse to the Pope be requisite, the Queen requests Pole to
inform her how she is to proceed in this matter; feeling sure that
"In
t "Nel numero de' quali trovandosi alcuni prelati, si arcivescovi come vescovi sono
stati per l'ultimo decreto del Parlamento deposti et soluti delli loro beneficii."
October 1553, by a majority of 350 against 80, the mass was restored, and the clergy were
required to return to celibacy." (See Froude, vol. vi. pp. 115, 116, ed. London, 1860.)
*Havendo per la mutatione della religione in questo regno trovati molti come loro
demostrono heretici, et preti conjugati, etc.
454
1554.
1554.
he will continue the usual sincere friendship and goodwill which he
has always borne her. Will not tell him how the Kings her pre-
decessors had the election of similar persons, as he knows more
about these things; and her lack of experience not sufficing for
their explanation, she will say nothing more about them.
The Queen has written to the Bishop of Norwich, her ambassador
with the Emperor, and commissioned him to visit and receive Pole
on his arrival at Brussels, and not merely to salute and congratulate
him on his coming, but also to deliver a message in her name; and
she hopes in the Divine goodness to see him in his native land,
when she shall be able more freely and fully to unbosom herself
to him, assuring him that his coming will give her very great com-
fort, as known to the Lord God, whom she prays always to have
him under His holy protection.
(Signed) Your most affectionate and most friendly cousin
so long as the present life shall last me,
From St. James's, 23rd January 1554.
MARY.
[Italian. Translated from the original in English.]
850. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Jan. 28.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
The Pope will have heard of the letter received by Pole from the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Emperor inviting him to the Imperial Court, saying he should
be glad to see him, and that the sooner he went thither the better
would his Majesty be pleased. Three days after the receipt of this
missive, Pole commenced his journey, hastening it as much as the
season allowed, and on the 10th instant arrived at Louvain, sending
thence immediately to announce his arrival to the Emperor through
the Bishop of Arras. His Majesty evinced great satisfaction, and
gave orders for him to be met and received with all pomp, as was in
fact done on the 20th. The Duke of Savoy, in the Emperor's name,
accompanied by the whole Court, went to receive him at a place
outside the town where Pole had stopped, and where he was
greeted in like manner by the Bishop of Arras; who told him how
glad the Emperor was to hear of his safe arrival, and that had his
Majesty's health permitted he would have come in person to meet
him. The Duke of Savoy, also, addressed him most courteously in
the Emperor's name. But before Pole arrived at that place, when
midway between Louvain and Brussels, he was met by the two am-
bassadors from England, one of whom is the Bishop of Norwich
[Thomas Thirlby], and the other, a layman, † who the day before
wrote him a letter which they sent by two of their gentlemen,
apologising for not having gone to meet him as far as Louvain, their
sole reason being that they were hourly expecting audience of the
Emperor, which was in fact given them on the day of Pole's arrival.
The whole procession then moved towards Brussels, where Pole
was met at the first gate by the clergy, and conducted under the
canopy to the cathedral, being accompanied thence to his lodging
* Probably the monastery of Diligam (sic) near Brussels, from which some of Pole's
subsequent letters are dated; nor may "Diligam near Brussels" be confounded with
Dillingen in Bavaria.
† Query, Sir John Masone. (See Foreign Calendar, Brussels, 18 January 1554, p. 49.)
1554.
1554.
455
most reverentially by a multitude of people. On the morrow he
sent to request the Bishop of Arras to ascertain when it would
please the Emperor that he should go to him; which office the
Bishop courteously promised to perform on that same day, and came
yesterday to tell Pole he had done so, and that the Emperor
willingly and without delay would have seen Pole had not his
Majesty been compelled to take a certain purge.
The Bishop then commenced making many apologies in the
Emperor's name for having caused Pole to be stopped at Dillingen,
saying it was owing to his Majesty's surprise that, after explaining
his mind about the peace to the Cardinal Legate of Imola, who
announced it positively to the Pope, his Holiness, before receiving
the Emperor's reply, had immediately appointed Pole to negotiate
it; in addition to which, with regard to the matter of England, the
Emperor did not deem its discussion opportune whilst Parliament
was sitting.
Without making much rejoinder to the excuse, Pole assured the
Bishop of the sincerity of the Pope's proceedings, and said that his
Holiness's goodwill was illustrated both by the first legation [to
England], so suited to his duty and office, as likewise by the
second [having for object peace between the Emperor and France];
and by so much the more as the Pope thought by the second to
facilitate the first, relating to the matter of England; and that as to
the affair of the peace, this delay seemed to favour its negotiation,
which Pole professed himself ready and anxious to undertake; and
that as Divine providence has ordained that the Prince his Ma-
jesty's son is to be King of England; it being therefore to be hoped
and expected, as he is so Catholic, that on the restoration there of
the religion the kingdom will enjoy every blessing, so that this plant
may take root and bear fruit; Pole, as an Englishman, was conse-
quently so much the more anxious to effect the peace, it seeming to
him that it would greatly contribute to that result, and thoroughly
establish the affairs of the religion in England.
The Bishop of Arras then thought fit to discuss the steps taken
about the peace by the Legates who preceded Pole; and said that
the King of France made them such replies and demands as to
exclude every possibility of negotiating it; and that of this the Pope
must have been very circumstantially informed. It has given Pole
great pleasure to hear by the last letters from his agent at Rome,
that by the Nuncio his Holiness is sending him especial instruc-
tions about the peace; the appointment of this Nuncio being in
like manner a great comfort to Pole, as he believes him to be a
personage from whom the Pope may promise himself the best
possible service, to the honour of God and to the common weal,
with regard to both matters.
Congratulates himself on the Emperor's not having given him
audience, as he has been seriously indisposed from rheumatic gout
(cattaro), which commenced at the close of his journey; but,
beginning to feel better during the few days that he has remained
quiet, he hopes to recover before the Emperor appoints him audience;
and, unless he feels himself worse, will not on this account allow the
opportunity to escape him. On the way, received much courtesy
456
1554.
1554.
+
Feb. 5.
MS. St. Mark's
from the Archbishop of Cologne and the Duke of Cleves; and as the
other two Archbishops [Mentz and Treves?] had in like manner pre-
pared to do him honour, he mentions it, to render due testimony to
the honour and reverence demonstrated through his person towards
the Apostolic See and his Holiness.
From Brussels, 28th January 1554.
[Italian.]
851. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [CRISTOFORO] DI MONTE.
Having already by the accompanying replied sufficiently to his
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. letter of the 8th ultimo, it remains but to tell him of the audience
Library,
which he had yesterday of the Emperor, being called by the
Bishop of Arras, who, together with the Duke of Savoy and other
personages of the Court, accompanied him both going and returning.
He found the Emperor risen from his bed, seated, and with his feet
on another chair, looking very well, and better than Pole expected
to find him. His Majesty had a third chair placed near him, nor
would he allow Pole to speak to him until he also sat down.
After making the due obeisance and imparting the Papal bene-
diction sent by the Pope, Pole congratulated the Emperor on his
good condition, although not such as required for the present need
and the common weal of Christendom ; but nevertheless, as he found
his Majesty improving, there was reason to thank God and to hope
for yet greater prosperity. After presenting the Papal brief, Pole
commenced talking about the causes of his legation, the Emperor
seeming to listen willingly and to be gratified by what he said
touching the Pope's good disposition; and, in short, to be glad to
see him, both on account of the person who sent him, and for his
own sake likewise.
Beginning then to reply about the matter of England, his Majesty
proceeded to say that he did not think it as yet mature for nego-
tiation; and when discussing the peace and the injuries received by
him, he came however to the conclusion that, provided means be
found for making it fair and durable, he never intended to exclude
the negotiation, but that he was ill satisfied with what had been
proposed heretofore, to the detriment of Christendom; and he said
the business consisted in the means and particulars, to which he
should be better able to reply after they had been intimated to him,
and if they were such as to warrant hope of more certain quiet for
Christendom; making it appear that he had more at heart the
common weal than his own private wrongs.
This, in short, was the Emperor's reply, and as much as Pole
could elicit from the audience, which lasted almost an hour; and
when he told the Emperor that at this first interview he would not
weary him further with details, praying him, as his wish for the
common weal was worthy of himself, to vouchsafe moreover to
bethink him of the means, as no one could give a better impulse
(indrizzo) to the business than his Majesty; the Emperor answered
that those who had offended were bound to propose the form of
agreement, by restoring what they had so unjustifiably seized.
Rejoined that this concerned the settlement, which might be
1554.
457
1554.
hoped for, after commencing the negotiations with the other side,
but that to facilitate them, he requested the Emperor himself to
think of the means, and give some hope of negotiation,* leaving
it subsequently to Pole to sound the disposition of the parties
(tentar l'animo loro): to which his Majesty replied, that daily
events and opportunities would show better what was to be done.
Pole then presented the Bishop of Worcester [Richard Pate], whom
the Emperor received graciously, and after he had kissed his hand,
and said a few words, Pole took leave and returned home accompanied
by the same personages who took him to the Court.
He is now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Nuncio, with
particulars about this negotiation [for peace], to enable him to give
it some commencement, but greatly fears that the affairs of England,
where certain tumults have been excited † on account of the
marriage, may furnish additional matter for war, and render the
negotiation of this cause more difficult.
In the middle of last night, the English Ambassador [Thirlby,
Bishop of Norwich] sent to show Pole a letter received by him from
the Queen's Privy Council, announcing the risings stirred-up
(escitati) in two provinces of England, one of which is
[Devonshire] where the Prince was to land, as it is towards Spain;
but the population remained staunch to the Queen, the only persons
who rose being certain seditious leaders, who were supposed to have
been already captured, or to have made their escape, not having
found favour with the people.
The other rising (tumulto) was in Kent (near London, towards
Calais) where the people mustered; but the Queen immediately sent
the Duke of Norfolk thither with troops, and on the morning of
the day when Pole wrote this letter, the Bishop of Arras told him
that they were some 10,000 in number, and as they promised
pardon to those who deserted the rebel leaders, many resumed their
allegiance. The chiefs and some of the insurgents withdrew into
the small town of Rochester with the intention of disputing the
passage into Kent of the Duke, who was marching against them and
anticipated a speedy victory.
The city of London stood firm for the Queen, together with the
rest of the nobility, except the Duke of Suffolk, father of that Jane
(padre de quella Giovanna) whom the Duke of Northumberland
had made his daughter-in-law and Queen; it being supposed that
he had taken flight, from fear of being sent back to the Tower,
seeing that this had been done to the Marquis of Northampton ; ‡
and the Queen presupposing that Suffolk was gone into the
province (in quella provincia) [Leicestershire] where he has his
mansion and estate, her Majesty sent against him the Earl of
Huntingdon,§ who has to wife the writer's niece, and has as
many adherents and no less authority in that country (in quel
* Con dar qualche attacco di pratica con essi.
† Essendosi suscitati certi tumulti.
The arrest of Northampton took place apparently on the 26th January. (See Froude,
vol. vi. p. 154.)
§ Francis Hastings.
Catherine Pole, eldest daughter and co-heir to Henry Pole, Lord Montacute.
458
1554.
ន
1554.
paese) than Suffolk himself, being of a rival family which is opposed
to the Duke.
Such is understood to be the state of affairs in England ;* and
these same letters say besides, that although the insurgents allege
no other cause than their wish to resist the future domination of
the Spaniards, yet was it nevertheless believed that they had also
been instigated by the cause of the religion. Prays the Almighty
to interpose His holy hand. Is compelled to delay sending his
messenger with letters to the Queen until he hears that the
insurrection in Kent has been more thoroughly suppressed, as it is
impossible to go from Calais to London by any other road. Was
invited yesterday, on behalf of the Queen [Dowager] Maria
[of Hungary] the Regent, to attend mass this morning in the
chapel erected by her Majesty. Went accordingly, and after the
mass gave the benediction and "indulgence," urging the con-
gregation to pray pro pace et unitate ecclesiæ; and subsequently,
on descending with the Queen Dowager of France [Eleanor
of Austria], and the Duchess of the Lorraine [Christine of Den-
mark], he saluted them in the Pope's name, alluding to the peace,
and exhorting them likewise to lend a helping hand, and aid so
holy a work, for the benefit of Christendom, as they offered to do,
with all piety; whereupon he took leave of them, saying he would
visit them later more conveniently.
On arriving at Brussels, told the Bishop of Arras that he could
not satisfactorily commence treating the affair of the peace, until
by the publication of the jubilee he had invited the people to pray
God for its conclusion; and that he purposed having the bull
published by the Bishops of the Low Countries. The Bishop of
Arras asked to see it, and next morning sent word to Pole that
he might do what he purposed doing, but demurred somewhat to
the words pro reductione regni Angliæ; and so when these few days
of carnival are over, it will be issued.
From Brussels, 5th February 1554.
Feb. 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxviii. p. 189.
[Italian.]
852. The DOGE and SENATE to GIACOMO SORANZO, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
By his letters of the 15th ulto. were acquainted with the con-
clusion and stipulation of the marriage between the most Serene
Queen and the Prince of Spain. To perform such office of con-
gratulation as becoming.
Ayes, 187. Noes, 8. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
853. The SAME to the SAME.
Feb. 8.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
In conformity with what he wrote to them on the 15th ult., the
vlxviii., p. 189. 'most Serene Queen's ambassador communicated to them this morning,
tergo. in her Majesty's name, the conclusion and stipulation of the marriage
* This account was probably derived from the letter of Renard to the Emperor, dated
London, 29th January 1554, of which there is a transcript amongst the Rolls House MSS.
(See Froude, vol. vi. p. 161.)
1554.
459
1554.
J
Feb. 8.
MS. St. Mark's
854. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [CRISTOFORO] DI MONTE.
By his last, dated the 28th ult., together with those of the 4th
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. instant,* Cardinal di Monte will have heard what was known down
Library.
to that time about the rising in Kent, and how the Duke of Norfolk,
who had been sent against the rebels there by the Queen, was said
to have returned to London, being deserted by his troops, who had
joined the enemy; which intelligence was subsequently confirmed,
it being also heard later that what had been said about the other
rising in Devonshire] was true. After this, news came that the
leader there [Sir Peter Carew], not meeting with such support from
the people as he expected, had fled to France. Of the Duke of
Suffolk, who was said to have made his escape from fear of being
again confined in the Tower, nothing more was heard, save
(as Pole wrote in his former letters) that the Queen sent into the
province whither he had betaken himself, the Earl of Huntingdon,
who is his rival, and very powerful in that same district (nel
medesimo paese).
contracted (seguito) between her and the most Serene Prince of Spain;
and he also stated the particulars of the marriage contract, adding
how much satisfaction it had caused in England, where affairs were
proceeding quietly. To this the Signory made a suitable reply,
thanking her Majesty for so loving a communication, and rejoicing
at this auspicious event. Desire him, when congratulating the Queen
and Council, according to the order transmitted in their letter of
yesterday, not to omit the Signory's thanks to both one and the
other for this announcement, giving them in such affectionate and
suitable terms, as he shall deem becoming.
Noes, 5. Neutrals, 0.
Ayes, 10.
[Italian.]
Her Majesty, perceiving that the Duke of Norfolk, being deserted
by his troops, had turned back, sent to tell the chief of the insur-
gents in Kent [Sir Thomas Wyatt], and the others likewise, that she
was willing to use her natural clemency and to pardon them
provided they would submit and return to their obedience; and
as it seemed that the marriage which she had purposed making
for the benefit of the kingdom was not generally approved, she
promised not to marry without the universal satisfaction of the
Parliament and the whole realm.
*Not found.
wing
To this proposal the chief of the rebels is said to have haughtily
replied that he commenced doing what he did against her for the
liberty and benefit of the kingdom, and that the example of what
was done by the Queen's father against the rebels at York [in
1536-15371, to whom he failed in his promise, putting so many of
them to death, warned him to beware of placing trust in her; and
that having a good cause he hoped for God's assistance.
On receiving this reply, the Queen caused Wyatt to be proclaimed
a rebel, in London; and seeing the rebels continue their march in
that direction, she on the 31st January arranged to present herself
460
1554.
1554.
in a certain public place [Guildhall] where the chief citizens were
to assemble, that she might acquaint them both with her proposal
to the rebels, and their reply; adding also, that on the day of her
coronation, when the ring which she wears was put on her finger,
she purposed accepting the realm of England and its entire popu-
lation as her children; and thenceforth she never intended to do
anything but what was for their benefit; and that thus would she
do for the future, promising especially not to marry without the
universal consent of Parliament.
This announcement was to be made on the day above-mentioned,*
on which day Count d'Egmont and his colleague (the Imperial
ambassadors who went lately to England to conclude the marriage,
with the intention of proceeding to Spain), by the will of the
Queen and according to the opinion of the Council, departed from
England, and arrived at Brussels on the day before yesterday.
The cause of their departure was apprehension lest their presence
should irritate the people, who had already expressed their dislike
by deeds, and some of the Queen's guards who formed their escort,
after embarking them, behaved disrespectfully towards them, both
by word and by firing certain harquebuse shots.
From what was told Pole by a gentleman, his friend, who came
over with these ambassadors, this Kentish insurrection seems to
have been plotted and contrived with France (con Francia), but
was not to have commenced so soon, and the reason for anticipating
the outbreak seems to have been suspicion of one of their accom-
plices, who had been imprisoned for obstinately persisting in the
religion introduced in the time of King Edward. It is said that
they expected a great number of ships from France, as also troops;
and by other letters from the King of France, which the Imperialists
intercepted yesterday, it is reported very publicly that the French
had an understanding with Madame Elizabeth the Queen's sister,
who, being at a distance of 30 miles from London, and having been
called by the Queen, excused herself on the plea of indisposition;
so her Majesty sent her litter there (onde la Regina le have va
mandato la lettica - sic), nor is it yet known what she did sub-
sequently. This is what Pole has been able to ascertain about the
affairs of England, but he considers it a good sign that no further
advices have been received since the departure of the ambassadors,
as there is no lack of a way by which to send messengers without
making them pass through Kent.
When the ambassadors took leave of the Queen, she said, with a
great show of confidence, that she had not the slightest doubt of
being assisted by the Almighty, having had experience of his help
and power when in greater need, and being conscious that her mind
was entirely intent on His service; and that she would not ask
further assistance from the Emperor, feeling certain that he would
not fail in whatever he deemed helpful for her. It is understood
that he is providing the greatest possible number of ships, of
which it seems he has already 12 in readiness, and 3,000 German
ܝ
* The Queen's address to the citizens at Guildhall is dated 1st February in Froude
(vol. vi. pp. 162, 163). I am unable to decide whether Cardinal Pole is more exact.
1554.
461
1554.
Feb. 9.
MS. St. Mark's
troops, to repel any invasion which might be made by way of
France, and that he will do all that shall be rendered expedient by
the course of events; and it also appears that there is a talk of
mustering as soon as possible 12,000 Germans, to be employed for
this same purpose.
Should the Queen be bound by her promise not to marry without
the universal consent of the kingdom, it is very probable that this
matrimonial negotiation may be suspended, at least for a while,
though Pole cannot say whether they will relinquish the thought of
it; most especially as at Brussels, some of the chief ministers of the
Emperor and of Queen Maria [of Hungary] are heard to express
opinions at variance with each other, some of them seeming to con-
sider the marriage hopeless, and that no further design of any sort
should be formed about it; whilst others on the contrary seem
to evince a belief that this insurrection took place on account of the
religion rather than of the marriage, which in the greater part of
England is approved of.* Prays God that what takes place may
prove most to His service, and to the advantage of the country.
Pole's above-mentioned friend who came with the ambassadors, told
him that he knows the Queen to have said and confessed freely that
she had erred in placing trust in the counsel of the heretics, and it
seems that she has become very suspicious of the greater part of her
Privy Council.†
Does not write further to the Pope for the present, waiting to
hear the result of these disturbances, which news cannot reasonably
be long delayed. Cardinal di Monte will be pleased to acquaint
his Holiness with what Pole has written to him thus in haste,
sending it by a courier, who is being despatched on the sudden to
Italy.
Is anxiously expecting the arrival of the Nuncio, of whom as yet
he has no notice at all.
Within the last few days much has been said about the Emperor's
departing speedily for Germany, with the intention of being present
at the Diet of Augsburg, which is to be held after Easter, and it is
said that the Bishop of Arras has already ordered the harbingers to
be in readiness; and that his Imperial Majesty will soon send a
personage to announce this journey of his to the Princes of Ger-
many, that they may the sooner be present in person at the Diet.
Unless our Lord God causes the disturbances in England to be com-
pletely quelled, there is great fear that they may prevent what might
have been hoped through the peace.
From Brussels, 8th February 1554.
[Italian.]
855. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DI MONTE.
When first the news arrived of these disturbances in England
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Pole sent the Bishop of Worcester [Richard Pate] to condole with
the English ambassador [Thirlby, Bishop of Norwich] in Brussels,
and to learn whether there was anything Pole could do for the
* Il quale nelle maggiori parti dell' isola sia tenuto per buono.
† Et pare che sia entrata in gran sospetto della maggior parte del suo consiglio.
462
1554.
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service and assistance of the Queen. The ambassador sent to say
that nothing occurred to him, save that he thought it might be to
the purpose for Pole to commence the negotiation for peace by
proceeding to treat it in France; and on the morrow, when
visiting Pole he repeated this, and Pole thought fit to communicate
it to the Reverend Father Soto,* who having occasion to ask
audience of the Emperor for other business, he told him, when
asking it, to mention that he had also something to say to his
Majesty on behalf of Pole, as he did.
The demand was made yesterday, and the audience took place
today, when Soto, after representing this opinion and suggestion of
the ambassador, said Pole thought fit to impart it to the Emperor,
and to let him know, that if his Majesty approved of his going to
France at the present time he would do so, provided the Emperor
would be pleased to give him some hope,† such as authorising him
to say that he had induced the Emperor to consent to send some
personage to some neutral place to commence treating the peace,
provided the King of France would do the like, and that Pole was
to intervene for the same purpose, which he would do if it pleased
his Majesty, although he was expecting the Nuncio with certain
particular instructions about this matter, having free commission.
from the Pope to do whatever he thought expedient for the common
weal.
The Emperor replied that he thought it was better to wait for
the Nuncio, as, if God had thus ordained it, the peace would be made
in an instant. First of all, Father Soto had said, how much sorrow
and distress Pole felt at these disturbances in England, on every
account, and particularly by reason of the regret it must cause the
Emperor. His Majesty evinced the best possible opinion of Pole,
and trust in him, and as to the affairs of England, putting aside the
respect of the Queen, for whom he had great affection by reason of
her piety and goodness, even had she not been his kinswoman, he
showed (mostrò) that on the score of his own individual interest he
was not at all distressed, and that he was induced to negotiate the
marriage principally for the sake of the religion, both in England
and in the Low Countries, and for their general good; and that as
the thing was intact (et che essendo la cosa integra), he had returned
to Spain the commission from the Prince, sent by him for the
conclusion of the marriage, although in his conversation he did not
make it appear that he had renounced the thought, but that it
gave him no anxiety. He also said that the Queen had purposed
telling the Londoners, that having at their suit renounced her inten-
tion of remaining without a husband, she should be ready to resume
that same intention, seeing that the spouse of her choice was not to
their entire satisfaction.‡
* In the Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, p. 20, are the instructions given to Father
Sotto or Soto, by Cardinal Pole, when he sent him to the Emperor from Dillingen in
November 1553.
† Et che a sua Maestà piacesse darmi qualche attacco.
From this it may be inferred that if the Queen made her speech in Guildhall on the
31st of January it was after Count d'Egmont and his colleague had embarked, and on the
9th of February the Emperor merely knew what the Queen had purposod saying.
1554.
463
1554.
Father Soto greatly praised this intention of the Queen, and said
the Emperor should acknowledge, as a special favour from God, that
these disturbances had taken place before the Prince's arrival in
England, as otherwise there could not but have been great danger.
His Majesty seemed to admit and take it in the same way,* and not
to intend doing anything by force.
This is the whole of Father Soto's conversation on this subject
with the Emperor, whom he says he found in much better health
than before, and that his Majesty himself moreover assured him,
that it was a long while since he had felt himself better.
As yet no further news of events in England has been received,
since the arrival at Brussels of Count d'Egmont, which surprises the
Imperial Government and makes them draw sinister conclusions, it
having merely been heard by letters from Antwerp that the advices
from London, dated the 3rd February, announced the entry of the
insurgents into the borough of Southwark (nel borgo che è di qua
dal fiume), and that the Londoners seemed inclined to defend
themselves, independently of other respects, from fear of being
sacked by the rebels, who were some 3,000 in number.
It is also said that all the foreigners had been disarmed, more on
account of a number of Frenchmen who were in London, than from
any other cause, and that the Queen's speech in public had given
great satisfaction.
The English merchants at Antwerp having shown signs of de-
parture and already commenced selling their effects in haste, on
hearing of the trepidation (del tremulo) of England, and the return
of the Imperial ambassadors, his Majesty gave them to understand
that they were to remain in all security, and in short gave orders
(though with all gentleness of language) that without his commission,
neither the merchants, nor their ships, nor their merchandise were
to quit Antwerp.
Requests the Cardinal to acquaint the Pope with the contents of
this letter and of the others written yesterday, all which go together,
the courier who was to have departed yesterday being detained
until today, on account of the news of Sienna, which causes much
talk at Brussels, no less than the affairs of England.
From Brussels, 9th February 1554.
[Italian.]
Feb. 10.
856. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DI MONTE.
MS. St. Mark's
From Monte's former letters and from the credential brief, Pole
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. fully understood the Pope's intention with regard to the course to
Library,
be pursued by him about the Prince's marriage, and perceiving the
progress of affairs, when the Reverend Father Confessor [Soto] was
on the eve of departure [from Dillingen], and asked him what he
was to reply about Pole's opinion in case the Emperor alluded to
[what] it [had been], before he devoted himself exclusively to the
office enjoined him by the Pope respecting the religion and the
marriage, Pole desired him to say what was the truth, that several
letters and messengers having been exchanged between the Queen and
* Mostrò de accettarla et intenderla al medesimo modo,
464
1554.
1554.
himself, he never either directly or indirectly said a word relating to
the intention of marriage (pertinente al fin del matrimonio), as his
opinion in this matter had never been asked; and it not being his
custom to interfere in similar matters, which require great considera-
tion, he said not a word, nor did he give a hint on the subject.
But when Soto asked him what his opinion was, Pole did not hesi-
tate to tell him, in order that he might impart it to the Emperor
according to opportunity, namely, that his first opinion would be,
that the Queen, being of the age she is, should content herself with
the spouse who has always stood her in the stead of parent, he being
God the Father, and that during her life she should attend to doing
whatever was to his honour, leaving the affairs of the succession of
the realm to take their course.
This Pole would have said at the commencement, had he been
asked, but as this opportunity did not present itself, and as accord-
ing to general report the marriage with the Prince had been stipu-
lated (concluso), Pole then said that as he was charged with the
affair of the religion, which was not very popular in England (non
molto plausibile in quel regno), he neither could nor ought to show
himself favourable to this union, his knowledge of the national
disposition convincing him that it was even more universally odious
than the cause of the religion, lest he should additionally impede
the first commission assigned him by the Pope;-so that although
the marriage with the Prince would be concluded without Pole's
assistance, he was convinced by the goodness of the Queen, inde-
pendently of what may be conjectured of the Emperor's piety, that
this was done for the purpose of having a better arm (meglior brazzo)
whereby to establish the affairs of the religion; in which case the
Emperor will not find any servant in the whole world more desirous
of the Prince's tranquillity than he is, nor who will put himself more
forward in whatever he can do, either through his own means, or
through his kinsfolk or friends, to establish the Prince's rule (stato)
in England in peace and quiet.
This was the reply of the Father Confessor [Soto], when Pole sent
him to the [Imperial] Court* [in November 1553], and he is now
the more confirmed in it, seeing that it coincides with the mind of
his Holiness.
So much in reply to the first letter of Cardinal di Monte; and
with regard to the second, concerning the instructions about the
peace, which he is to receive from the Pope, it arrived in very good
season as he has not yet had audience of the Emperor, not having
received previously any commission about the peace, which must
now be his chief business; and although the letter lacks certain
particulars, it will enable Pole to temporise until the arrival of the
Nuncio with the most minute instructions. Is very anxiously
expecting him, and rejoices extremely that the Pope should have
sent so worthy and adroit a personage.
In the meanwhile Pole will do his utmost to ascertain the bent
of the Imperialists, according to the desire of the Pope, who also
* Compare this with "Instructions by Cardinal Pole to the Reverend Father Confessor
of the Emperor. (Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, p. 20, No. 61. 1553, October, or
beginning of November.)
در
1554.
465
1554.
wishes to know what he elicited from the conversations held with
the Bishop of Arras and the English ambassadors. Speaking with
the Bishop of Arras about the benefit of peace and saying that if at
first, in general, for the benefit of Christendom, and then being sent
by the Pope for the purpose, he greatly desired to succeed in it, so
at present, as an Englishman, he is much more interested in the
business than ever, and also for the greater service of the Emperor,
who having established (piantato) his son in England, peace seemed
necessary, in order that he might derive entire comfort from this
step; and Pole foresaw that the Divine goodness, purposing by all
means to render the Emperor's old age tranquil, after the many toils
endured by him, had added this incentive of peace-making to the
others, that he might more beneficially enjoy the English marriage.
The Bishop admitted the validity of this argument in favour of
peace, to which however he said the Emperor was never averse, pro-
vided it could be made durable; and he then expatiated on the evil
proceedings of the French, coming to the conclusion that if they
proposed tolerable terms it would be seen that the Emperor will
always have more regard for the common weal than for the revenge
of his own private injuries.
With the English ambassadors Pole had already performed the
office mentioned by Cardinal di Monte, with regard to exhorting the
Queen to use her influence with the Emperor and the King of
France, to bring the negotiation for peace between their Majesties
to a good end; showing how much this would be to the honour and
especial advantage of the realm of England, which has now greater
need of peace than any of the other kingdoms devastated by the
war.
·
The ambassadors returned thanks for this suggestion, saying they
would write to the Queen; and Pole also will address a letter to
her to the same effect, having received one from her Majesty
since his arrival at Brussels, the tenour of which Cardinal di Monte
will perceive by the enclosed copy, Pole having had it translated
word for word as written to him in her own hand. Thereby
Monte will perceive how much might be hoped from her goodwill
towards the affair of the religion if there were anyone on the spot
to encourage and show her the way to carry it into effect, seeing
that in the midst of so many obstacles she cannot refrain from
asking counsel and assistance from one in whom she places trust.
Pole thinks of sending one of his attendants on purpose to give her
such counsel and assistance as he can, until greater aid and favour
arrive from his Holiness, to whom di Monte will communicate every-
thing, and request him to assure Pole as soon as possible of that
consolation [papal absolution?] which the Pope wishes to impart to
the Queen and the country.
What Pole can do in this matter is to acquaint the Queen with his
powers, that should the persons in question acknowledge and confess
their past errors, remaining firm, and with unfeigned repentance
asking absolution for them, Pole, through the grace given him by
the Pope, is enabled to receive them into the Church, and, should
they evince worthy fruits of repentance, and possess qualities
worthy of the episcopal dignity, qualify them in such a manner
5.
G G
466
1554.
1554.
Feb. 18.
Miscellaneous
Letters,
Venetian
Archives.
as if they had not fallen into schism. As for the rest he does not
doubt that her Majesty will find the Pope ready and inclined to
console her.
In addition to this, Pole will exhort the Queen to send him one
of those who evince piety, that he may come with powers from them
to ask this absolution. This he thinks of doing, though could he
have hoped to enter England he would have delayed the absolution
until he be present there; but the ambassadors, when speaking with
him about their commission from the Queen, mentioned two most
important things with regard to his coming, announcing them to her
Majesty's deep regret, that owing to the perversity of the heretics she
did not see in what way he could enter the kingdom, repeating all
that the Emperor had given him to understand on the same subject
through Don Juan de Mendoza; nor did they assign any fixed time
when he might hope, as they alluded to the marriage of the Prince,
declaring that the principal cause of it had been the trust that by
means of such an arm (brazzo) the affairs of the religion might be
better established.
Replied that this end was holy, provided it could be said that
God had united them, and that as no further progress than this
could be made at present in the cause of religion, they should all
continue praying the Almighty, by means of this marriage, to facili-
tate the matter and conclude it; and he then commenced speaking
of the necessity for the peace, for which the Queen and the Prince
should exert themselves. With regard to Pole's not going to Eng-
land, he said he would do what he knows to be the wish of his
Holiness, arriving there at the moment deemed most beneficial for
the Queen and the kingdom, and attending in the meanwhile to the
affair of the peace, to which should God grant success, Pole thinks thus
to serve both one and the other, as on its own account and for the
cause of the religion it is more than necessary. Pole then left the
ambassadors, who seemed satisfied with his replies, but he marvelled
that in stating their commission it seemed to him that they utterly
excluded his going to England, whereas by the Queen's letter
Cardinal di Monte will see that her Majesty gives hope of it; but
perhaps the ambassadors alluded to his entry as legate, and the
Queen as a private cardinal, which would not seem to him very
fitting. God's will be done, and Pole will obey the commands of his
Holiness.
From Brussels, the 10th February 1554.
[Italian.]
857. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the CHIEFS of the TEN.
The ambassador from Ferrara, at the Emperor's Court, is a
Piedmontese, and has almost daily communication with the Duke
of Savoy, who is fond of him (che lo ama); and hesitating to
address Damula personally on the subject, informed him through
a confidential friend, that in the Duke's house, there being also
present a gentleman of the Emperor's chamber, discourse was held
about the offices said to have been performed by your Serenity's
ambassador in England; and moreover that his Majesty has given
1554.
467
1554.
orders for the drawing up in England, of a written statement of his
proceedings, with the intention of sending it to your Serenity.
I said, I thanked the ambassador for the kindness he had shown me,
and that I should give good news (bona nuova) to the most noble
Soranzo, as they will never find that he has comported himself
otherwise than prudently in this matter, as he always has done in
others, both because he has thus been endowed by God with good
ability, as also because he had domestic discipline, which has taught
him never to commit the slightest error, still less such a thing as this.
Has also heard from others, that the aforesaid Ferrarese ambassador,
has moreover performed some other good office in this matter; and
I let it appear that I hold this gossip (queste zanze) in no account.
After having written thus far, one Nicolò, a musician in the service
of the Queen [Maria of Austria, Queen Dowager of Hungary ?] who
is often in the habit of coming to the Venetian embassy, and is
very intimate with the Emperor's second equerry, Monsr. d'Andelot,
near whom he lodges, came and told me that a few evenings ago,
when supping with said d'Andelot, Monsr. de Horbes (sic), a
gentleman of the Emperor's chamber, said that his Majesty had
complained of your Serenity's ambassador, saying that he would
have him punished, and if he found that your Serenity had ordered
what he did, his Majesty would find means to make you repent it.
These words are important, most especially when repeated by these
individuals about the Emperor's person, for both one and the other
go when they please into his chamber; and I believe that these two
said them to each other, for Nicolò seemed to tell me this with
much personal fear, and under promise of secrecy, saying it would
cost him his head if divulged; but I am in doubt whether the words
were uttered by the Emperor, he being always habitually reserved
in speech, yet is it my duty to acquaint your Excellencies with the
whole. I answered Nicolò, thanking him for his goodwill, and
saying I did not believe his Majesty spoke thus, that the ambas-
sador will be acknowledged utterly blameless, and that I laugh at
these vanities.
K
From Brussels, 18th February 1554.
Marc' Antonio Damula, ambassador.
In cipher throughout, with contemporary decipher-
Addressed: Excellmis Dnis Dnis Capitibus Illmi Consilij Decem,
Dnis Colmis.
[Italian.]
Feb. 23.*?
858. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
By his last of the 12th,† after giving the Pope account of the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. auspicious result of the disturbances in England, he told him that,
by reason of the delay of the Nuncio's arrival, he had commenced
negotiating the peace; detailing what he had done in this matter
with the Bishop of Arras. Has again spoken with him at great
G G 2
* The date in the manuscript is Brussels, 23rd April, but the contents of subsequent
letters make me substitute 23rd February.
† Not found.
4.68
1554.
1554.
length, but could elicit nothing save that they wished for peace, and
that should the French propose reasonable terms, modifying the
reply made through Cardinal Dandino, the Imperialists would listen
to them willingly and reply. The Bishop added that Pole ought to
have gone first to the King, who, having been the aggressor, should
be the first to be instigated to propose the negotiation of an agree-
ment, as had been previously said to Pole by Don Juan de Mendoza.
Replied that, independently of the Emperor's supreme rank, the
Pope sent him in the first place to his Imperial Majesty, as to one
who, considering himself the injured person, should be sought first
of all, to favour the pacification; notwithstanding which, the Pope
will also send him to France, on knowing that the Emperor approves
of it. To this the Bishop of Arras made no answer; and, in short,
again repeated several times that Pole could not hope for anything
more from the Emperor, and that this was moreover expedient for
the matter itself.
Pole then went to visit Queen Maria, and after congratulating
her on the good news from England, presented the Papal brief,
saying how much the Pope relied on her favouring the affair of the
peace; and was listened to graciously, her Majesty saying that no
one was more bound to desire it than herself,* considering how much
the Low Countries suffered from war, and that she would always do
her best; but that everything consisted in finding means to make a
durable peace, and not such as the one stipulated heretofore.
Would not say more, in consequence of the determination
announced by the Bishop of Arras, with whom having spoken a
second time, and finding him confirmed in it, he at length said that
he knew not what else he could do, but go straight to France for the
performance of his legation, as he would do, with the Emperor's
goodwill, after his next audience of him, which he had on the 19th,
when he found his Majesty in the same good health as on the
former occasion. Congratulated him on the victory granted by God
to the Queen of England, as showing the paternal care and con-
stant protection vouchsafed her by the Almighty, who by this fresh
disturbance warned her above all to promote the interests of the
religion, especially as it was seen that the people in the North of
England and in Cornwall, who have always been well disposed
towards the true religion, showed themselves in this need the most
faithful and well affected to her Majesty. This the Emperor
admitted, saying the Queen would not fail to do as became her duty
and her piety.
Pole then commenced adroitly speaking about the peace, en-
deavouring to learn something more from the Emperor than had
been told him by the Bishop of Arras, but after all could elicit
nothing but the expression in general terms of his wish for peace ;
and that his goodwill and desire for the common weal would be
known, when the French, by coming to some particulars as it
behoved them to do, should show that they also wished for peace,
and would give an opportunity for negotiating it.
*"Con dire che a Lei toccava più che ad altri il desiderare la pace." Maria of Austria,
Queen Dowager of Hungary, was Regent of Flanders,
1554.
469
1554.
At the end Pole said that, with his Majesty's good grace, he was
going to France, and, as the Emperor made no reply whatever to
the contrary, Pole settled not to return again to his Majesty unless
the Nuncio arrived in the course of the present week, in which case,
if the Emperor pleased, he would accompany him to audience; and
with reference to this matter he mentioned the good qualities of the
Nuncio, which had caused the Pope to make choice of him.
Having written thus far, a secretary arrived from the Duke of
Mantua, and says that on the 12th instant he left the Nuncio at a
short distance from Trent, travelling leisurely (che veniva a
giornate) and in the company of the Cardinal of Burgos; so per-
ceiving that his arrival at Brussels will be very tardy, Pole, as the
season is so far advanced, will set forward in three or four days, to
anticipate if he can and treat the peace before the re-commencement
of hostilities in these parts (in queste bande). Leaves one of his
secretaries at Brussels to acquaint the Nuncio with what has been-
negotiated, and to reside there for whatever may be required.
Another of his attendants also remains there, with orders to follow
Pole after the arrival of the Nuncio, and to bring what the Pope
shall have been pleased to send him. As it was requisite to have a
license to pass into France, when Pole discussed this topic with the
Imperial ministers, asking them for a pass for this person whom
he leaves at Brussels, as also for others whom he may have to send
to and fro on account of this business, they made more difficulty than
the Emperor himself, to whom he was compelled to have recourse
about this, as they said they should prefer having the intercourse
carried on by letters rather than by messengers; notwithstanding
which, they at length consented to his sending a messenger when
circumstances required him to do so.
On the 20th instant a new ambassador arrived from the Queen
of England, with an honourable company of gentlemen, having
been sent to the Emperor to give him particular account of the
last successes; and on the morrow the old ambassador,* who is
Mons. de Norwach (sic), came to tell him the reason why the other
day (l'altro giorno) he did not come to visit him, saying that
when he left England no news had been received of Pole's arrival
at Brussels, though he heard of it at Calais; so having no com-
mission about this from the Queen he hesitated whether he should
come; and having asked the Bishop of Norwich his opinion, the
Bishop declined interfering in the matter, saying that for his own
* This does not seem to be the "old ambassador, a layman "-the predecessor and
colleague of the Bishop of Norwich, who was mentioned by Cardinal Pole in the letter
dated 28th January. I am unable to ascertain his true name, or that of the "new ambas-
sador," who arrived at Brussels on the 20th February. By the Foreign Calendar it seems
that Sir John Masone arrived at Antwerp from Brussels on the 2nd February 1554, nor
does he appear to have returned to Brussels until the end of April 1554. (See Foreign
Calendar, p. 81, date May 3, Brussels.) Who then was the old ambassador, who on the
21st of February 1554 owned to having had scruples about visiting Pole? If Masone was
the person who accompanied the Bishop of Norwich to meet Pole mid-way between
Louvain and Brussels on the 20th January 1554, it seems improbable that he should have
hesitated to pay him a visit at his own house; though the person mentioned in this letter
may have been Masone, who, perhaps, went back from Antwerp to Brussels between the
2nd and the 21st February, but how to convert "Norwach" into Masone I know not.
470
1554.
1554.
part there was no occasion for him to entertain similar doubts, as
from the commencement he had been commissioned by the Queen
to visit him.
The ambassador then narrated the course of events in England;
and when Pole inquired how the Queen would proceed for the
future, he said he knew nothing whatever, having no letters either
from the Queen or the Council, but merely private advices; nor
could he reason on future events, but on the past alone. Exhorted
him by his fidelity to God, the Queen, and his country, to recom-
mend her Majesty, with this great opportunity, to establish the
affairs of the religion, without which establishment Pole said he
could not hope God would allow her to enjoy the realm in peace.
The ambassador seemed to approve what was said to him, but
with regard to Pole's going to England he said it was not yet the
time. Answered that the Pope had sent him to seek the welfare
both of the Queen and of the realm, and that in one way he should
always seek it, namely by praying God, but would await the
moment deemed opportune by the Queen for promoting it by his
own presence, and in the meanwhile continue his journey to France
for the negotiation of the peace, about which he would also write to
the Queen, she having no greater need of anything than of peace ;
and he then exhorted the ambassador to write to her Majesty not to
give the King occasion to make war.
The ambassador promised thus to do, and said that amongst the
other marriage articles with the Prince, it was stipulated that she
should not be compelled (ristretta) to take part in this war against
France, but rather that the Prince should be the means for nego-
tiating the peace.
Pole then mentioned that he was sending a messenger to England,
as already announced by him on two former occasions to the
ambassador, who always dissuaded him, but now he made no
further rejoinder.
On departing Pole purposes sending this messenger and his
letters to the Queen, and will acquaint the Pope with the result.
There is no hope that the Queen will be stimulated on either side
of the Channel (nè di qua nè di là), but rather checked (rafredata), in
proceeding about the affairs of the religion, and most especially with
regard to the reconciliation (reduttione), but this must not prevent
them from performing such offices from day to day as will conduce
to this result; and the greater will Pole's exertions be, the more he
sees the necessity for them, with the hope that the Almighty will
not cease constantly knocking at the heart of the Queen, whom He,
of his Divine goodness, has visibly exalted and defended.*
The bearer of the present packet will be Don Hernando de Vega,
brother of the Viceroy of Sicily, who, as the Bishop of Arras
says, is being sent by the Emperor, amongst other things, to thank
the Pope for the paternal will evinced by him towards the Prince.
From Brussels, 23rd of April (sic) [February ?] 1554.
[Italian.]
* Anci tanto più Io sono caldo in solicitarla, quanto veggo chè ne ha maggior bisogno,
con speranza chè N. S. Dio non sia per cessar de batter de continuo al cuore de essa
Regina, dalla sua divina bontà esaltata et difesa come si è visto.
1554.
471
1554.
Feb. 24 ?*
MS. St.Mark's
859. QUEEN MARY of ENGLAND to CARDINAL POLE.
Library.
Since it pleased the goodness of God to place her in her present
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. grade, she has never had anything more at heart than the union of
England to the Apostolic See; so she never ceases thinking what
ways and means would be the most expedient and easy for the
accomplishment of this her desire. It is necessary for the public
at large (per l'universale), to introduce it through the Parlia-
ment, which represents the entire kingdom, and especially by
making known to every one in what errors they are living, and
how many spiritual and temporal losses those persons incur who
live separated from the body of the Catholic Church. For both
these evils she finds there is no more opportune and efficacious remedy
than to have good and Catholic prelates, who, being amongst the
most important members of this Parliament, can by their own votes,
and by persuading others to side with them (et con il persuader
gli altri al medesimo), give great assistance to this cause; and
having great cure of souls, they are able both of themselves, and by
means of good curates their dependants, to persuade † every one in-
dividually to welcome willingly the Acts of the Parliament, in which
even should this point concerning souls (questo ponto delle anime)
not be carried, these examples and persuasions would nevertheless
prepare the way to introduce it universally, or, at least in the greater
part of the population.
G
For the accomplishment of this holy work, and to commence this
act, which is so important as an indication of her goodwill, the
Queen has made choice-according to the tenour of her privileges
and the custom of her predecessors-of twelve Bishops, as by the
enclosed list,‡ who, from the knowledge and information obtained
about them, are amongst the most Catholic and well affected to the
Apostolic See, and on every other account the most suited to this
burden, of any she has been able to find in England for presentation
to the Pope, that they may be confirmed and inducted in these
churches, according to the mode employed before the introduction
of the schism. And therefore, both for the avoidance of further
delay in doing what she ought for the honour of God and the
common weal of her kingdom in this matter, as also for other
necessary causes, she has been compelled to summon Parliament on
the 2nd of April next.§
Has also determined to present these prelates to Pole, as the repre-
sentative of his Holiness and the Apostolic See, requesting him to
admit this presentation (always with reservation of the Pope's
approval), and send it in her name (et mandarla in nome mio) as
speedily as possible [for confirmation?] to his Holiness, so that in
conformity with these and other letters written on the subject, she
* Again is the date in the MS. incorrect; and I can only guess that the letter was
written about the 24th February.
† Et per mezo de buoni curati inferiori e persuader particolarmente ognuno che
abracci, etc., etc.
The list does not exist. In Froude's 6th vol., p. 198 (ed. 1860) there is the following
paragraph: "The Pope had granted permission without difficulty to fill the vacant sees;
and on the 1st of April [1554] six new prelates were consecrated at St. Mary Overies.”
§ "Parliament met at Westminster on the 2nd of April. The Oxford scheme had been
relinquished as impracticable." (See Froude as above, p. 212.)
472
1554.
1554.
Feb. 29.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 19.
may have the presentation of these bishops, praying the Pope to be
pleased to confirm and institute the persons presented by her to the
sees, Pole in the meanwhile giving them license to take possession,
should the confirmation and institution not arrive in time, so that
they may sit in Parliament and produce the good effect desired.
Pole is to direct the business in the way that shall seem best to
him, as she refers herself entirely to his judgment; and by this
letter, she appoints him her proctor (procuratore) to make this
presentation, with faculty to substitute others in his stead at Rome
for the same purpose, promising on her part to do whatever can be
done for this holy union.
From St. James's, 12th March (sic), [24th February ?] 1554.
[Italian.]
860. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Yesterday they received his letters of the 28th ultimo down to
the 7th instant giving a copious account of the disturbances in
England, and of the battle between the insurgents and the Queen's
troops, her Majesty remaining victorious, the like news having been
communicated to them by the English and Imperial ambassadors,
who this morning entered the Signory's presence. This intelligence
caused them such pleasure and satisfaction as become their sincere
friendship with that most serene crown. To congratulate the Queen
in their name, assuring her of the pleasure and consolation derived
by them from her success; they hoping that her cause being so just,
as it really is, her affairs will proceed prosperously and have the good
result desired by her. To perform the like office with the Bishop
of Winchester, and such other Lords of the Council as he shall
think fit.
Lectæ in pleno Collegio.
[Italian]
March 1.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 4,
tergo.
861. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILO at
CONSTANTINOPLE.
The four ambassadors from the Emperor went to England to the
Queen, with whom they treated and concluded her marriage with
the Prince of Spain, his Imperial Majesty's son, which marriage
[contract] the Emperor subsequently confirmed and signed; and
in Cornwall and Kent, the people, wishing for a native Sovereign
and not a foreigner, resented this, taking up arms and rebelling. On
account of this insurrection the four ambassadors quitted London and
returned to Brussels. The last London letters inform the Signory
that the rebels in Kent, under their commander Sir Thomas
Wyatt, were approaching London, hoping for support from the
Londoners, but on the 7th February, the day of the letter's date
the Queen's infantry and cavalry marched against them and fought
a battle near London, in which her Majesty's forces were victorious,
capturing Wyatt, and five other men of quality, who have been
taken to London and committed to the Tower. The Emperor, on
**
1554.
473
1554.
March 2.
MS. St. Mark's
hearing of this victory, sent orders to Spain for the Prince to come
for the consummation of the marriage, and has provided a number
of ships for his passage. The Emperor has summoned a Diet at
Augsburg for the second week in Easter (per l'ottava di Pasqua),
with orders for the Princes of Germany to appear, and giving out
that he himself will attend, [that Cardinal Pole, who is on his way
to England to the Queen his near relation, has had audience of the
Emperor, to whom according to report, in the Pope's name, he
proposed terms of peace with the King of France,]* and that news
has been received from Spain of the death of the Emperor's mother,
and of the Prince of Portugal, his son-in-law, leaving his widow
pregnant; and by letters from France of the 13th February, it is
heard that she has been delivered of a son, who succeeds to the
Crown of Portugal.
Ayes, 176. Noes, 14. Neutrals, 10.
[Italian.]
862. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Having written what was necessary about his coming into these
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. parts, to the Cardinal di Monte,† it merely remains for him to tell
Library,
the Pope, that on the third day after his departure from Brussels,
the Bishop of Arras sent to him by an express, a letter from the
Queen of England, of which he encloses a translation; and the
Bishop said the Queen wished it to be delivered to him as soon
as possible. On the day after its receipt Pole sent one of his
attendants in haste to England with the reply, the summary of
which, should the Pope so please, he can hear from Pole's agent at
Rome, and save himself the trouble of reading the instructions given
to the messenger.
Had he not been compelled by the shortness of the time, Pole
would not have given any positive reply to the Queen until he had
first heard in detail the will and order of his Holiness, whom he
informed, on receipt of the Queen's penultimate letter, that she
then made him the same request; and knowing of the Parliament
which is to commence at Oxford on the 2nd of April,‡ he believes it
to be the cause of the haste evinced by the Queen, when she says
that mora trahit periculum, and that she purposes making use of
these bishops in this Parliament; so that Pole deemed it by no
means expedient to interpose any difficulty or delay in gratifying
her Majesty's pious wish, and giving this commencement of recourse
and submission to the authority of the Pope and the Apostolic Sec.
On the return from England of his messenger, which he hopes may
take place at any rate by Easter, Pole will immediately give notice
to the Pope of the whole.
From St. Denis, the 2nd March 1554.
[Italian.]
* The bracketed paragraph in the register, was to be ciphered in the letter.
+ The letter has not been found.
+ "The Queen intends to keep Easter at Windsor, and immediately thereafter to repair
to Oxford, where she means to hold a Parliament and keep term." (See Foreign Calendar,
22nd February 1554, Westminster, No. 157. The Council to Dr. Wotton, p. 60.)
474
1554.
1554.
March 6.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
V. xxi. p. 90.
March 6.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
863. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That of the moneys destined for ambassadors, 600 golden ducats
be given to the nobleman, Ser Zuan Michiel, ambassador elect
to the Queen of England, on account of his expenses for four
months, and 150 ducats at the rate of 6 livres and 4 "soldi" per
ducat, for the purchase of horses, 30 ducats for coverings and
trunks, 50 ducats as a gift for his Secretary, and 40 ducats for two
couriers, at the rate of 20 ducats each, and also 200 ducats for
couriers, despatch of letters, escorts, guides and safe-conducts.
The treasurer of the Council to pay Michiel's agents on the ex-
piration of three months after his departure from Venice, at the
commencement of the fourth month, 150 golden ducats, namely,
one month's salary, so that he may always have one month in
advance, and thus from month to month.
Ayes, 28. Noes, 0.
Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
864. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That the nobleman Ser Zuan Michiel, ambassador elect to England,
do appear tomorrow morning before the Chiefs of this Council, who
will tell him that as the Emperor, suspects Michiel's predecessor
[Giacomo Soranzo] of having performed some evil office in the
matter of the marriage of the Prince his son, and against the
Spanish nation, the will of the Council is, that Michiel do proceed
with all speed to his legation, so that within the next ten days at
the furthest, he is to depart from Venice and go with all diligence
to his post, keeping secret what will be told him by the Chiefs
aforesaid.
Ayes, 26. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
March 7.
Deliberazioni
Senato(Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 5,
tergo.
865. MOTION made in the SENATE about English News
destined for Constantinople.
The Emperor's Ambassadors went to England to the Queen, and
concluded the marriage between her and the Prince of Spain, the
Emperor confirming it. Some Englishmen, resenting this marriage,
rebelled, as they wished to have a native for their King, and not a
foreigner. Owing to this insurrection, the Ambassadors quitted
London, and returned to Brussels; and the rebels in Kent, with
troops under the command of their leader, Sir Thomas Wyatt,
approached London, hoping for support from the inhabitants, but
they were met by the Queen's soldiery and worsted, Wyatt being
captured and many others taken to London and committed to the
Tower. Some other chiefs of the rebellion were also arrested;
and the Lady Jane Grey, who had heretofore been proclaimed
Queen, and her husband, were beheaded. The Emperor on hearing
of the victory sent an order to Spain for the Prince to come im-
mediately to consummate the marriage, and a number of ships have
been provided for his voyage. His Imperial Majesty has sent back
1554.
475
1554.
March 17.
Lettere Secrete
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 5.
one of the aforesaid Ambassadors to England, and has summoned
(indito) a Diet at Augsburg for the second Easter-week, desiring
the Princes of Germany to attend it in person, and giving out that
he himself also would be there. In Flanders, negotiations were on
foot to obtain from the states of those provinces (li signori delli
paesi di Fiandra) a considerable sum of money. [Cardinal Pole had
arrived at Brussels on his way to England from the Pope to the
Queen, whose near relation he is. It is said that he is sent on
account of the religion, that he will quit Brussels before the end of
February, and that his right reverend Lordship has exhorted the
Emperor in the Pope's name, to make peace with the most Christian
King.]*
Ayes, 86.
[Italian.]
March 27.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 10,
tergo.
866. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.†
Have elected as Ambassador in England the nobleman Ser Zuan
Michiel, who this day departed on his way to his embassy. Have
given him notice of this for his instruction.
Ser Petrus Maurocenus, C.C.X.
Ser Thomas Contarenus, C.C.X.
Ser Hieronimus Grimano, C.C.X.
Lectæ Clmis et Sap.
utr. manus.
[Italian.]
867. COMMISSION from the DOGE and SENATE to GIOVANNI
MICHIEL, Ambassador designate to England.
Have elected him as their Ambassador to reside with the Queen
in the stead of Giacomo Soranzo. On arriving at the court, to
present his credentials to the Queen, and express their congratula-
tions on her accession and on her marriage. To announce his appoint-
ment as Soranzo's successor, offering his services for the maintenance
of the good understanding between the two countries, and recom-
mending to her Majesty the Republic's merchants in England; and
whenever they apply to him (Michiel) for assistance and favour, to
afford it to them.
21
***
If the Prince of Spain, the Queen's Consort, should already be
there, or if not, immediately on his arrival, is to perform every
office with his Highness to convince him of the Signory's observance
towards the Emperor, and of their esteem for his Highness, as also
of their intention to persevere in the friendship existing between
them and his Imperial Majesty.
To present himself to the Councillors and exhibit the Signory's
credentials, addressing each of them in such terms as to assure them
of the affection which the Signory bears their Excellencies; and
after he has remained a few days with his predecessor, and received
from him all due information, they give Soranzo leave to return,
as by the accompanying letter to his address.
* The bracketed passage was ciphered in the despatch, but not in the register.
†The letter to be transcribed in cipher.
476
1554.
1554.
March 27.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 12.
March 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
To visit the other personages of the Court, and the Lords of the
Council, according to their grade and authority, so that in return for
these compliments, they may favour the interests of the Republic
and its merchants.
To visit the Ambassadors of foreign powers at the English Court,
so as to preserve the Signory's friendly relations with their sove-
reigns, taking the same course with regard to the Lords and
personages in attendance on the Prince of Spain. During his
residence at the Court is to use every possible effort to learn its
negotiations and designs (trattatione), and the events of the
kingdom, giving them especial notice of everything day by day.
On his journey to England, should he meet with any Prince or
personage whom he might think it fit to visit for the advantage of
the Signory's affairs, he is not to omit doing so, performing what-
ever office he shall deem becoming, in conformity with their grade
and station.
For his expenses, have appointed him 150 golden ducats per
month, 600 of which to be paid in advance, besides 150 ducats, at
the rate of 6 livres and 4 soldi per ducat, for the purchase of
horses, 30 for trunks and coverings, and 20 for a courier, as usual.
Ayes, 186. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
868. COMMISSION from the DOGE and SENATE to the AMBAS-
SADOR SORANZO in England.
Having granted his request to return home, are sending Zuan
Michiel to reside with the Queen in his stead. To take leave of
her Majesty and return. Are well satisfied with him, and commend
the diligence and prudence which he displayed in such matters as
he had to treat during his legation.
Ayes, 186. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
869. The COUNCIL OF TEN and JUNTA to GIOVANNI MICHIEL,
on his way to England.
Warn him not to go to the courts either of the Emperor or of the
most Christian King, but to proceed to his legation through France,
adroitly avoiding the court, without showing that he does so de-
signedly, or by their order. He is to desire his predecessor to do the
like on his return, and after having read together this letter and its
extract (con l'estratto di esse), they are to burn them in secret, to
prevent their falling into the hands of other persons.
Ayes, 23. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
870. The SAME to the SAME.
March 28.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
Not to interfere in matters not relating to the Signory, save as
File no. 8. regards learning the state of affairs. Not to evince partiality, but
to proceed alike with the ministers, both of the Emperor and of the
most Christian King, so that the one may not suspect him of being
more inclined to the other. In conversation, and in all his other
1554.
477
1554.
April 4.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
acts, to avoid giving cause to any one to suspect or talk as they
have done of late, much to the Signory's displeasure.
Ayes, 23. No, 1. Neutrals, 4.
[Italian.]
871. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DI MONTE.
Wrote to him from St. Denis on the 12th ult.,* announcing his
x.arrival there, and how the King had let him know that on account
of Passion week,† during which he purposed, as usual, abstaining
from any business, Pole should be pleased to delay his coming to
him until after the holidays. Did not think fit to make any
further reply, but as he chanced to have compiled a discourse
(discorso) on this affair of the peace, in order not to lose the occa-
sion and opportunity afforded by the season, he sent it to his Ma-
jesty under cover to the Constable, telling him that as he could
not then have audience of his Majesty in person, he thought he
might confer with him by means of this writing, but referring him-
self to his Excellency, in case he thought fit to give it to the King,
as he wrote back he had done, and that his Majesty had read it
with interest and seemed to be pleased with it, as he himself
indeed subsequently said to Pole. A copy of this discourse ‡ will
be given to Cardinal di Monte with this letter. The Archbishop of
Vienne, who, on hearing of the King's determination about Pole's
going to Fontainebleau, went back [from St. Denis] to the Court,
returned on Good Friday, being sent by his Majesty; so Pole
departed from St. Denis on Easter Monday [26th March], and on the
29th § arrived at Fontainebleau, accompanied by the Cardinal de
Chatillon, who, having been called by the King for this purpose,
joined him near Melun.
He was also met, at his Majesty's desire, by the Duke of Lorraine
and by Mons. de Guise, and by all the other personages of the
Court, and immediately on alighting was taken to the King, who
received him most graciously. After presentation of the papal
brief, and when his Majesty had read it, Pole explained to him the
Pope's great wish for peace between him and the Emperor, owing
to the need of it for Christendom, and for the individual good of
their Majesties; which desire was such that, had he not been pre-
vented by age and indisposition, his Holiness would willingly have
undergone any toil in his own person for this holy purpose; Pole
adding such other words on the subject as seemed fit to him at this
first interview.
The King, in reply, evinced great pleasure at the Pope's paternal
disposition, and also commended Pole, saying in short that for his
own part he was anxious for peace and the common weal. On
taking leave of his Majesty, Pole went to the Queen [Catherine de'
*Not found.
† As the dates of these letters are occasionally transcribed incorrectly, I make note
that in the year 1554, Easter Sunday was on the 25th of March. (See L'Art de Vérifier
les Dates, Table Chronologique, p. 33, ed. Faris, 1770.)
Not found.
§ In Wotton's letter to Sir William Petre, dated Paris, 17th April, Pole is said to have
arrived at Fontainebleau on the 8th April. (See Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, p. 72.)
A
478
1554.
1554.
to
CARDINAL POLE Medici], and after saluting her in the Pope's name, exhorted her to
DIARDINAL perform such good offices as might be anticipated from her piety,
(4th April). which she seemed well-inclined and ready to do.
MONTE.
On the same evening the Constable [Anne de Montmorency]
came to visit Pole, and had a long conversation with him, in which
he commenced by testifying at great length to the good-will and
desire of his most Christian Majesty, entertained and demon-
strated from the commencement, not merely to preserve but to
augment his friendship with the Emperor; and after saying much
in justification of what the King had done, he spoke of himself,
saying that under all circumstances he had ever been desirous
of peace and favourable to it,* mentioning the causes, both public
and private, which then, and now more than ever, induced him
thus to do. Of this Pole showed himself convinced, and said he
was certain that this last war was neither commenced nor well
conducted by his advice, through which, coupled with good
management, the forces of France had shown themselves much
greater than before,† and that his Excellency having been the
chief instrument to the King's honour in the management and
execution of the war, such help was now expected from his pru-
dence and piety, for the conclusion of a good peace, as would
obtain yet greater honour and benefit for his Majesty, and all
Christendom also.
•
The Constable then invited Pole to propose some suitable
arrangement (qualche partito conveniente), offering himself as
ready to assist and favour the business with all his might. Told
him that from the Emperor he had nothing but a testification of
his goodwill in general about the peace, his Majesty having shown
him the demand he made in the time of the former legates, to
which no reply had been given, so he was expecting it, and if it
were such as evinced a disposition to come to some good settlement,
Pole said that in that case the Emperor would show by deeds that
he was not averse to peace; so it merely remained for Pole to
exhort his most Christian Majesty to make such a reply as would
render his good-will intelligible, and serve as a good beginning for
this negociation, instead of preventing it; and he said that as the
Constable was better acquainted than anyone else with all the
particulars of the claims made by these two sovereigns, it seemed
becoming for him to devise and propose some arrangement, reason-
able and acceptable for both parties, in which case Pole would not
fail performing such office as his position required by recommend-
ing to either side such modifications as seemed to him expedient to
facilitate the conclusion of the affair. The Constable, however,
again repeated that Pole was to suggest some specific agreement,
promising that he also would do the like; and as Pole always per-
sisted in the same proposal, Montmorency departed, but seemed
* Esser stato sempre in ogni tempo stato desideroso et fautore della pace.
† E gli dissi che io era certo che questa ultima guerra non era incominciata ne ben
aministrata co'l consiglio suo (sic) mediante il quale con il buon governo insieme le forze
di questo regno se erano mostrate molto maggiori che prima.
Et che essendo stata S. Eccelenza principal instrumento all' honor del Re nel
maneggio et essecutione della guerra,
1554.
479
1554.
CARDINAL POLE satisfied, as he moreover evinced more largely (largamente) when
to CARDINAL talking with the Nuncio, always, however, again inviting them to
DI MONTE.
(4th April). make some specific proposal (qualche particolar propositione).
On the same evening the Cardinal of Lorraine arrived at the
court, and next day came to visit Pole, with whom he remained a
long while, the conversation always relating in like manner to this
affair of the peace, towards which he also seemed well disposed, and
said he felt himself the more bound to promote it, besides other
respects, being a Cardinal and member of the Apostolic See.
On the day before yesterday* Pole was invited to dine with the
King, who, after dinner, gave him a very gracious and leisurely
(commoda) audience, at which Pole told him in detail what he had
negociated with the Emperor and the Bishop of Arras at Brussels,
and the reply they gave him, adding that it was now expected that
his most Christian Majesty, in conformity with the good disposition
evinced by him towards the peace,† should make such reply to the
Emperor's demands, as to give certain testimony to the world of this
his will; Pole having previously said that he would not further
exhort the King to make peace, perceiving that without further
exhortation the Lord God had so well disposed him. His Majesty
in reply again thanked the Pope for this pious office, performed to
effect the peace; and then commenced saying diffusely how much
he had always wished for it, and how from the beginning he had not
only been disposed to abide by the last agreement made by the
King, his father, with the Emperor, but was also content to increase
and augment his friendship with him, to effect which he attempted
by many ways, some of which he narrated to Pole; but as they were
not accepted, and as it did not appear that the Emperor ever held
his friendship in account, an opportunity for war occurring sub-
sequently, the peace was broken. And the King declared that it
was not by his fault, nor because he had given cause for it, but that
he entered upon this war provoked (spinto) by these causes, nor at
present has he reason to wish for peace, but rather for the war's
progress; and of what sort that progress has been the King said
was well known; notwithstanding which, on account of the common
weal, he will always be ready to make peace, provided he sees
reciprocity on the other side, and that fair terms be proposed tending
to this end.
The King said all this very civilly (con molto bel modo), and with
great moderation (e con gran modestia), never making any mention
of the Emperor, save in honourable terms; and he also said that
between himself and the Emperor there had not occurred those
particular causes for enmity, which arose between the King, his
father, and the Emperor, and made them even challenge each other;
and that he himself has always esteemed the Emperor, with whom
he was and is ready to form the best possible friendship (ogni buona
amicitia), nor on his part will he fail to prove this by deeds. And
* "Non heri, l' altro." In the 16th and 17th centuries; the Italians thus expressed
"the day before yesterday "-" Not yesterday, the day before." Cardinal Pole dined with
Henry II. of France on the 2nd of April 1554.
+ † Con dirli poi che hora si aspettava che Sua Maestà in conformità del bon animo et
dispositione che ella mostra alla pace facese tal risposta alle domande dell' Imperatore che
havesse a dar certo testimonio a tutto il mondo de questa sua voluntà.
480
1554.
1554.
CARDINAL POLE with regard to replying to the Emperor's proposal, made through the
to CARDINAL Cardinal of Imola, as Pole requested, he said in the first place that
was done at the time, but that he might speak about it to the
Cardinal of Lorraine and the Constable, who would explain the
King's mind more fully to him, repeating again, and confirming, his
good disposition towards peace.
On the morrow, which was yesterday, these two personages came
to Pole, and the first to speak was the Cardinal of Lorraine, whose
discourse was a mere introduction, he referring himself to the
Constable, to whom he deferred both on account of his age and
authority, and because his Excellency had the chief charge of these
affairs. At the commencement of his discourse, the Constable
expatiated even more than he had done the first time on the King's
goodwill and inclination towards the peace, and then justified
more in detail the cause of the war, by showing that the King had
been compelled to enter upon it, repeating more distinctly what
the King and his Excellency had told Pole previously. He also
confirmed their goodwill towards peace; but with regard to the
point of the reply which remained to be given, he said in the first
place that it had been already delivered, alleging both time, place,
and form. And having brought with him the Emperor's identical
proposal, he requested the Nuncio, who was present, (and very
opportunely assisted Pole, as he had done previously during the
negociation,) to read it; and thus in the course of perusal the
Constable purposed answering article by article, which Pole sought
adroitly to prevent, by inviting the Nuncio to continue the read-
ing, so as subsequently to obtain a more positive and coherent (più
resoluta et unità) reply in writing to all the articles together, and
not merely by word of mouth, as he feared they intended doing.
DI MONTE.
(4th April).
When the writing had been read, the Constable again said that
there was no occasion to make any further reply; to which Pole
rejoined, showing on the contrary that it was necessary both to
reply and to make the answer in such a form as to render manifest
to everybody the goodwill of his Majesty. This Pole urged to
the utmost, setting forth to them what he had negociated with the
Bishop of Arras, from whom he had endeavoured to obtain [the
assurance] of some intention, which might give hope of being able
to modify their proposal in such parts as needful (che fussero con-
venienti), and in conformity with the answer made to him by their
Lordships; coming to the conclusion that it was for France to make
this modification, and that the reply to be given them would prove
consistent, provided they proposed reasonable terms, and showed
that on this side they had really the wish to make a good and
lasting peace.
*
Pole, therefore, repeated that it was necessary to make a fresh reply,
and such as to testify the goodwill both of the King and of their
Lordships; about which they at length said they would speak again
to the King, and that they hoped in this respect Pole would be
satisfied.
* Concludendo chè a questa parte toccava la detta modificatione, et chè all' hora così
responderiano, quando si proponessero cose che havessero del ragionevole e che dimo-
strassero che dal canto di qua, se havesse veramente voglia de far una buona et stabil pace.
1554.
481
}
1554.
CARDINAL POLE
His secretary, Fiordibello, whom he left at Brussels with orders
to CARDINAL to await the Nuncio's arrival, and to follow after his first audience
DI
(4th April.) of the Emperor, has brought him the Pope's brief, addressed to the
Queen of England, together with Cardinal di Monte's letters
of the 28th February in reply to Pole's of the 28th January and
12th February. Pole hopes that the missing packet about which
the Cardinal writes will have arrived subsequently, and that he will
also have received the last letters which Pole wrote, on his departure
from Brussels, and from St. Denis.
On the second day after his arrival at Fontainebleau, there made
his appearance unexpectedly, one of the sons of his sister* [Ursula],
who has allowed himself to be induced by evil counsel to quit
England, with his brother-in-law and another gentleman, solely on
account of dissatisfaction at this marriage made by the Queen (per
la mal contenteza de questo matrimonio della Regina); and he
had the audacity to present himself to Pole, who, on hearing the
cause of his departure, expelled him his presence instantly (subito
lo scacciai da me), desiring his (Pole's) attendants not to associate
with him. This circumstance has greatly displeased Pole on many
accounts.
This evening, the King sent to Pole, by one of the Royal secre-
taries, a certain writing in reply to the Emperor's proposal, of
rather an irritating tenour than otherwise (più tosto irritativa che
altramente), and which he will transmit in a few days by a mes-
senger express, acquainting the Pope at the same time with what
little else he may be able to elicit from the King, of whom he is to
have audience tomorrow preparatory to his (Pole's) departure; and
at any rate, he has determined that the best thing for him to do is
to proceed towards Brussels, should the French ministry say nothing
to the contrary, without sending any other messenger in advance,
save on arriving at Cambrai, with the intention of making a final
effort, if possible, to bring the negociation to some commencement
with one side and the other, avoiding to the utmost all cause for
mental irritation.
Next Sunday, the 8th (God willing), Pole purposes making his
public entry into Paris, being invited thus to do in the name of his
Majesty, who also chooses him to publish the jubilee; and they also,
with all courtesy, invite him to make use of his powers (facultà),
offering to have them published; and on the morrow he will set out
for Brussels, where he hopes to arrive before the 20th instant.
Having written thus far yesterday evening, he went this
morning to take leave of the King, from whom, although he used
every endeavour, he was unable to obtain any of the points
(particolari) desired by him, as he will acquaint the Pope in detail
by the messenger to be sent hereafter; and, in the meanwhile,
he humbly kisses Cardinal di Monte's hand, requesting him, with
due reverence, to kiss in his name his Holiness's feet.
From Fontainebleau, 4th April 1554.
[Italian.]
* Query, Robert or Thomas Stafford, sons of Ursula Pole, by her husband, William
Lord Stafford. (See Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, Index and pp. 69 and 79, Nos. 177
and 198.)
5.
H H
482
1554.
1554.
April 4.
MS. St. Mark's
872. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MORONE.
“Our” Fiordibello brought him Cardinal Morone's letter of the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.28th February, written in reply to several of Pole, and together
Library,
with it was the supplementary brief for the powers (facultà) to
confirm the Bishops and perform other necessary acts in England,
concerning which he will say nothing further, referring himself to
what Ormanetto is writing to Messer Giovanni Francesco. Will
continue to follow the prudent and loving suggestion of Cardinal
Morone about writing to the Palace; and thanks him much for the
affection demonstrated as usual in his favour in this and all other
matters. Subsequently, on his way hither to the Court, he received
Cardinal Morone's other letters, dated 19th March, giving advice of
the receipt of all his other letters written from Brussels.
Returns thanks to Cardinal Morone, for the office performed with
his Holiness on account of his appointments (mei provisioni), praying
him to kiss the Pope's feet in his name for his Holiness's gracious-
ness in providing for his need even by extraordinary means.
Has
availed himself of the very prudent suggestions of Cardinal Morone
with regard to the most Christian King and the French Ministry, in
proposing and treating the affair of the peace, concerning which he
will say nothing more, as, together with the present letter, he is
sending him a copy of what he writes to Cardinal di Monte, and
of the reply given to Pole by his most Christian Majesty,* which
he will send to Brussels.
April 5.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xxi. p. 99.
The coming of Pole's nephew to Fontainebleau has greatly troubled
him, and he would have felt it still more had not the Almighty in
this matter, as in everything else, not disdained to comfort him
through the faith which he has in His divine providence, whereby
it was ordained that, when he left Dillingen to go to England, Pole
determined not to give him any letter of recommendation, either
to the Queen or to others.† As Pole has to return to Brussels
about this affair of the peace, he would think it very desirable for
the Nuncio in France not to depart, Pole, as stated, having found
him very adroit, and an able instrument to negotiate with his
Majesty and the French Ministry (et con questi altri Signori).
This Pole mentions, having heard that the Pope seems to purpose
sending another in his stead; and therefore he notifies this his
opinion to Cardinal Morone, that he may speak about it to his
Holiness.
From Fontainebleau, 4th April 1554.
[Italian.]
873. EMBASSY to ENGLAND.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta.
That out of the moneys appointed for ambassadors 250 ducats be
paid to the nobleman Ser Lorenzo Soranzo, son of Ser Francesco, on
account of moneys disbursed by his brother Ser Jacomo Soranzo,
*Not found.
† By Pole's letters from Dillingen, dated 20th and 22nd October, it appears that the
nephew then in his company was Thomas Stafford.
<
1554.
1554.
April 8.
MS. St. Mark's
483
knight, the Signory's ambassador in England, for carriage of letters,
fees to couriers, and other expenses.
Ayes, 24. No, 1. Neutrals, 2.
His father, Ser Francesco, member of the Junta, withdrew.
[Italian.]
April 6.
C
874. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
The ambassador of the Queen of England has been recalled from
v. lxix. p. 14. Brussels by her Majesty, as she purposes sending him with other per-
sonages to Spain to the Prince the Emperor's son, the English advices.
stating that these personages were to depart immediately.* The
Prince will come speedily to consummate his marriage with the
Queen, and the French are fitting out and arming ships and other
vessels in several places off the coast of Brittany, along which the
Prince will pass, and they are mustering a large number of infantry
in those parts, and according to report the Marquis of Brandenburg
has entered the service of the most Christian King.
Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
Ayes, 169.
[Italian.]
875. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Deems it his duty to give the Pope a more particular account of
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. all that has passed hitherto, both in the matter of the negociation
Library,
about England as also about that of the peace, than can be trans-
mitted by letter. For this purpose, has made choice of the gentle-
man the bearer of these credentials,† of whose good and rare qualities
the Pope will have heard from Pole's agent, and Pole himself has
had experience of him. Beseeches the Pope to give the messenger
full credence for whatever he shall announce in Pole's name, and to
acquaint him subsequently with his Holiness's pleasure with regard
to the doubts raised by Pole.
From Paris, 8th April 1554.
[Italian.]
April 20.
876. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL DI MONTE.
His last, dated the 10th from St. Denis, were sent through Dr.
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.Chizzola, and previously from Fontainebleau he wrote an account to
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cardinal di Monte of all his negociations at the French Court; and
then continuing his journey back to Brussels, was met three days
before his arrival by some gentlemen in the service of the Queen of
Hungary, and afterwards by that same Mons. Adambri (sic) who
accompanied him on his way towards France. Then on his arrival,
which took place yesterday, he was met, according to the Emperor's
order, by the Duke of Savoy and the Bishop of Arras, who were
also accompanied by Don Ferrante [Gonzaga], he having arrived at
Brussels two days previously.
* John Earl of Bedford, Lord Privy Seal, and Thomas Viscount Fitzwalter were at the
Groyne on the 18th April 1554, and possibly were accompanied by Sir John Masone, who
was ambassador at Brussels on the 28th November 1553. (See Mr. Turnbull's Calendar,
pp. 32, 74.)
† It is seen by subsequent letters, that the gentleman was Dr. Chizzola, who afterwards
accompanied Cardinal Pole to England.
HH 2
484
1554.
1554.
April 22.
MS. St. Mark's
Pole expects to have speedy audience of the Emperor, and will
give full notice of the whole to the Pope either by letter or by a
messenger express.
From Brussels, 20th April 1554.
[Italian.]
877. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
By Dr. Chizzola, who was despatched on Pole's departure from
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.St. Denis, he gave the Pope full information both of the affairs of
Library,
England and of the peace, and his Holiness will have seen in writ-
ing the reply given him in the King's name. Having arrived at
Brussels on the 19th, as he wrote to Cardinal di Monte, he yester-
day, the 21st, had audience of the Emperor, to whom he narrated as
delicately as he could the result of his negociations in France, and
the reply which was at length given him, endeavouring to mitigate
it to the utmost, but without exhibiting the written document.
In conclusion, Pole said he returned the more willingly to his
Majesty, knowing that his stay in France might have been some-
what injurious to the quiet of England, concerning which matter he
mentioned the coming of several Englishmen to France, including
even his own nephew, and all that it had behoved him to say and
do in this case.
The Emperor, in reply, did not seem to receive this proposal from
the King in a way to give hope of what is desired, showing that
he did not in the least believe that the French were acting sincerely.
As Pole had stated to him how the King said he had never been
otherwise than inclined to remain united with his Imperial Majesty,
and that he had several times endeavoured to link himself more
closely with him, but the wish not being reciprocated he was at
length compelled to proceed to hostilities, yet was he not, nor
should he ever be otherwise than inclined to this amity, most
especially as between them there never had been those causes for
enmity which arose between the Emperor and his most Christian
Majesty's father; to this the Emperor replied, that of yore from
the King his father he had not in the course of many years received
so many and such grievous injuries as King Henry had done him
within a brief period. In short, he said nothing to indicate his
approval of Pole's return, and the regard which he had evinced for
the affairs of England by coming back to Brussels, but remarked
that as Pole was unable to do anything further it would have
been better for him to remain in France, or should that have
appeared to him unbecoming for the above-mentioned reason, which
his Majesty seemed to hold in account, that he should "have gone
on his way,
"* which were his precise words; and this they say
suspecting that Pole's return may subject the Emperor to some
reproof.†
* "Che io fosse andato di longo le quali furno le sue formali parole." Meaning that
Cardinal Pole should have returned to Rome. (See also Pallavicino, Istoria del Concilio
di Trento, vol. iii. p. 297, ed. Faenza, 1793.)
† E ciò dicono, dubitando che questa mia tornata potesse esser occasione de qualche
suo incarico.
1554.
485
1554.
Pole concluded by praying the Emperor of his piety and prudence
to ponder the whole affair better, and not to lose the opportunity
for doing that good towards which he is disposed; and with this he
took leave of his Majesty.
Had thought it would be well for the Nuncio to go to the Bishop
of Arras to perform such good offices as possible with him, but the
Nuncio chancing to be present when the Bishop visited Pole, who
commenced talking to him about what he had already discussed
with the Emperor, the Bishop interrupted him, saying it was un-
necessary to make further repetition, as his Majesty had acquainted
him with the whole, and that by no means could any other reply
be expected than the one already given him. To acquaint the
Pope with the whole more commodiously than he could by letter,
he has thought it well to send him his auditor, Messer Nicolo
Ormanetto, who knows every particular, and to whom he requests
the Pope to give the same credence as he would to Pole himself.
From Brussels, 22nd April 1554.
[Italian.]
April 26.
MS. St. Mark's
April 24.
878. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
The Pope will be fully acquainted with everything by Pole's
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.auditor, so he has nothing else to say to his Holiness save to beseech
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
him not to have the slightest scruple with regard to Pole himself
individually, and to remain very sure that he will be most perfectly
satisfied with whatever the Pope shall be pleased to command him;
and he has been induced to write this letter fearing lest his Holi-
ness's great graciousness might cause him to do otherwise, which on
no account would Pole wish; and he humbly kisses the Pope's most
holy feet.
From Brussels, 24th April 1554.
[Italian.]
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
879. CARDINAL POLE to MONSIGNOR SANTA CROCE, Nuncio
in France.
Arrived at Brussels on the 19th instant, and on the 21st had
audience of the Emperor, to whom he narrated the summary of
what he had negotiated in the Pope's name with his most Christian
Majesty, and what he had brought back. Although Pole did not
fail to make the statement in such form as seemed to him most expe-
dient to obtain the result desired for the common weal, yet could
he not comprehend from the Emperor's words that there is either
desire or hope for any negotiation about the matter of the peace.
So perceiving that for the present he can do nothing, he acquainted
the Pope with the whole and awaits his orders, not ceasing to pray
God to point out the means, which man cannot discover, for pacifying
these two great sovereigns for the consolation and safety of Christen-
dom. Subsequently, Pole caused the written reply which he brought
with him to be delivered to the Bishop of Arras, from whom he has
heard nothing further; and this he notifies to the Nuncio, that he
may no longer remain in suspense, and that it may be communicated
486
1554.
1554.
May 22.
Original
despatch.
Venetian
Archives.
to his most Christian Majesty and the other personages of the French
Court.
From Brussels, 26th April 1554.
[Italian.]
May 11.
Original
despatch.
Venetian
The Papal Nuncio here received letters lately from the Right Rev.
Archives. Legate [Cardinal Pole], dated [Brussels ?] 27th ult., whereby it is
understood that Pole having had audience of the Emperor, to whom
he announced what he brought back from this court, his Majesty
replied that, as the King held out for honour (stava su 'l honorevole),
and made the great demands notified by me to your Serenity,
the Emperor would make no further reply, save that both parties
should attend to their interests, and that he would not make any
agreement with the King, unless to his own honour, he having no
fear whatever of French bravadoes (de bravate de Francesi). So
the Nuncio having sent the identical letters of Cardinal Pole to the
Constable for communication to the most Christian King, his
Excellency said to their bearer that in a short while his Majesty's
forces would be in such order as to enable the Emperor to ascertain
whether they will be bravadoes or not; and to say the truth, since
the receipt of this intelligence they seem here to be hastening their
military preparations.
880. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
The Portuguese ambassador has news from Lisbon that the
Princess, the Emperor's daughter [Joanna of Austria], was to leave
Lisbon on the 6th instant for Valladolid, where she was to reside
as Governess of Spain during the absence of her brother the Prince,
he being still in that city, with the intention of going postwise to
meet her; then proceeding straight to Coruña to embark at the end
of this month on board the Fleet, and cross over to England together
with 6,000 Spanish infantry, who, he says, are ready to embark ; and
that the English ambassadors had arrived at Bilbao;* and at
this court it is said that the English Parliament had decreed that
those who spoke against this marriage should incur the penalty of
rebellion (che quelli che parlassero contra questo matrimonio
cadessero in penna (sic) di ribellione).
Two days before I left Paris, the noble Zuam Michiel, destined
by your Serenity to represent the Republic in England, arrived
there; he continued his journey by the speediest and shortest road.
Compiegne, 11th May 1554.
[Italian.]
881. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
At the close of my conversation with the Constable [Anne de
Montmorency], he told me he understood the Emperor was going
* By the Foreign Calendar, date 18 April 1554, p. 74, No. 188, it is seen that John
Earl of Bedford Lord Privy Seal and Thomas Viscount Fitzwalter, landed not at Bilbao,
but at Coruña.
1554.
1554.
487
to Bruges, where some persons said he would be joined by
the Prince of Spain, together with the Queen of England, for the
consummation of the marriage in that place, which did not seem
credible, seeing that the Queen of England scarcely ventured to go
out of London, wherefore she would not absent herself from the
realm, there being apprehension of some fresh tumult; but should
the Emperor move to Bruges, it would be for the additional support
of his interests in England (per dar più favore alle cose sue in
Inghilterra), and to render the Queen as secure as he could. The
Queen, by the advice of the Bishop of Winchester, caused divers
persons to beheaded daily, of which fate her own sister ran great
risk, having been a close prisoner for many days, though she is now
understood to have been set somewhat more at liberty; and the
Emperor, to secure England for his family, in case no children be
born to the Queen, was negotiating the marriage of her sister
aforesaid, to the Archduke of Austria [Ferdinand], son of the most
Serene King of the Romans; and as to Courtenay, it was supposed
he would be soon put to death; and were the right Rev. Cardinal
Pole to go to England, the Constable believed the like would
be done by him, so that no one who could lay claim to that crown
might remain alive. ("La quale per il medesimo effetto di sicurarsi
meglio che può in quel Regno, col consiglio del Vescovo di Vincestre
fa tagliare ogni di molte teste a diverse persone, del che la istessa
soa sorella ne è stata in pericolo grande, essendo sta tenuta in gran
stretta molti giorni, ma al presente si intendeva, che è alquanto
allargata, et che l'Imperator per sicurarsi che quel Regno resti
nella Casa soa, in caso che non nascessero figlioli della detta
Regina, trattava di maritare la predetta soa sorella nell' Arciduca
d'Austria figliuolo del Serenmo. Re de Romani; et a quanto a
Cortené si giudicava che questo sarebbe fatto morire; et che si
per sorte il Revmo. Cardl. Polo andasse in Inghilterra, soa Eccel-
ienza credeva che il medesimo sarebbe fatto a lui, perchè non
restasse in vita più alcuno che possi pretender a quella Corona.")
Compiegne, 22nd May 1554.
[Italian.]
May 25.
882. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MORONE.
Library,
MS. St. Mark's Has received his very long autograph letter, so that he cannot
Cod. xxiv. cl. x.but thank him greatly in the first place for this labour of love,
Printed in vol. 4.although their friendship is such as not to require a similar office.
66
Epistolarum Perceives to his very great regret what Morone tells him about
Reginaldi Poli,"
etc. pp. 138-148. the dissatisfaction which the Pope felt in consequence of certain
advices given him by the Nuncio,* who, by a courier despatched
from Brussels on the day of Pole's audience of the Emperor, wrote
that his Majesty disapproved of his return. This news seemed the
more distressing, as from the "Report" of Dr. Chizzola hopes had
arisen of the total restoration (reduttione) of the realm of England
to the union and obedience of the Church, there being also some
idea of the possibility of commencing a negotiation for peace
* This Nuncio was the Dominican Fra Girolamo Muzzarelli. (See Pallavicino, vol. iii.
p. 296.)
488
1554.
1554.
MORONE.
(25th May.)
CARDINAL POLE between these princes, about which the Pope spoke in consistory,
to CARDINAL thus rendering his own joy universal, and gave orders for fresh
thanksgivings. Morone then adds, " Sed ecce mutata sunt omnia,”
by reason of the Nuncio's advices, which contained nothing but
what could be known at the time, namely, that Pole's return
had not been agreeable to the Emperor. Cannot comprehend how
any of the news brought by Chizzola could be contradicted on
this account, as it was all based not on words but on facts, such as
the Queen's autograph letter to the Pope, the Bishops' proxies
(procure), together with all the other advices from England authen-
tically proved, so that for the desired conclusion of the total
restoration of the realm to the obedience of the Church, nothing
remained but the restoration (la reduttione) of the Church pro-
perty as demanded by the Pope, although by the last letter written
to Pole on the subject by the Bishop of Winchester (da Mons.
Vintoniense), which Chizzola took with him, no hope whatever
could be had that this restoration would be made in the last session
of Parliament (nel Parlamento ulto finito); neither does Pole see
any change to the contrary, with regard to what Chizzola brought
and narrated about the disposition (animo) evinced by the King,
concerning the affair of the peace.
Although the Emperor did not subsequently demonstrate satisfac-
tion at Pole's return, yet does he not see, most especially with regard
to the matter of England, that this indicates such great change,
the dissatisfaction relating not to the cause, but to Pole himself
individually (ma alla persona mia propria). So should it be deemed
that he is so connected with the cause, that by removing the cause
would suffer, and he would thus displease the Pope, whereas a
remedy might be applied by removing certain umbrage taken by the
Emperor, and that this is in great part in Pole's power, Cardinal
Morone may rest assured that Pole would rather die than fail to do
his utmost to relieve the Pope from any anxiety.
This is the warning given to Pole by Morone in the rest of his
letter, coupled with suggestions for the attainment of this end;
touching which, what Pole might be able to effect will be more
intelligible to Morone when he shall have heard what part of his
suggestions Pole has already adopted. For instance, Morone, wish-
ing to explain the causes which might have made the Emperor
doubt his sincerity about the affair of the marriage, considers that
one of them was Pole's habitual silence (taciturnità), and lack of
such demonstration of joy as the circumstance required; wherefore
Morone exhorts him to remedy this, by doing the contrary both in
public and private, saying that this would be the sole remedy to
remove every sort of umbrage.
*
Believes that he heretofore, by letter, assigned reasons to Morone,
which in Pole's opinion might acquit him with every one, of not
having been well satisfied with this marriage,* but he does not
deny that whilst at Dillingen,† he abstained from speaking about
* Che al parer mio potria giustificarmi in questa parte, apresso ogn' uno che havesse
opinione che non fusse ben contento di questo matrimonio.
† From the middle of October 1553 until January 1554,
1554.
489
1554.
MORONE.
CARDINAL POLE this matter, although it was publicly discussed by everybody; and
to CARDINAL that when writing, and at several times sending messengers to the
(25th May.) Queen, even when the marriage was supposed to be concluded, he
nevertheless did not write to her on the subject, neither did he give
any opportunity for speaking about it. He acted thus, because it did
not seem to him, in conformity with modesty nor expedient for the
benefit of the chief cause of the religion which he had in hand, to
speak about such a thing, before the person whom it concerned had
either asked his opinion or given him any hint of it. But subse-
quently, on his arrival at Brussels, the Queen, by means of her
ambassadors, caused him to be spoken to about the marriage, and
informed of the reason which induced her to make it, saying that it
was solely from her wish to be enabled perfectly to reform and
establish the affairs of the religion through the union (congiontione)
with so powerful and Catholic a Prince, and simultaneously to
give the entire realm some consolation from the hope of her having
.
*
a successor.
Thereupon, Pole thought it was the fitting moment to speak about
the marriage, as he did, saying that these were the true means, and
that her Majesty being induced to make it for such an end, it might
be said that she did not marry of her own will, but that in fact God
united her; for the auspicious result of which union Pole would
always pray, offering to serve their Majesties in what he could to
that effect; adding many other words of this tenour, and making
as it were a public speech. Morone was also informed of what Pole
said in conformity with this to the Emperor at his first audience,
moved by what Morone had written to him on the subject according
to the Pope's order, announcing his Holiness's joy at this marriage,
and then saying the same with regard to himself, offering his
services, &c.
From that time to this, Pole, when speaking with the personages
of the Imperial Court, and with the ambassadors sent thither from
England, has never allowed any opportunity to escape for very
clearly expressing his goodwill in this matter; nor has he failed
subsequently to do the like with the Queen by letters, and by
means of the messengers whom he had occasion to send to her.
All this he did before his departure from France; and the Divine
Providence, to prevent any suspicion and dispel all umbrage from
the Emperor's. mind, foreseeing perhaps that no verbal evidences
would suffice for the purpose, as it may be always said they are
words, as are writings also, afforded him the opportunity of giving
testimony of his mind by deed,-which opportunity was such that
had he opened his breast he could not have more clearly shown the
sincerity of his heart,―rebuking his nephew [Thomas Stafford] and
expelling him his house in the way he did, without even choosing to
see certain letters which he wished to give Pole from malcontents
as impassioned as his nephew himself; and Pole subsequently spoke
to the King, exhorting him not to give ear to similar persons and
proposals. From this mode of proceeding, bearing in mind the time
* Et per dar insieme a tutto il regno qualche consolatione della successione sua.
490
1554.
1554.
MORONE.
CARDINAL POLE and place and the Prince, who perhaps heretofore, for similar causes,
to CARDINAL Would have wished Pole to have visited his kingdom before going
(25th May.) to the Low Countries, and by his departing immediately after this*
those persons who consider all these circumstances, may, he believes,
see that he could give neither a greater nor a surer pledge of his
goodwill, so that had any umbrage remained, it would all have
been removed by this act alone, on account of which, had nothing
else come of it, he expected that his return to Brussels would have
been most acceptable; and he also purposed continuing to testify his
goodwill by words as he best might.
On hearing that the Parliament had concluded nothing further
about the return of the kingdom to the obedience, he did not write
to the Queen, not choosing to distress her by complaining of this
delay, as he interpreted and understood it to proceed less from her
than from the Providence of God, who had ordained that in like
manner as by the matrimonial discord of an English King and of a
Spanish Queen, the obedience of the Church was abolished (levata)
by that kingdom, so by the matrimonial concord of a Spanish
King and of an English Queen was it to return. Pole, therefore,
prayed God for the speedy and auspicious coming of the Prince, nor
does he doubt but that in the next Parliament holden the first
act will decree the return of the realm to the obedience of the
Church, as the foundation of all the good which may be expected
from a King and Queen who are so Catholic.
Wrote this in his last letters to her Majesty, and argues in the
same strain with everybody; and to those who, because the King is a
foreigner, seem dissatisfied with this marriage, he is accustomed to say
that God wills to deceive the English (for their consolation) with this
foreign King, in like manner as they deceived themselves-to the
offence of God, and so much to their own public and private detriment
-in King Henry, in whom they had placed their whole hope of worldly
felicity; and that in like manner as for trusting too much in that
Prince and forgetting God, they were so chastised that no hostile
foreign Prince could have punished them more severely, so at
present, when apprehensive of losing all consolation by having a
foreign King, they, if they obey God, will be deceived to their
advantage, finding greater consolation in him than could be expected
by them from any native sovereign. Thus does Pole converse and
reason with everybody, be they satisfied or dissatisfied, and makes
himself, as it were, a prophet for the purpose of soothing those
who are irritated, and confirming the bias of the well disposed as
much as he can by words; and if this be not sufficient to remove all
umbrage, he knows not what more he can do; and any further step
would make him suspect himself of affectation, of which he is by
nature very abhorrent,† and render him less persuasive than he wishes
to be; notwithstanding which, should any better means be suggested
to him, he has not the slightest objection to carry them into effect,
having no scruples of conscience whatever; and this he says before
*This somewhat obscure passage is explained by a subsequent paragraph.
† Et ogni passo che andasse più oltra dubitarei de haver dell' affettato dal che per
natura Io sono assai ad (sic) horrente.
1554.
491
1554.
to CARDINAL
MORONE.
(25th May.)
CARDINAL POLE God, and, although at the commencement this marriage-case seemed
to him a disputable problem-in utramque partem whether advan-
tageous for the parties or not, it appearing to him of more doubtful
profit to the Prince than to the Queen-nevertheless, now that it is
concluded, he accepts this marriage as a fixed article (un articolo
fermo) of the providence of God-who alone may gainsay it-and
all Pole's deeds and words have been in conformity with this
precept.
This will suffice in reply to Morone's exhortations, that Pole
should endeavour to remove from the Emperor's mind any umbrage
conceived by him with regard to this marriage, nor can he see that
his Majesty could have any other umbrage or other cause for taking
offence, either on account of this his return from France, or for
what he negotiated; there being two most cogent reasons for his
return, for one of which he deserved to be thanked, and his Im-
perial Majesty, moreover, seemed to approve and be gratified by it,
namely, that he returned the more willingly to Brussels, to avoid
the concourse of those opponents of the marriage who went over to
France. Although he gave them no harbour (ricapito), and was
moreover contrary to them, the mere report of his remaining in
France might nevertheless have encouraged many persons in
England to depart thence (not being distinctly acquainted with his
opinions), as several did, during his brief stay in the French terri-
tory. So that by his departure, depriving every one of any hope in
him, he did service both to the Queen and to the Emperor, and
showed how much he desired the quiet of England, and failed not,
at the risk of offending the most Christian King and others, to per-
form such offices, as he did, departing immediately afterwards; and
had there been no other cause, this would have amply sufficed to
justify his departure from France.
Concerning the matter of the peace Morone has heard everything,
and seen the King's reply, which is made in such a way that the
Emperor having predetermined to make either war or peace might
take just occasion from that writing to do either one or the other,
for should he wish to make war he may take the opportunity from
the exaggerated demands made in the first part of the writing, and
if he intends to make peace the last part opens the road for him to
commence negotiations, most especially as Pole narrated what had
been said to him verbally on the subject by the French ministry; so
that had he been the most astute man in the world, and his sole
object that of serving the Emperor, he could not have done better
than the occasion caused him to do, without astuteness of any sort.
Should the Pope be of opinion, as Morone writes, that Pole has
not given any just cause of offence, he may be yet more confirmed
in it on learning more in detail how matters passed; and as Morone
says that Pole's silence might have caused his nephew [Thomas
Stafford] to believe and tell others that he, Pole, was not well
satisfied with this marriage, he chooses Morone to learn the oppor-
tunity granted him by the Almighty at Dillengen for proving quite
the contrary, for whilst there his said nephew having in the pre-
sence of others uttered certain words evincing great displeasure that
492
1554.
1554.
*
MORONE.
CARDINAL POLE the Queen should marry a foreigner, Pole reproved him sharply,
to CARDINAL and for this reason would by no means allow of his then going to
England, but as he nevertheless chose to go contrary to Pole's
opinion, he would not write to the Queen or others in recommen-
dation of him, nor allow any of the rest of his retinue (ne lasciar
che altri mei) to make mention of him in England.
(25th May.)
It remains for Pole to answer the last part of Morone's letter,
where he endeavours to remove the suspicion which he supposes
Pole to entertain that the Emperor is offended with him, so that he
wishes to be recalled, Morone showing that Pole was deceived in
the chief suspicion, based on the sudden departure of that courier,
which mistake has given him pleasure. But if Morone will con-
sider the words said to him about his return, first of all by the
Emperor, and the mode of discourse subsequently held with him by
the Bishop of Arras, and what he afterwards said still more openly
to the Nuncio, Morone will perceive that if they did not choose to
have recourse to the cudgel and drive him away, it was impossible
for their language to be more violent, and had he not taken it in
this sense he would have shown himself to be little more than a
stone. Will not repeat the words, knowing that Morone will have
heard the whole [from the Nuncio]† and from Ormanetto; but to
tell him the thing as it is, neither the Emperor's language nor that
of the Bishop of Arras caused him to suspect them of seeking his
recall, but the Nuncio, with good reason, was the first to draw this
inference, from the sudden departure of the courier; and as notwith-
standing all this, Pole could not convince himself thoroughly of the
fact, he requested the Nuncio to speak with the Bishop of Arras to
ascertain better the Emperor's mind, as he did, and on hearing what
Morone knows, it then seemed to Pole that both one and the other
of them had just cause to think that these Imperialists (questi
Signori) were determined he should not remain in those parts.
Morone is not, however, to suppose that Pole failed to bear in
mind his hint, that the Emperor, if from no other cause, at least on
account of his own honour, when he heard what Pole brought from
France, could not but show himself dissatisfied, and that this dis-
satisfaction did not arise on account of Pole individually, but by
reason of this reply. Such was Pole's interpretation also; in proof
of which although he knew of the departure of the courier he would
not write until he heard further, solely to avoid saddening the
Pope, until more convinced by deeper investigation of the basis
and root of the matter. But when he heard the words uttered
by the Bishop of Arras, considering at the same time all that had
been said and done by the Emperor from the commencement of his
legation down to the present time, as also the sudden departure
of this courier, Pole inferred that this resolve was positive, and that
* Havendo esso mio nepote detto alcune parole in presentia di altri per le quale mostrava
gran despiacere che la Regina fusse per maritarsi in un forastiero, io lo rebuffai acer-
bamente.
In the printed version (vol. iv. p. 144, last line) "mostrava grandissimo piacere." The
mistake is a very gross one, and vitiates the sense of the whole letter, which is one of the
most interesting in the collection.
† As in vol. iv. Epist. etc., p. 146.
1554.
493
1554.
MORONE.
CARDINAL POLE the Pope to avoid distressing him (as he might apprehend, knowing
to CARDINAL his gracious nature) was induced to retract his assurance ;* and
(25th May.) thereupon, despairing of any good result, Pole determined to write
and beseech his Holiness not to have the slightest regard in this
case for him personally, but solely to consider the cause and the
satisfaction of the Emperor, without which there was no hope of
doing anything.
Morone will thus see whence Pole's request proceeded, not from
any wish for repose nor from any other motive, but merely that his
Holiness might be better served, seeing that in this matter for one
reason or another (per qual rispetto si voglia) Pole was personally
disagreeable to this sovereign; and if in this respect he had deceived
himself, and if his Majesty shows himself averse to him, as hinted by
Morone, merely on the point of honour, most especially considering
what he said to him at the time that as to Pole's goodwill towards
him he was very sure of it (considerando massimamente quel che
sua Mtà. mi disse al hora, che quanto al animo mio verso Lei ella
era sicurissima),† but that Pole's return to Brussels was a great
affront to him; Pole leaves this and everything else relating to him-
self and the negotiation, to the very prudent judgment of his Holi-
ness after he shall have seen Pole's letters, and heard Ormanetto's
Relation," considering also what may have been conjectured sub-
sequently to the contrary, namely, that the Emperor would perhaps
not dislike Pole's remaining at Brussels, owing to some new idea.
formed by them on the subject, and from what the Queen caused
to be said to his messenger, of which Pole's Messer Gio. Francesco‡
will give the Pope account.
((
Morone will see that such is the state of the case; nor has
Pole anything more to say, save that after the Pope shall have
decided as God will have inspired him to do in this business,
should he think that Pole's personal services can benefit it, he
will refuse neither trouble, toil, nor danger, which he knows the
cause must bring him; but that cause, and the person who has
to command him, are such that not only will he not shun them,
but willingly undergo any peril and hardship; and by God's grace
he has no need to be exhorted thus to do, as Morone of his piety
exhorts him at the close of his letter, to which part he will reply
in his own hand, that he may complain to him more freely and
express better his inmost sense in the matter, as at present he
does not choose complaints to interfere with the thanks which he
is bound to return him for these and so many other loving offices
both in this and every other business relating to Pole, for which he
knows himself to be more obliged to him than to any other friend
he has in the world.
It now behoves him to ask pardon of Morone for having wearied
him with so long a letter, although as Morone sees he could not do
* Et che ne (sic) S. Stà per non contristarmi, come Io potevo dubitare conoscendo la
sua benigna natura, se inducesse a far replica.
† In vol. iv. Epist. etc., p. 147, " considerando ultimamente quel che sua Maestà disse
all' hora che quanto all' animo mio verso di .
ella era sicurissima.”
Gianfrancesco Stella. (See Pallavicino, vol. iii. p. 297.)
•
494
1554.
1554.
MORONE..
CARDINAL POLE less than write at length; notwithstanding which, he has not yet
to CARDINAL said all that would be necessary for the cause, so he prays him to
(25th May.) hear the rest from Pole's agent, and to consider what he is certain
he knows, that this cause, or these causes, are not Pole's more than
they are Morone's, by reason of the pious mind with which God
has endowed Morone towards his honour and the common weal
and service of his Holiness; and with this making an end, he
humbly kisses his hand, recommending himself to his devout
orisons.
From the monastery of Dilingan (sic) near Brussels, 25th May
1554.
Autograph Postscript.
Morone warns him, in case the Nuncio did not communicate to
him the letter sent by the first courier, that he is not to show the
Nuncio the letter addressed to Pole by Morone, nor has he shown
it; as not only did the Nuncio say nothing to Pole at the time of
having written, but when Pole's abbot [Vincenzo Parpaglia, Abbot
of San Saluto] asked him about this, he denied having written, and
apologized to Pole for this contradiction (di questa varietà), showing
that he did everything for a good end, and Pole cannot believe it to
be otherwise, as he is more than sure of the Nuncio's love and good
will to him, which Pole deservedly reciprocates. With regard to his
mode of writing, namely, that whilst Pole was speaking to the
Emperor, he was not so far off as not to hear a few words, espe-
cially the following that the Emperor would have wished Pole,
as he had no further reply from the King, to return to Italy
by another road; although it might be suspected to imply that
the Nuncio was dissatisfied, because Pole did not call him to be
present when he had his conference with the Emperor, Pole cannot
suppose that by this form of speech the Nuncio intended to say
that he was not altogether pleased at Pole's not taking him in his
company when he went to confer with the Emperor, which he
could not have done, even had the Nuncio been his colleague; nor
does he know whether he did right in doing what he could to have
him called subsequently, with the Emperor's permission (piacendo
all' Imperatore), when some conversation on the subject took place
with his Majesty; but the Emperor interrupted the discourse in
such a way it was impossible (ma l'Imp. interruppe il ragiona-
mento in tal modo, che non si puote far cio), and Pole called the
Nuncio, leaving the Bishop of Arras alone, and had this last been
called by the Emperor, Pole doubts whether from the interruption
caused by one and the other, he should have been able to under-
stand his Majesty's will (mente) as well as when talking alone with
him. But be this as it may, with regard to the disposition (animo)
of the Nuncio, he cannot but take whatever Pole did in very good
part; and as for his writing unknown to Pole, he did what all
novices are accustomed to do when they commence negotiating, to
show themselves intelligent and diligent as they ought to be.
*
* The postscript is not printed in the 4th vol. " Epistolarum Reginaldi Poli," Letter 52,
pp. 138–148.
1554.
495
1554.
MORONE.
(25th May.)
CARDINAL POLE With regard to his nephew [Thomas Stafford], Pole forgot to
to CARDINAL mention that on hearing of his having behaved so well in the
Queen's service against the Duke of Norfolk (sic) [Suffolk],* for
which he is greatly praised by everybody, Pole gave him to under-
stand that he had forgiven him for going to England contrary to
his will and opinion; and that should he continue to serve her
Majesty well and faithfully, he would always be ready to show him
such favour as he could; so that both from this, and from what has.
been already written in the letter, it can be seen that Pole's silence
could not have caused him to act thus, as even he himself, after
being rebuked at Fontainebleau, and driven away, confessed that
he had neither promised himself nor expected any other reply
from Pole.
[Italian.]
May 25. ?†
MS. St. Mark's
883. CARDINAL POLE to his AGENT in ENGLAND.
Writes him this for his more full and ample instruction about
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. what he has to treat at present in Pole's name with the Queen,
Library,
about the affairs of the religion.
Pole has been informed through a good channel, that there are
certain persons in high authority, who not approving what has
been done with regard to the absolution from schism demanded
lately by certain bishops lately created, and which was conceded
them, may possibly endeavour to persuade the Queen that it
would be unadvisable (che non saria ben fatta) for any single
person (alcuna persona particolare) to request such absolution, or
to seek any reconciliation with the Church, until the return of the
whole realm to the obedience of the Apostolic See be determined and
concluded by the public consent of Parliament.
Considering therefore what sort of counsel this is (che sorte de
consiglio sia questo), and that being adopted, it would utterly cancel
the merit obtained with God, for the most laudable act performed
in England with regard to the religion since the Queen came to the
crown, and as this counsel would thus impede and irreparably
injure all those whom God has inspired, and will inspire, with the
very devout wish to return to the unity of the Church, Pole deems
it his duty towards God, and her Majesty, and the whole realm, and
becoming his legatine office, to warn the Queen of the poison
concealed in the said counsel (del veleno che sta nascosto nel detto
consiglio), and therefore charges his agent to inform her Majesty in
his name of what he has heard and feared; for if it be true, as must
be better known to her Highness than to any one else, and if this
persuasion (persuasione) has not yet been employed, but deferred
or totally suppressed, which is not impossible, it is fitting she
should be informed of all that may be proposed to her, both that her
Majesty may be confirmed in the holy act already performed by
* Thomas Stafford served probably under his kinsman the Earl of Huntingdon, whose
pursuit of Suffolk is mentioned by Froude, vol. vi. pp. 154, 169. The Duke of Norfolk
was always true to Queen Mary, and died, being 80 years of age, on the 25th August 1554.
(See Collins, vol. i. p. 98.)
† No date of the day of the month in MS.
496
1554.
}
1554.
her, as also by the grace of God to render her more ready to resist
any such counsel and persuasion as may be offered her hereafter.
The agent is therefore to inform her Majesty of the quality of this
sort of counsel, which thwarts those, who, being harassed by
conscience and the embarrassment of schism, demand and insist on
demanding (dimandano et dimanderiano) absolution. Is to
demonstrate to the Queen that this counsel, which defers the
absolution from the schism committed, is no less odious before God
than the act and counsel of those of whom Christ says, " Væ illis qui
scandalizant unum tantum ex pusillis istis," such being those
who from weakness of faith and not from malice, lapsed into the
schism, not having had sufficient strength of mind to resist the
fear of the sword hanging over their heads, and which threatened
them with death. To impede the spiritual salvation of the meanest
individual would be odious to God; and more odious to act thus
towards others whose high position and example might be of great
assistance, if not impeded by the Bishops, who, wishing to be
reconciled and being rejected on account of this counsel, might
renounce their holy intention of returning to the bosom of the
Church.
Is to request her Majesty to be pleased to consider what sort of
counsel this is, there being so great a multitude infected with schism,
to prevent an individual, either of high or low degree, he having
by especial grace of God the desire to return to the obedience of
the Church, from executing his holy desire, until all the others
are convinced, and induced to do the like. This counsel may be
compared to a case in a pest-house, where there being a great
number of patients, and a certain remedy being proposed for one
of them, it is rejected because it cannot be taken simultaneously by
all the others. Such in truth is this counsel; and if it be contrary
to all reason as applied to bodily infirmities, how much less can it
be admitted for the grave and pernicious infirmities of the soul,
amongst which schism is the chief. And this counsel is so much the
more pernicious when speaking of a bishop, whose individual
recovery it would be most unfitting to delay for one single hour or
moment, still less for weeks and months.
•
This reason, together with the others, being represented to her
Majesty, Pole hopes, from the great favour which God has hitherto
conceded to her spiritual and temporal welfare, that she will not need
further exhortation than she has already received from his Divine
Majesty, warning her of the mischievous effects and great detriment
of such counsel, so contrary to the Queen's holy acts performed in
this matter. And the agent is to demonstrate that her Highness.
should not only not draw back in this case, but that the longer
Parliament delays decreeing the universal return of the realm to the
obedience of the Church, the more should she endeavour that
private individuals having this desire should not only without
any obstacle on her part be enabled to have recourse to the place
and persons with whom they will find that remedy which will
restore them to health and to the grace of God, but that they
should also know that her Majesty will the more commend them
the more speedily and fervently they seek to obtain it. By acting
1554.
497
1554.
May 28.
MS. St. Mark's
thus, the Queen will do the will of that great Lord who has given
her potestatem gladii, which power is declared by St. Paul, who
says, "Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is
good, and thou shalt have praise of the same."*
Above all, with regard to the bishops, whose nomination belongs
to the Queen, her Highness has to observe this-that no one who has
fallen into the schism, and finds himself separated from the obedience
to the Church, to the observance of which all Catholic bishops are
especially bound by oath, be allowed to assume any ecclesiastical cure
(entri ad haver alcuna cura nella Chiesa), until he be reconciled to
God through his return to the obedience of that Church. The ob-
servance of this rule would not only be spiritually beneficial to
private individuals (persone particolari), and to pastors and their
flocks, until the return of all be established by public consent,
but when this return shall be proposed in Parliament, this pre-
cedent will render it of much more easy attainment. For this
reason Pole commenced by saying that this act of bringing back
the Bishops without delay from the schism to the unity and obe-
dience of the Church was the most praiseworthy act performed by
her Majesty since it has pleased God to give her the crown; and
Pole trusts she will persevere in this course until the Almighty
give her the grace to induce the whole body of the realm, by
common consent, to accept the obedience to the Apostolic See,
for which Pole, in company with all those who sincerely love and
desire the honour of God, and the welfare of the Queen, pray
constantly.
[25?]
From the monastery of Diligano (sic) [near Brussels],
May 1554.*
[Italian.]
884. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MORONE.
Library,
138.
Will not keep him longer in suspense about what he wrote in his
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.last in reply to Morone's letter of the 6th, that he had cause to
Printed in complain of Morone, who, when exhorting him to convince the
"Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli," Emperor and everybody of the sincerity of his mind, showed he
v. iv. pp. 133- suspected that from satiety of worldly affairs, and not thirsting
much for fame,† Pole willingly avails himself of any opportunity
to withdraw from the negotiation of business (da retirarmi da
negotij) and return to privacy. Morone says that although God
is sufficient of himself to direct matters as He pleases, and main-
tain his glory, He, nevertheless, chooses us likewise not to neglect
the opportunities which He sends us for doing his will. This mode
of persuasion on this subject, had it been adopted by anyone else
*Romans xiii. 3.
† According to Froude (vol. vi. p. 198) already on the 6th April 1554, the Government
had availed itself of the Pope's permission to fill the vacant sees; but by this letter it
would seem that the measure was still opposed by Paget and the party of the statesmen,
the rivals of Gardiner, on the 25th May, which date I assign to the letter, because on that
day Pole wrote to Morone from the monastery of Diligano (sic).
Et per haver la mente non molto avida d' honor.
5.
II
498
1554.
1554.
CARDINAL POLE not intimately familiar with him and acquainted with his opinions,
to CARDINAL
MORONE.
(28th May.)
would not have surprised him; as in conversation he is often accus-
tomed to attribute the entire glory of every work to God, saying
that what is best is known to Him; Pole also often withdrawing
from active life for the enjoyment of study, and not showing himself
desirous of those grades which bring with them greater occupation
through business.
3
This might give any other person than Morone cause to think
either that he is very indolent because he holds his private studies
in more account than any sort of active life, or else that he shares
the opinions of those, who are convinced that as God by his provi-
dence and omnipotence accomplishes everything, they have merely
to remain idle, as He will discover and employ them immediately.
But that Morone, who by this time must know Pole, should seem to
share this opinion, cannot but surprise him, most especially as by
reason of their intimacy, Morone not only knows what those studies
are, which, as some persons suppose, render him too much of a recluse,
but also the cause of his pursuing them.* Of that cause (the oppor-
tunity for doing so being now afforded him) he will now remind
him, by stating the object of his actions, and the extreme limit
of his ambition, which in truth, as he remembers to have told
Morone heretofore, has never been so great (whether from pusillani-
mity or some other cause) as to make him wish to be that chief or
magistrate (magistrato) who has to command all men, assigning to
each individual his task, though he has never been averse, but on
the contrary always inclined, to serve those who, finding themselves
in that position, know how to command well, and have the wish to
do so.
Thus far has it been his desire and ambition to lead an active
life, and by "commanding well," he means whatever relates to the
honour of God, and to the attainment of the welfare of others. This
has been his desire and sentiment always; nor does he ever
remember to have withdrawn either from the service of his So-
vereign or from that of any private friend, save because they had
not recourse to him; or, if they did call him, did not allow of his
serving to their true welfare and advantage. Testimony hereof can
be borne not merely by one part of his life, but by its whole tenour,
down to the present time, ever since he was old enough to take
service, and commencing with that Prince [Henry VIII.] to whom
he was more bound by nature than to any other, and so anxious to
serve him that he would have done so, at the cost of any sort of
toil, and even if necessary by risking his own life rather than enjoy
length of days in all prosperity in the service of others; which shows
that he renounced King Henry's service for no other reason than
because the first service demanded of him was contrary to his
Majesty's honour and advantage. Pole did this, although by means
of the proposed service, there was opened to him, in his own
country, the path to dignity and riches; and that he renounced his
* As admitted by his enemies both at home and abroad, Reginald Pole was always
intent on the reform of the Roman Catholic church.
1554.
499
*
✓
1554.
MORONE.
(28th May.)
CARDINAL POLE service for no other cause may be seen by what he did subsequently,
to CARDINAL when called by that Sovereign [Pope Paul III.] whom God has
ordered all men to obey for his honour, and by whom Pole having
been several times enjoined to perform commissions not only toil-
some and fatiguing but also very dangerous, no one can with truth
say that he ever retreated a single step to avoid either trouble,
fatigue, or any danger, having always been most ready to obey
them.
From this fact, and from all Pole's other actions, those who
may chose well to investigate his career will find the cause of
his declining negotiations, which he never shunned nor renounced
for his own private studies, which he does not consider worthy
to take precedence of the slightest service he could render to the
meanest person in the world, though it is very true that he has
never been accustomed to interfere and canvass employment, always
waiting to be called, from fear of committing the same error as
that of those persons of whom God says through the Prophet,
ipsi currebant et ego non mittebam illos." Would not there-
fore feel surprised (as said by him above) if other persons ill ac-
quainted with his life and the inward workings of his mind were
to attribute his withdrawal to other causes than the true one,
which is, that he always waited to be called, and to receive com-
mands from those to whom God has given authority to command
him in whatever related to his Divine Majesty, and to their true
honour and advantage; and in that case he trusts in God, that
neither trouble nor danger of any sort would compel him willingly
to retreat.
((
But to enter now more into details about the negotiations he has
now in hand at Brussels; Morone might inquire why, being called
to a service which he always professed to desire, he should now
seem desirous of relinquishing the negotiation. To this he will say
in the first place what he thinks, which is, that he has such satis-
faction, at being called, and for such a service! that his satisfaction
is the greatest he could desire in this world, and he considers it a
greater benefice than if the Pope had conferred on him alone all the
benefices bestowed by him since his accession on all the rest of the
cardinals together. And the true cause of this his great satisfaction
is the one aforesaid, when he stated the limits of his ambition and his
wish to serve such a master on such service; which satisfaction in-
creases hourly by seeing himself stimulated by the Pope to this end
without expecting from his service anything but the true honour of
God and his own, together with the common weal, at which Pole
rejoices immeasurably, it being the thing desired by him beyond all
others. Nor may Morone suppose, that in negotiating this matter he
does not know the nature of the sea of England in which he has to
navigate, and what storms and toils he must endure to bring the ship
into harbour, anticipating that both will be much greater than any
he has endured hitherto, though he trusts in God that this will not
make him wish to return to the harbour from which he departed;
nor does he think that the letters written by his commission to
his agent at Rome demonstrate any such desire.
Those letters were written solely to remind the Pope that, if from
II 2
500
1554.
1554.
MORONE.
CARDINAL POLE any cause induced by the present times, Pole should not be con-
to CARDINAL sidered suited to the persons with whom he has to transact these
(28th May.) negotiations, and his Holiness were able to avail himself of some one
else who might seem more to the purpose, he should not have the
slightest regard for Pole individually, which, by reason of the
Pope's gracious nature, might, he knows, easily be the case, as he
desires nothing but what is beneficial both to the cause and to his
Holiness.
Such was the substance and intent of those letters; and this
he announced to the Pope through Ormanetto. If Pole's love for
the honour and advantage of those with whom he would have to
negotiate could render him a fitting instrument for this purpose, he
would not wish for any one else (io non crederei a niun altro);
and as to knowledge of the state of affairs everywhere, in order to
see what is for the honour and profit of all parties, Pole does not
believe it to be so hidden as not to be easily visible to any impartial
statesman, however slightly acquainted with it. But if Pole's wish
to obtain more honourable and advantageous terms makes him
appear less adapted to the business, Morone may know for certain
that he has never spoken, nor will he ever speak, of honour and profit
save in conjunction with the public and individual weal of those
with whom he negotiates, which individual advantage, however, he
cannot discuss without showing at the same time how it is coupled
with the honour of God and the common weal; and in like manner
as a physician, wishing to give food to a sick man in pain, seeks to
raise him a little from his bed, and although the patient remonstrates
and shows himself averse to be moved, yet does the physician do his
duty; so would Pole act were he not positively forbidden, knowing
the nature of the malady to be such that, unless the sick man be
somewhat raised from his bed, it is impossible to give him food such
as would benefit him. But Pole would not attempt to do this
unless he saw that the pain was somewhat mitigated, as, otherwise,
he would show himself an indelicate physician.
Does not doubt that Morone will understand not only what he means
by this simile, but his entire sense both about the business he has
now in hand and all the other matters which may occur hereafter.
And in this Morone will recognize the love Pole bears him, and the
trust he places in his friendship, when, in the midst of so many
loving offices performed by Morone in his favour, and for which he
can never sufficiently thank him, Pole nevertheless takes occasion to
complain of him, and all for the sake of giving Morone a more sure
pledge of his mind, of which pledge he may avail himself by promising*
for him in this case in such quarters as necessary, and to impress
better in Morone's heart the sentiments of Pole, which are rooted there
with that love which God has given him; and may He; of his mercy,
increase it daily more and more in them until they are utterly dead in
the flesh, and alive for love eternal in Him.
From Brussels, 28th May 1554.
[Italian.]
* Del qual pegno ella potrà servirsi promettendo per me in questo caso dove fusse
bisogno.
1554.
May 29?*
MS. St. Mark's
1554.
June 1.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
501
885. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL [ROBERTO] DE' NOBILI.
Thanks him for his letter announcing his promotion to the Cardi-
Cod, xxiv. Cl. x.nalate, on which he congratulates him, alluding to his rare endow-
Library,
ments, of which Pole had personal knowledge.
From Brussels.
-
[Italian.]
886. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Duke Henry [Erigo?] of Brunswick [Wolfenbüttel], although
he had promised to serve the Emperor, prefers harassing the Hanse
Towns, from which he exacts considerable sums, and has written to
the Emperor that his Majesty has nothing to fear from any power,
and that the Marquis Albert [Alcibiades of Brandenburg (Culm-
bach)] is mad, poor, miserable, and universally detested. A mili-
tary commander has sent the Emperor a plan of operations for the
next campaign against France, and amongst other suggestions
recommends him to import as soon as possible 3,000 troops from
England, both to reinforce his army and to remove the opportunity
for insurrection there; and concerning this plan the Emperor
spoke very drily to Don Ferrante Gonzaga, and gave orders for
the two German regiments, which are nearly completed, to be marched
towards Liege. It is not credible that his Majesty will undertake
any expedition until the arrival of the Prince of Spain in Eng-
land, and until affairs there are quieted; nor will he choose the
Spanish troops which accompany the Prince (in number upwards
of 6,000) to be employed for Flanders, but keep them as a guard
against such accidents as may occur in England.
His Majesty, having been uneasy because some time had passed
without news from Spain, was rejoiced yesterday by hearing, through
a courier who left England on the 26th ulto., that on the 12th the
Prince had sent his household and the noblemen who are to accompany
him to the sea coast of Galicia, and on that same day he was to
depart, riding post wise to Tordesillas, a few leagues from Valla-
dolid, to take leave of the Emperor's mother, and would then go to
meet his sister the Princess of Portugal, who was already on the
borders of Castille, of which kingdom she has been appointed
governess; and after the meeting he would proceed to embark at
Corunna, where they calculate he arrived two days ago, and with
the first fair weather he will cross thence to England, a passage of
from four to six days, or more, according to the winds; but he has
sent in advance the brother of Don Luis Davilaf as ambassador to
the Queen of England, to whom he is coming with four ships.
The courier also reported that her Majesty had quitted London and
* No date of time. Roberto de' Nobili was made Cardinal by his uncle Pope Julius III.
on the 22nd December 1553, when only 14 years of age. lle died at the commencement
of 1559, at the age of 18, but such was his piety that Cardinal Borromeo said he should
be satisfied with himself could he equal it, and Cardinal Pole pronounced him "the
ornament and glory of the Apostolic College ;" and Julius III. thus made some amends
for the infamous appointment of Innocenzio del Monte at the age of 16. (See Cardella,
vol. iv. pp. 332, 335.)
† Don Pedro Davila, Marquis de las Navas. (See Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558,
Index.)
..502
1554.
1554.
was gone to Windsor, and on hearing of the Prince's approach will
go on to Winchester (some seven miles from Hampton, where the
Prince will land), and meet him there, though it is true that several
changes have been made in this matter, and may be followed by
others if deemed necessary for greater safety and quiet, as both at
Brussels and in London they are always apprehensive of those
English brains (quelli cervelli Anglesi), so prone to sedition; where-
fore, she has left a good garrison of some 4,000 infantry in London,
with a governor, her confident; and has had proclamations issued,
inflicting heavy penalties on any Englishman maltreating any
Spaniard either by word or deed.
The Bishop of Cortona has arrived at Brussels from the Duke of
Florence on his way to congratulate the King and Queen of England;
Don Hernando de Gamboa, from the King of Bohemia; and the
Count of Monte Cuculo, from the Duke of Ferrara; as also Don
Pedro Lasso, from the King of the Romans, being likewise there on
the same errand.*
*
It is asserted at Brussels that the Lady Elizabeth has been taken
under custody to Windsor, whither the Queen was going, and that
there is a misunderstanding between the Bishop of Winchester and
Paget. Is informed by a person likely to know, that the most
Christian King, when speaking with the Cardinal Legate, said
he intended that the treaty stipulated by him with the late King
Edward should continue in force with the present Queen, as
Pole recommended, approving this. Subsequently, having heard
through her spies that King Henry, when talking with some of
his courtiers, said he had no treaty whatever with her, Queen
Mary spoke about this to the French ambassador resident with
her, who said it was true that some months ago, in his King's
name, he asked the Queen to form a new and closer understanding
(intelligentia) with him, as the treaty made with King Edward
became void on his death. Thereupon the Queen desired her ambas-
sadors in France to tell the King what Noailles had said, and
to learn the will of his Majesty, who replied that his ambassador
knew not what he was talking about, and that he (the King) would
maintain his friendship with the Queen inviolably, as also his
treaty with King Edward, nor would he indeed make peace with
the Emperor more easily by any other means than those of her
Majesty, who sent all this intelligence to Brussels, and Damula
would not wish it to be known that he transmits it to Venice.
Some eight or ten ships have been armed in England, to keep the
sea clear and guard it against the French vessels, which very fre-
quently attacked ships on the voyage to these parts; so it is thought
that those seas will now be safe, which work has been effected by
the Alcalde at the Court of Brussels, who narrowly escaped being
captured by the said corsairs.
Brussels, 1st June 1554.
P.S. (evening).
The ambassadors from the Kings of the Romans and of Bohemia,
* These embassies are also recorded in Foreign Calendar, date 4th June 1554, p. 90.
† Il chè fu a sua Maestà consigliato et laudato dal Cardinal predetto.
1554.
503
1554.
June 2.
Deliberazioni
June 3.
Original
despatch.
Venetian
Archives.
and many other personages, have asked me about your Serenity's
ambassador to the Prince of Spain. I reply that your ambassador
arrived in England on the 22nd ult., as has been written to me.
thence. I do not know whether what I say is in accordance with
your will.
The syndics [at Milan] have been authorized to arrest Fran-
zino, Don Ferrante's commissioner and general agent, and also a
Spanish captain. It is believed that important discoveries will be
made and great things justified; so Don Ferrante is very dispirited,
and told the Emperor that his ministers act with passion against
him, and commenced declaring them suspected; but his Majesty
interrupted him, saying that in many matters which he is unable
to transact in person, he must avail himself of his ministers, who
would certainly not swerve from their duty; and that he was to
be of good cheer, and have no farther suspicion, but he will go
to England to kiss the Prince's hand, and afterwards they will
discuss his affairs. Since the news of his Highness's departure
from Valladolid, perceives the verification of his prognostic, that
the Prince's coming regulates all the Emperor's proceedings, as
yesterday and to-day he has given audience to many persons, con-
sulting with his ministers about what is required for England, and
the expedition to be made in Flanders against France.
Brussels, 1st June 1554.
887. The DOGE and SENATE to the BAILO at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Senato (Secreta). By advices from the Imperial and French Courts, understand
V. Ixix. p. 84. 'that their Majesties are increasing their cavalry and infantry forces,
v.
and that the most Christian King is also levying Switzers and
Grisons for employment in his army, some of these last being sent
by him towards Sienna for the defence of that city, and the Signory
conceded them passage through the Republic's territory. No further
confirmation has been received of the report that Marquis Albert of
Brandenburg had agreed to serve the most Christian King.
They have heard from England that the Captain Wyatt, head of
the rebels who was captured some time ago, had been executed in
public, and that by a decree of the English Parliament the Prince
of Spain, the Emperor's son, had been proclaimed King of England,
as he is the consort of Queen Mary.
.
Ayes, 188. Noes, 4. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini, "Applicato di Ima. Classe del R. Archivio
Generale di Venezia.]
888. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Cardinal Pole having sent to the Queen of England to know
whether she approved of his sending one of his attendants in honour
of the wedding, her reply was that he might send, but not a Church-
man; and he had previously written to her, that if she wished to
rule in peace it was above all desirable for her to make an adjust-
504
1554.
1554.
June 5.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
ment between the Emperor and the King of France, as she being
the consort of the Prince of Spain, and he being the enemy of the
French, it would be difficult for her to remain at peace with them;
and that war at this commencement of her reign, together with the
change of religion, and the introduction of a foreign King, could
not but endanger the affairs of England, and encourage the mal-
contents who are in arms to bestir themselves daily; and should she
now demand money for the purpose of waging war, it would perhaps
not be granted her, and might cause rebellion; so she should do her
utmost to effect peace between the Emperor and his most Christian
Majesty. The Queen replied that she was aware of this, and would
do her utmost accordingly. And Pole sent back to say, he is of
opinion that peace will never be made unless a conference is held
between the ministers of the two powers for the discussion of the
difficulties and terms to be proposed reciprocally; and that her
Majesty should prevail on them to send commissioners to meet and
negotiate, etc.
Brussels, 3rd June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini].
889. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
It having been told me in secret that these Lords (questi Signori)
were discussing a truce, at La Fère, where there was to be an envoy
from Queen Maria, the Emperor's sister, she having interposed
to negotiate it, I, wishing to hear something farther on the subject,
left Compiègne, and came to this place two leagues from Coucy
(Cusij), where the most Christian King arrived yesterday. I
heard that in that place (in detto loco) [La Fère?], they held
constant consultations; and lately the wife of the Duke de Bouillon,
who is now a prisoner of the Imperialists, said to a certain
gentleman, her friend, that in that place of La Fère these Lords
discussed this negotiation for a truce, and that they agreed about
everything, except its duration. The Emperor proposed to make it
for less time than his most Christian Majesty would wish, which some
persons find it very difficult to believe, it not seeming reasonable to
them for the Emperor to break off the negotiation, which was being
treated more to his repute by the Cardinal Legate Pole, for the
sake of having it subsequently renewed by other similar means
(per farla poi negotiare per un altro tal mezzo). They moreover
say that it also seems to them unreasonable for the most Christian
King to give ear to this scheme (maneggio), his Majesty having
made such preparation for an attack on the Emperor in this
quarter (dal canto di quà), chiefly with a view to keeping him so
impeded as to prevent his giving any assistance (alcun favore)
to the Queen of England, some hope being still entertained here of
fresh insurrections in that kingdom on the arrival of the Prince
of Spain, and most especially should they see the Emperor so
harassed as to render it impossible for him to afford her Majesty
any military succour. Although these things were said to me by
1554.
505
1554.
June 7.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
7
way of conversation, I would nevertheless not abstain from writing
them, that your Serenity may know in detail all that is heard
here.
Premontre, 5th June 1554.
[Italian, in cipher; deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
890. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and Senate.
The Emperor has desired the Duke of Brunswick to suspend the
march of his troops (che intertenga le sue gente), and immediately
on receiving notice to bring them hitherwards; so perceiving all
these preparations and the delay in undertaking any expedition,
be inferred that his Majesty awaits the arrival of his son in
England before taking the field. Very considerable provision is
being made, destined apparently for Flanders, but it proceeds
slowly, nor has anything more been heard from Spain since his
it
may
last.
Brussels, 7th June 1554.
[Italian, in cipher; deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
891. The SAME to the SAME.
June 7.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Cardinal Pole communicated the reply received from the
Emperor about the peace to the Nuncio in France, from whom, on
Archives. the day before yesterday, Damula heard the rejoinder of his most
Christian Majesty, thus, that as the Emperor will not have peace,
preparation must be made for war; the Nuncio adding that great
preparation is in fact being made, both for Italy and Flanders.
The Queen of England desired her ambassador at Brussels to
notify the answer given by King Henry to the English ambassador
at his Court, and to learn the Emperor's will respecting the last
words, purporting that his most Christian Majesty would make the
peace more willingly through the mediation of the Queen. Masone
spoke to the Bishop of Arras, enquiring how the Queen was to
regulate herself; and whether she was to treat peace with the King.
The Bishop said it was impossible to make peace with the French,
as they never keep their promises; and when Masone asked whether
the Emperor had any wish to make peace, Arras said, "Yes, pro-
vided it be a good one." The ambassador enquired, "How can a
peace be made if not treated; and how can it be treated, unless con-
sent be given and arrangements made?" Arras rejoined that first
some knowledge must be obtained of the will of the French; whereupon
Masone continued that the knowledge was very evident from the
words about the peace, uttered of his own accord by the King to Dr.
Wotton, and that he Masone considered the peace desirable, both for
the Emperor and for England; adding, "The Prince is a new plant,
planted in the realm of England by his father, who, if he wishes it
to bear fruit, must let the soil rest quiet a while, as otherwise, if
harassed at this commencement, it is doubtful whether the fruit
will benefit him." The Bishop rejoined, that the greater the de-
monstration of the French in favour of peace, the less do they wish
50.6
1554.
1554.
June 10.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
June 10.
MS. St. Mark's
for it; and that they themselves must propose the terms, as also
the restitution of many things. Masone repeated that these terms
might be treated at a conference between commissioners from the
parties, and should no agreement ensue, nothing but words would be
lost, whilst the Emperor would have shown that he was not averse
to peace.
The Bishop then said, " Well, we are determined, and
will no longer believe the French, who have themselves been the
authors of the war whilst we were at peace," and when Masone
insisted that Arras should speak about this to the Emperor, he said
he would, and that possibly when these two sovereigns are with their
armies in the field, they may then more to their honour talk of
peace, propose terms, and perhaps conclude them, as has been the
case heretofore.
In the meanwhile, the Queen of England, although she wishes
for the peace, will not say a word about it to the most Christian
King until receipt of the order hence, though immediately on the
arrival of her consort she will discuss the matter with him, in
virtue of an article of the marriage contract whereby the Prince
promises that the kingdom of England will neither directly nor
indirectly take part in the war against the most Christian King,
but endeavour strictly to observe the peace now existing between
France and England, as also the conventions stipulated heretofore
between the two countries, and never to give cause for infringing
or altering them.
Brussels, 7th June 1554. Evening.
[Italian, in cipher; deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
892. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with
the Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
News came of the arrival of four ships from Spain, with the
Ambassador from the Prince to the Queen of England; but it has
been ascertained that they were two Spanish caravels, which from
foul weather had been well nigh two months on the voyage, so that
nothing more is known about the Prince's coming than was written
in Damula's last, save that bets are laid that he will be in England
on the 20th or 25th instant; and they talk about the winds and
changes of weather with very anxious hope.
The Emperor is well, and on the 7th instant was occupied in
making his will, or, to speak more correctly, in revising it; for he
has made it several times.
Brussels, 10th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
893. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MORONE.
By Morone's letter of the 20th ult. has understood what he tells
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. him concerning the brief which the Pope was about to send him, and
how Ormanetto would return to Brussels, by which opportunity
Pole would also wish the Pope to send some determination respect-
ing the Church property, about which the Queen has asked the agent
every time she spoke to him since his last return to England.
1554.
507
1554.
By Pole's last letter of the 13th* Morone will have heard that
the Queen, not thinking it desirable for him to send the Bishop of
Worcester nor any other churchman with his congratulations to the
King, he had not yet determined what person to appoint for the
performance of this office. He subsequently made choice of their
Messer Michiel (de Messer Michiel nostro),† who is in England,
most especially as this resolve has been approved by the English
ambassador at Brussels [Sir John Masone], and by a messenger
express Pole will send the congratulatory letters for the King and
Queen to Michiel, together with the instructions for his verbal
announcement, and this he will do immediately on hearing of the
King's arrival in England. Morone will also have heard that on
the 28th May the Queen quitted London and went to Richmond‡,
which is on the way to Winchester, where the marriage is to be
celebrated. By the last letters from London, dated the 5th, nothing
further was heard about the coming of the King, but a Count had
arrived at the Court sent by him from Spain with a present for the
Queen, who had despatched the Bishop of Lincoln (il Vescovo
Lenconiense) and another nobleman to meet him, and the Imperial
ambassadors were already on their way to Southampton.
By the enclosed extract,* Morone will see what Pole's agent wrote
in his last letter; and a few days ago, when the English Ambassador
came to dine with him, he told Pole that the day before, the Bishop
of Arras had informed him that the Queen, having been moved by
certain threatening words uttered to her by the French Ambassador,
sent immediately to desire her ambassador in France [Dr. Wotton]
to acquaint the King with this, in order to know his will towards
her. The King replied that his will was the same it always had
been, not only to maintain, but even to augment his friendship with
her, adding that should peace have to be negotiated between the
Emperor and him, her Majesty would be a good mediatrix. This
having come to the knowledge of Masone, he mentioned it to Pole,
because it was in accordance with what they had said together on
the subject, which conversation Masone wrote to the Queen,§ and
with this opportunity communicated it to the Bishop of Arras,
who said in short that the Imperialists would never be the first to
make a proposal of peace, without entering into further details. He
did not, however, evince aversion to the discourse, neither did he a
few days ago, when discussing the same topic with Pole's Abbot Jof
S. Saluto], as Morone will have heard by the Abbot's letters, ad-
dressed to Messer Gian Francesco. But from what is heard and seen
on both sides, the projects and preparations in course, show that
they are thinking more of war than of peace, which, however, in
reason, must have some limit. Nor will Pole fail to avail himself
of
every opportunity that may offer, should he have to remain at
MA
*Not found.
†The Venetian ambassador Giovanni Michiel had arrived in England in April or May
1554.
At the beginning of June, the Queen fled from London to Westminster. (See Froude,
vol. vi. p. 228.) In the Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, p. 87, it appears that the Queen
went to Richmond on the 30th May.
§ See also Foreign Calendar, 1554, June 11, Brussels, p. 94.
508
1554.
1554.
June 11.
Despatches from
England.
File 1.
Venetian
Archives.
"..
Brussels, in which case he would deem it advisable for his Holiness
to give him some especial commission whereby to open the way for
writing or sending to France. Pole had heard nothing previously
about the request for Legates made by the Emperor and the King
of the Romans, nor could Morone have done better than to await
the Pope's decision. Much is said at Brussels about this Diet, and
that the Emperor purposes attending it, which is not credited, as
some months may elapse before these other negotiations are arranged.
The letter from Germany has convinced Pole of the favour vouch-
safed him by God, who allows him to be slandered in every quarter,
continuing to him, however, of his goodness, that disposition
(animo) always to desire and seek whatever may be for the common
weal.
From Brussels, 10th June 1554.
[Italian.]
894. NARRATIVE forwarded by GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venețian
Ambassador in England, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Bortholo de Riedes, writer (scrivan) of the ship "Bemba," Ma-
noli de Paris, master, arrived in London yesterday evening. Reports
that on the 2nd instant, he, with the ship, set sail from port Bene-
detto in Brittany, and steering towards England, they, on the 6th,
between Cape Lizard (Capo Laserti) and Brest, when in mid-
channel, fell in with 320 French vessels, as counted by him and the
ship's company. This fleet was tacking in the channel, and the
"Bemba," being alone, lowered all her sails, and after an hour the
flagship fired a salute of one gun, which the "Bemba" returned,
and then four of the principal ships set sail, making towards them,
the whole fleet following. At an hour before sunset, the flagship,
commanded by Viscount di Albanova [
?], came under
the "Bemba's" bow, demanding the launch (la barca) and the clerk
(il scrivano), who immediately went on board, together with the noble
Messer Daniel Contarini,* and having exhibited the letters patent
from the most Christian King, they requested to be allowed to con-
tinue their voyage; whereupon, the commander-in-chief, after
speaking to another captain of the largest ship (whom the clerk
subsequently understood to be a Scot), asked him whether he had
any news of the Spanish fleet. The clerk answered that he knew
nothing at all, having been four months absent from Spain. He then
required them to give him five butts of wine, which were not given
spontaneously, but he sent his men to take them, and not only did
A
* In the preface to vol. i. Venetian Calendar, p. lxiii., I mentioned a decree, issued by
the Republic in the 14th century for the appointment of four young patricians, to serve
on board the Flanders galley, that they might "see the world, be inured betimes to toil,
and learn to expose their lives for their native land." In the commission given to Andrea
Priuli, captain of the Flanders galleys in February 1517 (Venetian Calendar, vol. ii.
p. 349), allusion is again made to these young noble sailors; and it is now seen that they
continued in the merchant service, after the Republic had ceased to send the Flanders
galleys to England. Subsequent documents prove that in December 1569, when the
French pirate "Sore" seized two Venetian merchantmen off the Isle of Wight, the mag-
nificos Andrea Dandolo, and Marc' Antonio and Paulo Venier were serving on board of
them, and were, I believe, the last of the patrician arbalast-men in the Venetian merchant-
service.
1554.
509
1554.
they take the wines, but also a silver-mounted knife belonging to
the master, and some of his sailing-compasses; and they allowed the
ship to go on its voyage.
Being asked about the quality of the French ships, he said the
captain told him that eighty of them were armed, and that part
were with him the commander-in-chief, and part off "the Land's
End" (sopra il Capo dell' Isola); but so far as the clerk could
judge, all the vessels, one after the other, having passed astern of his
ship, he does not think that more than ten or twelve of them were
armed, each being of about 600 Venetian butts burden, but the flag-
ship, which sailed admirably (qual era bonissima di velle), was not
thought to be of more than 400 butts. The rest were small vessels,
like Venetian marcilians, with very few men on board, without
artillery; and all these vessels on leaving the "Bemba," made
towards France.
June 12.
Despatches from
England.
File 1.
Venetian
Archives.
Being asked whether, so far as he had heard, there was any
Englishman on board the fleet, he said he had heard nothing at all,
save that the commander-in-chief gave him an Englishman to take
to England, dressed in the garb of a courier, but with the air of a
gentleman, recommending him very earnestly. When the ship
arrived at Dover, four of the Queen's galleons were there; and the
Englishman, seeing that the gondola was going ashore, asked to be
landed with the rest, as was courteously conceded to him, so the
gondola on its way having neared the galleons, their commander
chose to examine each of the persons on board the gondola, and
recognizing the Englishman by his pronunciation, after asking him
several things, ordered his arrest, and had him taken on board his
galleon, the gondola being allowed to depart. The clerk added,
that from the Englishman's conversation on board the ship, he
thinks him a French spy. The captain of the galleons showed
nothing but the usual marks of friendship and courtesy towards
the "Bemba."
London, 11th June 1554.
[Italian.]
895. NARRATIVE forwarded by GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England, to the DOGE and SENATE.
yo
Is sending by way of Antwerp, duplicates of his letters of the
9th, and adds a report made by the writer of the ship belonging to
the magnifico Messer Lorenzo Bembo and Co., who arrived in
London yesterday, having left the vessel at Margate. The Signory
will perceive that he gives an account of the French fleet which was
off the coast of England, and of its amount and quality; but with
regard to so extraordinary a number as 320 sail, which he says he
counted, intelligent Londoners believe them to be fishing boats,
which at this season unite and put to sea for the herring fishery,
and that their junction with the few French men-of-war was
accidental rather than from their being of any use for hostilities, as
none of them carry arms, and scarcely sufficient men to direct the
boats and carry on the fishery.
The Right Reverend Chancellor confirmed this to Michiel's
secretary, seeming to hold the matter in little or no account; nor
510
1554.
1554.
had he the slightest apprehension that these vessels could cope with
the Spanish fleet were they to fall in with it; of which he is yet
more convinced by the news at length received by him last evening
of the landing at Plymouth of the Marquis de las Naves,* who
made the voyage [from Laredo] without any danger. The Chan-
cellor merely knew that he had arrived at Plymouth on Saturday
the 9th, but told the Secretary (Michiel does not know whether on
the authority of the Marquis, or according to the opinion of others)
that the Prince will be in England in a fortnight, though, as the
Marquis will soon be at the Court, his landing-place being only 100
miles off, the particulars of this, and of all his other news, will soon
be known, and if imparted to Michiel, he will forthwith transmit
them to the Signory.
Two days ago, there also made his appearance Count Camillo da
Montecucolo, sent by the Duke of Ferrara, to congratulate the
Prince and the Queen in his Excellency's name.† Yesterday he
went to the Court, and her Majesty received him graciously. When
visiting Michiel, he told him he should await the. Prince's arrival,
and then return to Italy, postwise, as he came.
The Queen is still at Richmond, on the eve of departure (it is
said) for Oatlands, seven miles in advance [towards Southampton ?]
but her movements will be delayed until she receives sure news of
the Prince's arrival.
Has received the Signory's letters of the 22nd ultimo, with the
summaries from Constantinople down to the 22nd April, which he
will communicate to the Chancellor as usual, her Majesty not being
in London.
London, 12th June 1554.
[Italian.]
June 15,
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
When speaking to the Bishop of Arras about the affair of the
Archives. Magnifico Spatafora, said that he had been absolved by the Cardinals,
896. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
and that his lordship could speak about it to the Cardinal Legate,
Pole, who would acquaint him with the life and manners of Messer
Bortolomeo [Spatafora ?], and requested him to take his character
from such a man, to which the Bishop did not answer one word;
nor since the Cardinal's return from France has he ever been to
visit him.
News came of the arrival in England of the Marquis de las Navas,
but it was untrue; nor has any farther sure intelligence been
received from Spain.
Is informed that off the headland of England there are many
French men-of-war, but very small ones, and that they are stationed
there to intercept the ships from Spain.
Being unable to go in person by reason of a violent cold, sent to
thank the English Ambassador for the favour which the Queen con-
* Don Pedro Davila, Marquis de la Navas. (See Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, Index.)
† In the Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, p. 89, and Index, this Ferrarese ambassador is
styled "Count Roderigo de Monte Cuculo."
1554.
511
1554.
June 16.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
June 17.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
ferred spontaneously by desiring that, for his safety, the Ambassador
Soranzo should embark on board her armed ships, which is con-
sidered a great favour, in addition to the others received by him
on this his departure, as announced to Damula by private letters
from London.
With this, sends the packet from England.
Brussels, 15th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
897. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
The mustering of the army (la massa dell' essercito) seems to be
delayed longer than was expected, the Constable not having yet left
the court, as he has been somewhat indisposed. Some persons are of
opinion that they will put off making this muster (massa) until they
hear of the arrival of the Prince of Spain in England, to see what his
fleet and the troops he brings with him may do. In consequence of
his passage they have raised a certain amount of troops in
Normandy and Britanny to guard those coasts; 300 men-at-
arms are quartered in those parts until the fleet has passed.
Within the last few days the French Government (questi) has
entertained a suspicion that on the arrival of the Prince in
England that kingdom must (si debbi) declare itself the enemy of
this one (di questo), because should the army of the most Christian
King attack these provinces of the Emperor which have been
promised as dower-security? (contradote) to the Queen of England, it
is apprehended that, besides the other reasons whereby the Prince her
husband may persuade her to make war, this of defending her own
(di difendere il suo) will have great weight (serà di molta impor-
tantia); so the Constable sent lately for the English Ambassador
[Dr. Wotton] and spoke to him at great length about this suspicion
of his most "Serene Queen, as told me by the Ambassador himself,
and he answered that said Queen is well disposed to maintain
(osservare) the peace and friendship she has with his most Christian
Majesty, and that she has shown such constancy in her actions as
to warrant no suspicion of her allowing herself to be persuaded by
her husband to do anything at variance with her intention and
her promise.
News have been received from England that they were expecting
the Prince of Spain there very soon. He was to embark on the
31st ulto.; so the Queen had left London, and was going to Win-
chester to meet the Prince.
Premontre, 16th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
898. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with
the Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
A Spanish gentleman arrived at Brussels this morning, having
landed at Southampton on the 15th, with the Marquis de las Navas,
512
1554.
1554.
June 18.
Parti Secrete,
Consiglio X.,
File no. 8.
June 20.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
who was sent by the Prince of Spain to the Queen of England.
The Prince might be on the coast of Galicia to embark there by
the 10th, and his arrival may be hoped for hourly. The Duke of
Savoy has received a gratuity of 15,000 crowns; has paid all his
household, and given orders for everybody to be in readiness to go
out in the course of this week; and the troops still continue march-
ing, but are not expected to take the field until the Prince arrives
in England; and the French are raising forces in great number.
The Emperor is sending those most beautiful tapestries repre-
senting the Tunis expedition, and a quantity of jewels, as a present
to the Queen of England.
With regard to the Emperor's request to the Pope to send legates
to the Diet of Augsburg, nothing was said either to Cardinal
Pole or to the Nuncio, nor did they know anything about it, save
by letters from Rome; and his Holiness sent Pole a copy of the
Emperor's letter written to him on this subject, that he might be
acquainted with it, and give his opinion about the Diet; Damula's
being that by this demand for legates, the Emperor wished to
cajole (dar pasto) his Holiness, as for the present "they will neither
hold the Diet, nor talk of religion.
Brussels, 17th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
899. ENGLISH AMBASSADOR in VENICE.
Motion made in the Council of Ten and Junta by the Chiefs of
the Ten.
That the Ambassador for England be answered in such gracious
form of speech as shall seem fit to the Doge, that they are content
to have his servant arrested, as he requested them to do.
And be it carried that the servant aforesaid be arrested by order
of the Chiefs of this Council, and kept in custody in a secret place
in such a mode as shall seem fit to them, so that he may not be able
to speak with any one.
Ayes, 6. Noes, 17.
Neutrals, 5.
Ser Francesco Minio,
Ser Alvise Foscarini,
Ser Ermolao Barbaro,
Chiefs.
[Italian.]
900. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
It is heard from Britanny and Normandy that in those seas the
French Government (questi) assembled lately a large quantity of
ships, to cause suspicion to the Prince of Spain on this his passage
to England, but I understand that of the said ships there were only
about eighteen armed, the rest belonging to private individuals,
1554.
513
1554.
it having been chosen to make use of them for the purpose of making
a great show.
Premontre, 20th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in Italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
901. CARDINAL POLE to the CARDINAL of AUGSBURG (Cardi-
nale Augustano) [Otho Truchses].
June 20.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. No one could induce Pole to publish the books addressed by him
No date of time. heretofore to the King of England, for his own perusal exclusively
Printed in v. iv. (ut ab uno illo legerentur). Is now afraid that the publication will
Epistolarum be extorted from him by a stranger, whose effigy and name are
Reginaldi Poli," alike unknown to him, and who openly declares himself Pole's
pp. 153 158.
with the date as
above. enemy. This person resents the arguments of the books, as inferred
by that part of his letter addressed to Pole at Rome (and which
Pole now sends to the Cardinal of Augsburg) threatening speedily
to publish something against them. The writer seems to be a
German; he declares Pole's assertions to be false, and accuses him
of printing the books in such a manner as to prevent their falling
into the hands of persons capable of confuting them.* The inten-
tion of Pole is manifest through his intended preface to the whole
work, at the time when counselled and well nigh compelled to
publish it. Such apparently, is the will of God, and he therefore
sends everything to the Cardinal of Augsburg. In the meanwhile,
touching the censor's accusations, Pole is charged with acknow-
ledging the true doctrine of justification, and endeavouring to
prevent its being divulged amongst the Italians. This he confutes
by asserting that according to the apostolic doctrines and the
authority of the Church, he believes justification to proceed from
faith accompanied by works, as learned by him, not from the inter-
preters and masters who arrogate to themselves the true meaning of
those words, but from the Apostles Paul and James.
Macbeth was first
ironically in 1554,
exactly when.
With regard to the diffusion of this doctrine in Italy, he merely
counselled certain persons, who chose to preach, to abstain from
that gift of gospelling,† to which no one had called them. Christ
being essentially truth and justice, no one possesses him who swerves
from justice and truth, as this writer does when he says that Pole
* "Tum in eo me graviter accusat, quod libros eos ita curaverim imprimendos, ut caverim
ne in eorum manus pervenirent, qui ea quæ a me scribantur, callideque (ut ait ipse)
legentium animis instillentur, et possent, et parati essent refellere." It is not easy to com-
prehend how the printing of a work, even for mere private circulation, could diminish the
chance of its being confuted by hostile critics.
+ "Et monuerim, ut ab eo evangelizandi munere, ad quod nemo eos vocasset, absti-
nerent." Dr. Johnson writes that the word " to gospel " in Shakspeare, in whom alone
he found it," is used, though so venerable in itself, with some degree of irony; I suppose
from the gospellers, who had long been held in contempt." Macbeth addressed the
murderers of Banquo thus-
"Are you so gospell'd
To pray for this good man, and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave,
And beggar'd your's for ever?
""
-
performed in 1606. Cardinal Pole used the word “evangelizandi ”
so it must have been anglicised shortly afterwards, but I know not
5.
K K
514
1554.
1554.
went to a certain gospeller at Augsburg (such being the title con-
ferred by them on their doctors), promising him to espouse their
cause,* whereas Pole never was at Augsburg. The Cardinal of
Augsburg knows well that lately when again passing through
Germany, he did not go there; and of his very great kindness,
the Cardinal, hearing that he was distant two days journey from
the city, sent his attendants to him to conduct him to Dillingen,
where having been the Cardinal's guest during some days, or rather
months, no doctor of the sect ever spoke to him, not that he was
averse to a conference, but that none of the gospellers asked it.
As to the abuse lavished on him by this libeller, would not heed
it, were he at present in the position of a mere private individual,
it having always been his custom under similar circumstances to
remain silent, but as he now holds a public office he is compelled to
reply. Being accused therefore of canvassing the popedom, he con-
futes the charge in detail, alleging his aversion to all honours
(especially to that which is supreme), and the testimony of his
friends, as also his own demeanour, and the book written by him
on that occasion, and of which he sends the Cardinal of Augsburg a
manuscript copy (having hitherto communicated it but to a very
few persons), that, should he think fit, he may print it. Pole
himself is of opinion that it will easily acquit him before all candid
judges of the suspicion of having earnestly sought this supreme
dignity, and refers himself to what he wrote after the conclave to
the Bishop of Badajos.
-
Pole also finds himself accused of cruelty, and of wishing to re-
establish the peace between England and France, for the purpose
of a combined attack on Germany. With regard to cruelty, Pole
may possibly have said that a putrid member should be severed
from the body, but at any rate he never said that recourse
should not be had in the first place to lenitives, on which account
he was reproached by some for being too merciful. At the Council
of Trent he always supported the mildest measures, considering that
the prelates assembled there, being entitled "fathers," should com-
port themselves as parents, and that the heretics, although rebels,
were their sons.
Touching the Germans, the Cardinal of Augsburg's countrymen,
not only Pole, but the entire English nation, are bound to them by
yet closer ties of friendship, both one and the other being of Saxon
origin; and as the Germans are linked with the English by the
bond of human friendship, so are they also joined to them by the
strongest of any, which is divine love, because England conferred
on her German kinsfolk this boon, that they received the faith and
religion of Christ through the English Saint Boniface, which ought
to be an eternal pledge between the two nations. On this
account Pole the more laments that the Saxons should have raised
the standard of rebellion against the Roman Church, their example
being followed by England, and that not content with their own
* Cum dicit, Augustæ me ad quendam Evangelicum (sic enim doctores suos appellant)
divertisse, et apud eum præ me tulisse, me causæ illorum favere.”
1554.
515
1554.
June 21.
Senato Mar.
v. xxxii. p. 150,
tergo.
apostasy they should endeavour openly to pervert the whole of
Germany and all other Christian nations.
Brussels, 20th June 1554.
[Latin. 240 lines.]
June 22.
Lettere Secrete,
Capi ConsiglioX.,
File no. 5.
902. CLAIMS on ENGLAND of the VENETIAN NOBLEMAN SIR
FRANCIS BERNARD.*
The nobleman Francesco Bernardo, knight, having been unable
as yet to negotiate anything with the Queen of England about the
credits claimed by him from that crown (on account of damages
sustained in divers manners for the service and advantage of his
late Majesty), by reason of the disturbances after the death of King
Edward, petitions the Signory to prolong therefore for one year,
the license to go to England conceded on the 27th of March 1553;
Put to the ballot, that the above-mentioned license be prolonged for
another year.
Ayes, 172. Noes, 11. Neutrals, 3.
[Italian.]
903. The CHIEFS OF THE TEN to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.†
A few days ago the reverend ambassador of the most Serene
Queen Mary came to them saying that he wished they would order
the arrest of one of his servantst for certain important things,
which he would specify after it had been made. The Chiefs answered
him that this matter of arrest is of great moment, and by the
Republic's laws and ordinances entails difficulties, as sundry and
important considerations must be had. Subsequently the ambas-
sador entered the College, where the Chiefs were present, saying he
had been told that his said servant had uttered certain words to
the disparagement of the most Serene Queen, demonstrating ill-will
towards her; and he repeated the same demand for the arrest, in
order (as he said) to examine him thoroughly, with the assistance
of a secretary on behalf of the Signory. Although anxious to do
what is agreeable to the Queen, nevertheless as such proceedings
are unusual, and might create great confusion, they were unable
to satisfy the ambassador in this matter, having frequently denied
similar requests to many Princes, ambassadors, and other person-
ages, because an infinite number of persons of all nations proceed
freely to Venice and her territory, where everybody discourses,
even of Princes, according to their opinions, and it is not customary
to take heed of their words, the like system being observed at other
courts; and had the Signory proceeded to this arrest, the example
would have subjected them to so many similar requests from ambas-
sadors and other personages that discussions of the sort would have
arisen daily, to the confusion of the Republic's laws and regulations,
* The name and title of Francesco Bernardo is given as above in the index of Mr.
Turnbull's Calendar, 1547-1553, p. 362.
†The name of this servant and his misdemeanours are recorded in Mr. Turnbull's
Calendar, date June 16, 1554, p. 97.
Transcribed in cipher.
KK 2
516
1554.
1554.
June 23.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
June 29.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
June 30.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
and causing not a little disturbance to the Signory. Have given
him detailed account of these things for his own information, and in
order that if spoken to about them further by the Queen, or by any
of the Lords of the Council, he may be able to reply according to
this letter in such form as of his prudence he shall deem fitting,
giving the Chiefs notice of the result.
Ayes, 20. Noes, 0. Neutrals, ().
In Collo, intervenientibus Cap. Illmi. Consilij X.
[Italian.]
904. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Letters from Valladolid of the 24th ulto. say that the Prince of
Spain had already seen his sister, and was expected to embark in
the middle of this month at the latest. Hitherto the weather has
been fair, but it is now cold, and the northerly winds are against
this voyage. The Marquis de las Navas has brought the Queen a
beautiful large diamond as a present from her Consort, and unless
some new resolve be formed, it seems that the marriage will be
celebrated at Winchester.
Sir Philip Hoby, late English Ambassador at the Imperial Court,
has arrived at Brussels. Damula believes he is on his way to the
baths of Abano, but in a future despatch will say for certain
whether such is the case.
Brussels, 23rd June 1554.
[Italian.]
905. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Emperor's delay in mustering his forces is now causing him
great trouble and detriment. During the whole of this year he
determined to await the arrival of his son in England, in order to
avail himself of the money and troops which accompany the
Prince, and therefore procrastinated, disbursing but little pay, and
detaining much cavalry and infantry in Germany; nor can
they be got together speedily, as the journey thence to Flanders
is very long, nor is the money sent thither sufficient to make them
march.
Brussels, 29th June 1554.
[Italian, in cipher; deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
906. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
It may be hoped that in a fortnight from 16 to 20,000 foot
will be mustered, and the Emperor will regulate himself according
to the proceedings of the enemy, who, yesterday and today, besides
plundering everything in the neighbourhood of Brussels, also burned
many villages, capturing such men of wealth as they found abroad,
great numbers of the peasantry being destitute, and making their
escape into Brussels; those who can save their apparel, bringing it
into the town, where in a few days they must be famished, as the
1554.
517
1554.
June 30.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
harvest cannot be got in for a month, and the French are destroy-
ing it, victuals being brought from day to day for the momentary
supply; but the enemy lost a great opportunity by not entering
Brussels immediately and making them all decamp in double
quick time. Nothing is said about the Emperor's departure, nor
is it expected to take place until he has an army in the field, when
Damula will follow him wherever he goes, unless he forbids him.
Yesterday his Majesty tried on his armour and found that the
corslet and a jerkin of buckskin (di coro [cuojo] di cervo) which
he wears under it were tighter for him than usual, by three fingers
breadth, so he is stouter than he was, and, from what his attendants
say, is better than he has been for some years.
Cardinal Pole, who had been residing at an abbey, as Damula
wrote,* on hearing that his Majesty intended to depart, came into
Brussels and informed the Bishop of Arras, through the Nuncio
[Muzzarelli], that he should remain there until he received farther
orders from Rome, and wished to know whether the Emperor had
any other commands to give. Arras said he would inform his
Majesty, who would not depart for the present, and that within a
month at the latest he will have such an army that it will make
the French scamper home if they can get there. But in a few days
Pole purposes making another attempt, by speaking about the
peace or causing it to be spoken about, provided the Emperor will
give him audience; nor did the Bishop of Arras take it amiss that
Pole should remain at Brussels, of which he had some doubt,
remembering what Arras said to him [last May] when he returned
from France, as written by Damula.
It was reported today that the Prince of Spain had arrived in
England on the 28th, but Damula finds that a Spanish ship has
arrived at Antwerp, having sailed from Coruña on the 18th, bring-
ing word that the Prince was to embark on that day, and they hope
soon to have news of his arrival in England.
Brussels, 30th June 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
907. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
The English Ambassador is going to Rheims, as I also shall do
immediately on the Queen's departure thither, she having remained
where she now is on account of a slight indisposition which suddenly
seized her eldest daughter, Madame Isabel; but on that same day they
sent off the Dauphin with the most Serene Queen of Scotland and her
Majesty's other daughter to Rheims, and the Queen herself will soon
depart, that castle (quel castello) [of Coucy?] not being considered
very safe on account of its vicinity to the enemy's fortrssses.
I have heard on good authority, that as soon as the army is
united his Majesty will push on with it (si spingerâ con quello)
towards Brussels, in order if possible to dislodge the Emperor, and
* The earliest of Damula's letters which has been preserved is dated 1st June 1554, and
Pole was already at the abbey of Dillingan in May, as seen by his correspondence.
518
1554.
1554,
July 1.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
July 4.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
July 5.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
if able, they would even enter the city and have it sacked, which will
remain to be seen; and of what may take place I shall give your
Serenity notice from time to time.
Dr. Wotton tells me that according to his last advices from
London, the Prince of Spain has not yet appeared in that kingdom,
and this he attributed to contrary weather; nor by this present
letter have I anything more to tell your Serenity.
Laon (Lan), 30th June 1554.
July 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 20.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
908. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to DOGE FRANCESCO VENIER.*
Congratulates himself and the whole Republic, as do Cardinal Pole,
the Cardinal of Burgos, all the Italian ambassadors, and very many
others, on his election.
Brussels, 1st July 1554.
[Italian.]
909. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Bishop of Arras informed the Nuncio [Muzzarelli] in reply
to the demand mentioned in his (Damula's) last, that the Emperor
was content with whatever pleased the Pope; that the Legate Pole
might remain here at his option; and that before the Emperor's
departure, the Bishop would go to visit him, which he had not chosen
to do hitherto, because regard should be had, on account of the French.
(perchè si die haver rispetto per causa de' Francesi).
Brussels, 4th July 1554.
[Italian, in cipher, deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
910. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
By merchants from Spain, who have come from Spain on board a
ship which has arrived at Antwerp, it is heard that they saw the
Prince's fleet sailing from Spain hitherwards, so that by this time he
may be in England; and that he is bringing upwards of seven
thousand infantry, and money to an enormous amount (et danari
assai assai); both of which will arrive very opportunely.
Brussels, 5th July 1554.
[Italian.]
911. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send him their letter of credence to the most Serene King
[Philip] of England; on his Majesty's arrival there to present it,
addressing him in their name, according to the terms of his com-
mission, and should his Highness have already arrived, he is again
to perform this office.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* Francesco Venier, elected Doge 11th June 1554.
1554.
519
1554.
July 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 20.
July 5.
Lettere del Col-
legio (Secreta),
File no. 20.
July 8.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
912. DOGE FRANCESCO VENIER to the most SERENE [PHILIP]
KING OF ENGLAND.
Sent lately to the Queen of England his noble Zuan Michiel to
congratulate her on her marriage to his Majesty, and to reside as
the Doge's ambassador in that kingdom, charging him on the
King's arrival there to perform the like office of congratulation on
this marriage and on his accession to the English crown.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
913. The DOGE and COLLEGE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Send him a letter of credence to the King [Philip] of England; to
present it on his Majesty's arrival.
Ayes, 23. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
914. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
From what has been heard, the French make no progress, but had
a design on Namur. Some say they did not enter either Flanders or
Brabant from fear of getting themselves into a war with England,
as by the last convention made in 1542 the English are bound to
assist the Emperor should those provinces be invaded; nor is
Marienburg included, as being in the province of Liège; so the English
ambassador resident at Brussels, who would fain save his country
from war, has written to his Queen that Marienburg is not amongst
the places which the English Crown is bound to defend, but should
the Emperor's son become King of England, and be able to make
war, it would be easy to find a pretext for waging it. The Bishop
of Arras told Cardinal Pole that the Emperor would willingly
have been accompanied by him, but that the urgent need compelled
his Majesty to depart on the sudden. When Pole observed that
having been unable to effect the peace he could only say that should
a spirit come for that purpose, he would try to prevent them from
letting it depart, the Bishop replied that a good peace could only be
made by a good war; and when the Cardinal rejoined that war was
never good, Granvelle continued, that although it was commenced by
the French, they will not finish it, either at such time or in such
fashion as they shall wish. He then commenced magnifying the
Imperial forces and disparaging those of France, saying that the
Emperor with so many realms, including Peru, being occasionally
pinched for money, he would fain know what to think of the
[French] King, who has but one kingdom, and that having already
sold the church chalices, he is no longer able to do deeds; whereupon
the Cardinal prayed God that no occasion might arise for their
marshalling all their forces one against the other.
Brussels, 8th July 1554.
[Italian, in cipher; deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
520
1554.
1554.
July 9.
Deliberazioni
915. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN BAILIFFS
(BAYLIS) at Constantinople.
Informed them by their last letters that the Grisons sent by the
most Christian King to succour Sienna were on their march to that
city. They subsequently joined the French troops raised at Parma
and La Mirandola, and with horse and foot marched out of Sienna,
under the command of Pietro Strozzi, into the Florentine territory,
whereupon the army of the Duke of Florence pursued the French,
and some skirmishes took place. The Duke's army then went to
Pistoia, a place belonging to his Excellency, where it was reinforced
by troops from the Duchy of Milan; and the French army, having
enabled the Siennese to get in their harvest, returned into the
Siennese territory, the Duke's army doing the like; and toward
Porto Hercules, the Prior of Capua, when taking a Florentine castle,
was dangerously wounded by a harquebuse shot.
Have advices from England that a personage has come to the
most Serene Queen, being sent to her with a great present (con
grosso presente) of jewels, by the Prince of Spain her husband, who
was to embark at Corunna in the course of June, on his voyage,
with the fleet, to England.
Ayes, 154. Noes, 0. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
Senato (Secreta),
v. p.
916. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
July 10.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
The Cardinal de Tournon is of opinion that the Emperor has
Archives. delayed raising other troops, having for some time been expecting
the Spanish infantry, which is to come with the Prince his son, of
whose passage to England he said they had as yet no news what-
ever; and that it was heard that the most serene Queen of England
having need of money, had sent in quest of it to Antwerp, and to
make a bargain with the merchants at the rate of 30 per cent.
interest per annum; so, judging from the Queen's scarcity of money,
his Right Rev. Lordship inferred that kingdom would remain at
peace with this one.
Rheims, 10th July 1554.
[Italian.]
July 11.
917. CARDINAL POLE to KING PHILIP of ENGLAND.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
In the midst of the congratulations addressed to his Majesty from
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. every quarter on his marriage to Queen Mary, Pole has a double
Printed in Vol. 4. claim to make himself heard, being Legate from the Pope, for the
Epistolarum purpose of reconciling England to the Church, and of establishing
Poli," etc., with peace between the Emperor, King Philip's father, and the King of
Reginaldi
the date France. The marriage of Philip and Mary encourages him to hope
21st June 1554. for the best; the Queen, to whom the crown belongs by hereditary
right, earnestly desires it, admiring his endowments and preroga-
tives, especially his inherited title of "Catholic," confirmed by his
education in the bosom of the Church; and having always wor-
shipped that Catholic faith, which has been so harassed in England,
the Queen, who bears the title of Defender of the Faith, has called
1554.
521
1554.
#
July 14.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
July 12.
Despatches from
England.
File 1.
Venetian
Archives.
him to be joined to her, for its maintenance, by the most holy
bond of matrimony. His Majesty will also comprehend that the
interests and wishes of the kingdom call for peace between the
Emperor and France. Offers the King his services, and wishes him
all prosperity.
From the monastery of Diligam (sic) [near Brussels], 11th July
1554.
[Latin, 56 lines.]
918. GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian Ambassador in England
to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Queen yesterday received letters from the Prince and from
her own Ambassador; the Prince was to embark on the 8th. This
intelligence was forwarded last night in the greatest haste to the
Emperor, whom it interests so deeply, that he will hear and receive
it with no less joy and comfort than it has caused the Queen. His
Highness' arrival in England from hour to hour may be considered
certain, as from that day to this the wind was quite fair, and
continues so. When it takes place, will give immediate notice of
the fact, although as the Queen and the Emperor have many
couriers on the watch in many places, for the instant conveyance of
the news to many quarters, he thinks it may perhaps reach the
Signory sooner through some other means than his.
London, 12th July, 1554.
[Italian.]
919. MARO' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
On the evening of the 8th the Emperor entered Namur,* and on
the 9th his army encamped near the town on a hill, where they
subsequently raised trenches, a proof of their intending to remain
there for some days. On the 10th the Emperor entered the castle,
and would allow no one to accompany him, save Don Ferrante
[Gonzaga] and the Signori Gastaldo and Doria; and on the
morrow he chose to inspect the army, which has been lately increased
by one thousand cavalry under the Prince of Orange, and by some
Belgian bands (alcune bande di questi paesi), which are very
sorry (assai triste); as also by 10 companies of High Germans
under the Count of Nassau, fine troops, and by 10 other companies
of Low Germans under Monsr. de Bederode; so that the Imperial
camp may number from about 16 to 17,000 infantry, and about
5,000 horse, encamped as aforesaid, with Namur in their rear (con
le spalle a Namur) in a very strong position, and secure from the
enemy, as between the two camps there is a large wood and
a strong and difficult road, which the French are not expected to
take, and which is still being re-enforced, 1,000 Saxon cavalry under
Count Schwartzenburg having already crossed the Rhine; and
from the towns of Belgium (queste terre) they have ordered as many
* This confirms the contents of a letter from Sir John Masone in Foreign Calendar,
date Brussels, 10th July 1554, but it contains no other letter from Masone until the 2nd
of August.
•
522
1554.
1554.
•
as 8,000 infantry, very sorry troops (ben tristi), and perhaps use-
less; and at Brussels a census has been made of all men able to carry
arms, of whom a thousand have been selected, and will depart in
two days. From other towns in like manner, troops paid for three
months are being sent for his Majesty's service; and at Antwerp
they are raising 2,000. On this account, and by reason of a
certain tax laid upon beer, etc., the people of that place rebelled three
days ago in a serious manner (di mala maniera), making much
noise, and raising new questions (et molta novità), complaining
that they were sent into the camp, and that it was intended to
quarter the Spaniards in the town; so they seized the gates, and
went to the burgomasters and governors, who barricaded themselves
(si rinchiusero), to let the first ebullition subside, and then
apologized to the people, asking their pardon, and also repealing
their [new] taxes. There has also been some danger of a sack; and
the people are still in possession of the gates, though it is hoped they
will be pacified; and the Queen of Hungary, who is in a castle
between Brussels and Louvain, has sent one of her attendants to
allay the tumult.
In the meanwhile on the 9th the French took by storm a place on
the Meuse, called Bouvines, a mile from Dinant. It had a garrison
of 50 Spaniards, and some soldiers of the country, all of whom
were cut to pieces; and then, with part of their army, the French
crossed the river, and took the town of Dinant; after which, with a
number of cannon, they battered the fortress, situated on the summit
of a rock of no great height, but considered strong by reason
of the difficulty of the ascent; and as neither the Germans nor
the Switzers would make the assault, the Gascons attempted it on
the evening of the 10th, but were repulsed with great loss, many
of them having been killed by the artificial fire placed in the
fosse. But on the 11th the French returned to the attack, and
the defenders having first sent to the Emperor for a succour of
300 infantry, who did not make their appearance, commenced
capitulating, and at length surrendered, their lives and body arms
being spared them (salve le persone con le arme di dosso). Some
say that the native soldiery who are from Liège, coerced their com-
manders, which others deny; but the result is that the French have
possession of Dinant; and within was the Spanish captain Julian,
with his company.
* The Signor Giovanni Battista Gastaldo was
sent in one direction and Don Hernardo (sic) dalla Noia in
another, with strong companies of foot and horse to succour the
place or damage the enemy, but the fortress was surrounded, and
they could do neither one thing nor the other. The capture of
Dinant is not of great importance, save on account of the Meuse;
but yet it was taken in sight of the Emperor, and those who were
averse to his Majesty quitting Brussels now show how much his
* In the Foreign Calendar, entry 233, date Brussels, 7 July 1554, it is stated that
Captain Julian had five ensigns of Spaniards and Liègois. At page 96 it appears by a
letter written to Queen Mary from Rheims on the 14th July 1554 by Dr. Wootton, that
Captain Julian had formerly served in England, and that he and his soldiers departed from
Dinant" with their swords by their sides."
1554.
523
1554.
July 20.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
July 21.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
reputation is affected by this feat, he being at Namur, distant about
four leagues from Dinant.
Mons. de Vendôme has lately invaded the county of Artois from
Picardy with 6000 foot and 2000 horse, plundering and burning
as far as the gates of Arras, to the great detriment of the province,
making his way even into Flanders, well nigh to Lisle.
A letter has come from the Court of the Queen of England, dated
the 10th instant, with news that on the 22nd ult. the Prince of
Spain arrived at St. James of Galicia, where he gave a gracious
reception to the English Ambassadors, and signed the marriage
articles, and went thence to the port of Coruña, where all were to
embark with the first fair weather.
Last night the cavalry of the two camps had a skirmish, the
French having come within a league of Namur. They lost eight or
ten men, and upwards of a hundred of the Imperialists are missing;
so says a courier just arrived on his way to England, and all the
inhabitants of the territory of Namur are escaping towards Brussels
as fast as they can.
Another courier has arrived from England, having left on the 12th,
with intelligence that the Spanish fleet had been sailing with a fair
wind, and it was considered certain that on the 14th or 15th his
Highness would be in Southampton harbour.
From Brussels, 14th July 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
920. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
Gives an account (in cipher) of the invasion of Flanders by the
French.
The Prince's departure from Coruña has been appointed for the
8th instant, but as yet it is not heard to have taken place; and of
late there has been very stormy weather in the British Channel. Å
A
fortnight ago, twenty armed French ships sailed from Dieppe to
join some others of the same nation off the Scilly Isles (drieto alcune
isole ditte Sille, al Capo di Anglia verso ponente).
Brussels, 20th July 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
921. The SAME to the SAME.
Gives an account of the war in Flanders (in cipher).
To-day a gentleman arrived who says he comes from the fleet
which is bringing the Prince of Spain, and that on the evening of
the 19th instant he left his Highness on ship-board with his fleet off
the Isle of Wight at the mouth of Southampton harbour, having
sailed from Spain on the 15th, and with fair weather during the
whole voyage, which has greatly rejoiced the Queen and all the
others. The gentleman went straight to the Emperor, and it may
be supposed that the Prince disembarked to-day.
Brussels, 21st July 1554.
[Italian.]
524
1554.
1554.
July 22.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
July 28.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
922. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
Last night a gentleman sent by the Queen, and another person
also, both reported alike, that they have seen the most Serene Prince
of Spain; that on the 19th he passed from his own ship into a
frigate prepared for this purpose by the Admiral [Lord Howard of
Effingham], who received his Highness and gave him a banquet on
board the said frigate-so called by the English, although it is as
large as a good-sized galliot-and on board of which, as by reason of
the wind the ships could not conveniently get into port, he was
taken to the landing place;* and then on disembarking he received
and treated everybody with great graciousness and affability without
any pomp or regal ceremony, mixing with them as a comrade,
making many presents to several persons; and in Spain, to one of
the Ambassadors of the Queen, he gave a gold cup worth 6000
crowns, and to the other a jewelled sword valued at 4000 crowns.†
He is supposed to have entered Winchester to-day, and to have
seen the Queen, and his coming is said to have been delayed on
account of the money he brings, and which is said to be 3,000,000 of
ducats thus, 300,000 for the Queen of England, 1,000,000 for the
merchants, and the rest for the Emperor. The infantry are in
number about 4,500; the other particulars will be transmitted
to the Signory from London,‡ and here we have not heard much
more, as is usually the case with the first news (come suol avvenire
delle prime nove).
Brussels, 22nd July 1554.
[Italian.]
923. The SAME to the SAME.
A courier from England arrived this morning, having left
Winchester the night of the 25th. The Prince of Spain on landing
was presented with the Order of the Garter, and received by a num-
ber of lords and others. On the morrow the Chancellor and many
other Lords of the Council went to visit him on behalf of the
Queen. On the 23rd he left Hampton for Winchester, accompanied
by many marquises, dukes, earls, and other lords and gentlemen,
besides those from Spain, having with him upwards of a thousand
horse. He dismounted at the cathedral, where he was received by
six bishops; and next day he went to visit the Queen, who came to
meet him at the large hall. On the 25th the espousal was cele-
brated with great pomp and rejoicing in the said church, with
marvellous signs of great joy and satisfaction on the part of all the
spectators; and during this ceremony the marriage articles (le
conventioni) were confirmed and sworn to by the Prince, and the
marriage was to be consummated that night. There were present at
the espousal, the ambassadors from the Emperor, from the Kings of
* In the Foreign Calendar, date 25 July 1554, there is a letter from the Council to Dr.
Wotton describing the reception of the Prince of Spain, who was met on the water by the
Lord Steward, but nothing is said about the banquet.
†The two ambassadors were the Earl of Bedford and Viscount Fitzwalter. (See Foreign
Calendar, June 5, 1554, p. 91.)
The despatches of this date, written from London by the Ambassador Michiel, have
not been preserved.
1554.
525
1554.
July 31.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
the Romans and Bohemia, from your Serenity, from Savoy, Florence,
and Ferrara, and many agents of Sovereign Princes (Signori). The
proclamation was entitled thus: Philip and Mary, by the grace of
God, King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem,
Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Prince of Spain, Archduke of Austria,
&c. On the 28th instant, they were to leave Winchester for Windsor,
where the festival (la festa) of the Garter will be held, and the entire
population had evinced great satisfaction. In ten days the King
and Queen will be in London. It was not said when the coronation
would take place.
Some of the Spaniards commenced disembarking either because
they were ordered to do so, or because they were tired of being on
ship-board, but the English government (quelli Signori Inglesi) made
them go back, and hastened the despatch of victuals to the seaside for
the return of the fleet as soon as possible, and to send the Spaniards
hitherwards (a quelle bande) immediately, it being said that they
do not exceed 4,000, and that they are being supplied with clothes
and arms of every sort, as they are nearly all destitute. They are
expected to land at Dunkirk, and march through Flanders to join
the army. It is understood that the Prince's coming was delayed
owing, in great measure, to the difficulty he experienced in bringing
this infantry out of Spain, as besides the dislike of "questi Signori
[the Spanish Government?] to the removal from their territory of
so many men, few of whom return, there must be added the evil
report taken to Spain last winter by the Spaniards who were
disbanded here for the sake of economy, and proclaimed that their
nation was very ill treated in these parts, both by the Imperial
ministers and by the people likewise.
""
The title of King of Naples, assumed by the Prince of Spain,
seeming new to me, I therefore spoke about it to many persons
likely to know when the investiture was conferred, and amongst
the rest I sent to the Regent of Naples, who is more surprised
at it than anybody, nor, like the others, does he know anything
about it, but a lady in office at the palace (una dama di pa-
lazzo) told a friend of mine, whom I sent to ask her the ques-
tion, that this investiture was given at Augsburg when the Prince
went thither from Italy.
The above written advices from England were extracted by me.
from a letter addressed by the Lords of the Council to Sir John
Masone; and when I expressed my surprise to him that the French
Ambassador should not have been present at the espousal (sponsa-
litio), he was unable to assign any cause, nor has he any other
advices than what I saw.
Brussels, 28th July 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher, the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
924. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
Further account of the war in Flanders (in cipher).
The English Ambassador at this Court has sent to tell me that
last night he received a courier with news of the arrival on that
526
1554.
1554.
Aug. 4.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
island of the Prince of Spain on the 20th ult.; that on the 25th,
the espousals (le nozze) took place, and that he had consummated
the marriage (il matrimonio). Wotton says that none but his
guard of halberdiers, and the princes and lords who accompanied
his Highness, disembarked with him, and that the rest of the troops
remained on board the fleet, which numbers about 120 sail, now at
anchor in one of those ports to take in victuals and refreshments
(vettovaglie et rinfrescamenti), and they are then to steer towards
Flanders, with a good sum of money, and the Spanish infantry, the
amount of whom he was unable to tell me. He added that on the
day of the marriage aforesaid, a courier arrived with letters from
the Emperor to the Prince, renouncing in his favour the crowns
of the kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem (che gli renuntiava
le corone delli regni di Napoli, di Sicilia, et di Hierusalem);
and the Ambassador believed that by this time his Highness will
also have been crowned King of England, and that in a few days.
a general Parliament of the realm will be held for the affairs of
the religion, the Right Rev. Cardinal Pole to be present there, as
your Serenity will be informed more in detail by your ambassador
at that Court.
Compiegne, 31st July 1554.
[Italian.]
925. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Auditor [Ormanetto?] of the Right Rev. Legate has arrived
from Rome with letters from his Holiness, greatly commending all
that Cardinal Pole has done (tutto il procedere di S. S. Revma.),
giving him leave either to remain [in Brussels], or go [to England],
at his option (dandole libertà di stare et andare come vole), and
fuller powers to do what shall seem expedient to him there about
the affairs of the religion, and especially with regard to such Church
property as has been alienated and placed in the Exchequer, or
bestowed on private individuals,* having no care nor thought
for anything but to gain those souls (nè pensier d' altro che di
guadagnar quelle anime), and bring them back to the obedience
of the Apostolic See; so the Cardinal has sent one of his atten-
dants to the King, and to the English Queen, to persuade both one
and the other to attend heart and soul (ad attendere con ogni
spirito) to the religion, and to bring back that kingdom to its
pristine state (et ridur quel regno nel suo pristino essere), as
becoming their titles of "Catholic" and "Defender of the Faith,"
and not to show themselves ungrateful for the great benefits con-
ferred by the Almighty on her Majesty.†
But as Cardinal Pole strongly suspects that in England they
will do neither more nor less than what the Emperor tells or com-
mands them,‡ he has sent this same Auditor [Ormanetto?] to
acquaint his Imperial Majesty with the deep interest (grande affet-
* Et specialmente delli beni delle chiese alienati, et posti nel publico et nel privato.
† Et non usar ingratitudine delli grandi beneficii che Dio ha fatti ad essa Regina.
Ma perchè sua Signoria Reverendissima dubita assai che in Anglia non si farà più ne
meno di quello che sarà ditto overo ordinato da Cesare.
:
1554.
527
1554.
Aug. 5.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
tione) deservedly taken by his Holiness in this cause of England, and
to demonstrate to him, that for his own advantage, he should desire
Pole to go and introduce the Catholic religion into that island,
and by means of it render the people much more obedient to
the Crown than when they were of one creed, and their sovereigns
of another.*
The Cardinal will await the opinion of the Emperor, who, as
told to me on good_authority, sent to the Prince his son by the
Regent, Figueroa, when he went to England, the investiture of the
kingdom of Naples and Jerusalem, which has been kept a most
profound secret, and was known solely to the Secretary Vargas
and the aforesaid Figueroa; this step having been taken to give
repute to the marriage, by conferring on the Prince the title of
King.
Subsequent advices from the camp received yesterday announce
that the Emperor chooses (vole) the Prince to be forthwith (de
presenti) put in possession of the entire government of the king-
doms of Naples and Sicily, and of what relates to justice, acts
of grace, and current affairs (et le cose di justitia et di gratia, et
li negocii pendenti), and he has had it intimated to the Regents of
Naples and Sicily, who are here at Brussels, to prepare for going
to England for this purpose on receiving the order, though I
do not believe it will be given so immediately, as there will be
many things to do before effecting this change, and especially
because a trustworthy person has told me that the Emperor
wrote to the Prince, his son, saying it would please him, should
the Queen give her consent, were he, shortly after the coronation, to
cross over to these parts, he saying that he wished to come and
assist his father in his present necessities (in questi bisogni); and
I am informed that the object of this arrangement is to guarantee
the Prince against any stir which the English might make at
this commencement, and also to gain repute for him by his treat-
ing these momentous affairs of the war here. They are very
intent on this scheme, and therefore give him the government of
those kingdoms; and he will have councils (consegli), and men
of gravity and esteem about him, thus obtaining great repute.
Brussels, 4th August 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher, the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
926. The SAME to the SAME.
Account (in cipher) of the war in the Low Countries, and of a
dispute with respect to the neutrality of Treves.
Cardinal Pole's Auditor [Ormanetto ?] has arrived from the
camp; the conclusion is, that they put off his Right Rev. Lordship's
journey to England, and it is evident that the Emperor does not
approve of his going thither.+
* Et col mezzo di quella a far i populi assai più obedienti a quella corona di ciò che
s' erano essendo loro di una religione, et li loro Re di un' altra.
† È giunto dal campo lo auditore del Reymo Legato; la stima è che si proroga la andata
di sua Sigria Reyma in Anglia, et si vede chiaro che Cesare non ha piacer che vi vada.
KK 8+
528
1554.
1554.
Aug. 7.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
Aug. 11.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives:
The attendants of the Legate and Nuncio [Muzzarelli], who have
returned from the camp, say that, in the presence of the Duke of
Savoy and the chief personages, they heard it said that the Turks
have come to a rupture with your Serenity, on the authority of the
advices from Trent, which were sent hence to the camp, but my letter
to the Bishop of Arras will have explained the matter to them.*
Brussels, 5th August 1554.
[Italian, in cipher, deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
927. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SENATE.
Has seen a letter from Cardinal d'Epernon at Rome, touching
the disagreement between the Pope and the Duke of Florence, and
gives an account of the Cardinal's interview with the Pope on the
subject.
It is reported here that the Spaniards who came with the most
Serene Prince of Spain, having landed at a short distance from
Calais, took a French fortress called Ambleteuse (Ablatu), between
Boulogne and Calais, and I detained my letter the whole of this
day, in order to ascertain the fact, but receiving no further confir-
mation of it, save this public rumour, I will no longer delay this
packet, and refer myself to my next for more certain news of the
circumstance.
Compiegne, 7th August 1554.
[Italian, in cipher, deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
928. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
A few days ago there arrived here Count Horn, sent by King
Philip, and an English gentleman, on behalf of the Queen, to give
the Emperor account of what took place at the marriage, and of its
consummation. The Emperor in return has sent a gentleman of
his chamber, Mons. d'Hibermon (sic), with congratulations, and, per-
haps, to convey some other orders. The Ambassador from Ferrara
has also returned hither from England, whither he went for these
festivities, but comes back in a very melancholy mood, from having
been deprived of the precedence claimed by him over the Floren-
tine Ambassador, and because on his return he was plundered by
English highwaymen (dalli ladroni di quel paese).†
Gives an account of the war in the Low Countries (in cipher).
I understand that three days ago, 500 cavalry escorted from Calais
(a place belonging to the English) to the Emperor's sea town of
Gravelines, a considerable sum of money, which came with the Prince
of Spain, but I do not know the amount, and during these [last
* A ciphered paragraph in the letter dated 4th August informed the Senate that it was
not for the honour of the Signory to have it reported that the Turks meditated invasion
of the Venetian territory, or that they had put the Venetian fleet to flight, and therefore
Damula wrote to the Bishop of Arras, suggesting the probable origin of this false
intelligence.
†This Ferrarese Ambassador was Count Rodrigo Montecuccolo, see Foreign Calendar,
year 1554, pp. 89, 90, 107. At p. 118, allusion is made to the dispute about precedence
in a letter from Sir John Masone, dated Brussels, 18 September, but it makes no mention
of the robbery.
1554.
529
1554.
Aug. 11.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta).·
vol. lxix., p. 35.
Aug. 12.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
few] days the mart of Antwerp has become more liberal (più
larga).
Brussels, 11th August 1554.
[Italian.]
929. The DOGE and SENATE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Have lately received several sets (mani) of his letters down to the
20th ult., the last of which announce the arrival in England of the most
Serene Prince of Spain,* his reception at the port of Hampton, and
the order given in the Queen's name to him and the other Ambas-
sadors to betake themselves to Salisbury, where their lodgings were
prepared for them. Desire him again to perform a congratulatory
office with their Majesties in England.
Ayes, 202. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
Aug. 11.
930. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTI-
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta).
NOPLE.
tergo.
vol. lxix., p. 36, By advices from England dated the 20th July, the Prince of
Spain arrived there on the preceding day with 130 large ships
(grosse navi) and soldiery, and landed in Southampton harbour, and
by letters from Brussels, dated the 29th, it seems that the marriage
was celebrated on the 25th, and consummated that same night.
Ayes, 44. Noes, 5. Neutrals, 3.
Amendment. Ayes, 159.
[Italian.]
931. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
By my last of the 5th I announced the return of Cardinal Pole's
Auditor (Ormanetto?) from the camp, he having then just arrived, so
I was unable at the moment to learn any details, the summary of
which was, that the Bishop of Arras told the Auditor that by no
means was the Right Reverend the Legate to think of going to England
without permission from the Emperor; and even were he to ask it
during ten thousand years he must not think to obtain it unless he
sent his Majesty the powers lately received from Rome, authorizing
him to dispose of the Church property which had been alienated, and
either placed in the Exchequer or bestowed on private English sub-
jects; and, moreover, unless he acquainted his Majesty with his opinion
and intention with regard to what he meant to do about the said
Church property, as this was a very important matter, on which the
quiet or commotion of all England depended.† On hearing this,
* On the 20th July 1554. See Mr. Turnbull's Foreign Calendar, July 25, 1554, p. 106.
† Scrissi del ritorno dell' Auditor del Revo Legato dal campo, donde egli era venuto
poco innanzi; et però non potei hora saper i particolari, liquali in somma furono che
Mons. di Aras disse all' Auditor preditto, che il Revo Legato non si pensasse di andar in
Anglia ad alcun modo, senza licentia dell' Imperatore, et se ben la demandasse 10 mille
anni, non pensasse di doverla havere se non mandava a sua Maestà le facultà novamente
LL+
5.
530
1554.
1554.
บ
Cardinal Pole clearly understood that the Emperor does not choose
him to go to that island, the Legate being unable to tell his Majesty
what he purposes doing about the Church property, because it is of
various sorts, and the mode of alienation varies, each of which
[cases] requires different cognizance and [a different] award.* So,
as the Queen wished to see them, he has this day sent her a copy of
the powers; and as she seemed desirous that he should go to England
his Right Reverend Lordship will remain here awaiting a decision
either from here or from there (o di quà o di là), but the English
Government does not gainsay the will of the Imperial ministry (ma
quelli di là, non si parteno dal volere di questi).
Concerning the sum of money which, as written by me yesterday,
was escorted from Calais to Gravelines, I understand from a person
who was present when the cases were loaded and unloaded, that it
does not exceed 300,000 crowns. Great part of the silver brought
from Spain is in plates.†
It is being treated about, to give the government of the kingdom
of Naples to the Queen of Poland,‡ together with a council, and the
Emperor has already said that he is content with this; and they are
endeavouring to obtain the consent of the King of England, who is
expected to give it readily, the kingdom of Naples being now weary
and depressed (afflitto) by the many wrongs (travagli) endured
at the hands of the Spanish governors. The ambassador of the
Queen aforesaid [Bonna Sforza?] has purchased an organ at
Antwerp for 3,000 crowns, as also goldsmith's work to the amount
of 6,000, to give to the Queen of England, and will go thither to
endeavour to arrange this business, which is supposed to be very
near conclusion. A chamberlain (un camerier) of the Duke of
Florence has arrived post-wise, express, and went off immediately
to the camp. The Duke's ambassador keeps the news secret, but I
understand it announces the rout of Strozzi's army, and some pro-
posal (partite) from the Siennese; and they keep it secret, lest further
orders or reinforcement be sent forthwith from France to Italy.
Brussels, 12th August 1554.
[Italian, in cipher, deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
havute da Roma del poter disponer delli beni ecclesiastici alienati et posti così nel fisco,
come nelli particolari di Anglia, et oltra di ciò se non facesse saper a sua Maestà la
opinione et volontà sua sopra quello che voleva far circa essi beni ecclesiastici, perchè
questa era materia importantissima et concernente la quiete o perturbatione di tutto quel
regno.
*Non gli pol dire quello che egli vogli far delli beni ecclesiastici, perchè di essi sono
diversi conditioni et diverse alienationi sopra cadauna di le qual bisogna far una differente
cognitione et iudicio.
† E in piastre. "Piastra" signifies a thin plate of any metal. Dr. Johnson does not
give the etymology of piaster, nor do I know when the word was first used to signify an
Italian coin about five shillings sterling in value."
CC
The reigning Queen of Poland was Catherine of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand, king
of the Romans, niece of Charles V., widow of Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and
third wife of Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland, to whom she was married in the year
1553. (See L'Art de vérifier les Dates.) This regency of Naples by the Queen of
Poland was not effected, and I believe it related not to the reigning queen but to the
Queen Dowager Bonna Sforza, who by her last will appointed King Philip heir to her
whole Duchy of Bari, estimated at 150,000 ducats per annum. (See Foreign Calendar,
date Rome, 1st December 1557, entry No. 688, pp. 346–347.)
1554.
531
I
1554.
Aug. 13.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
Aug. 18.
Senato Mar,
v. xxxii. p. 159.
Sermus. Princeps,
932. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
I wrote that the Emperor had given the government of Naples
and Sicily to the King of England, but for the present he gives him
Naples alone, and not Sicily. The Fuggers have made a bargain
(un partito) with the court for 150,000 crowns. The securities are
not yet given, but it is thought these States will bind themselves,
as I also hear that Brabant, Flanders, and Holland are content
to furnish a certain quota (un certo che), but the sum is not yet
limited.
At Antwerp they have postponed the payments for one month,
allowing 1 per cent. interest per month to such as will accept it
(a chi vole), because the moneys from Spain have not yet arrived.
Brussels, 13th August 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
933. CONFIRMATION of GRANTS made by KING EDWARD and
QUEEN MARY to the AMBASSADOR SORANZO.
By the report (relatione) of Giacomo Soranzo, knight, lately
Consiliarij returned from his embassy to England, the Senate has heard of
Cap. de XL, the gracious and loving demonstrations made towards him, both
T. F.
Sap. Ordinum. by the late most Serene King Edward, and by the most Serene
Queen. The former, when he knighed Soranzo, gave him his royal
badge; and the latter, on his departure from England, gave him.
a chain, as customary with regard to other ambassadors from the
Signory. The aforesaid nobleman having been obliged to incur
great expense for the honour and dignity of the State, both at the
Queen's coronation and also in consequence of the changes and
disturbances which occurred several times in England during his
41 months embassy there, the scarcity of everything having been
constant and excessive, it becomes the Republic, to exercise towards
the said ambassador their usual liberality, both as a mark and testi-
mony that his toil and service have been agreeable to them, as also
that it may serve as an example for other ambassadors, to sustain
their grade with dignity, and to the honour of the Signory:
Put to the ballot,-
That the aforesaid gifts be freely given, by authority of this
* Amongst the Soranzo shields engraved by Coronelli, two bear the lion of England,
thus,


LL2+-
532
1554.
1554.
Aug. 18.
Report of
England,
MS. no. 1,072,
in the Correr
Museum.
Personal de-
scription of
Queen Mary.
Council, to their ambassador aforesaid, as conceded to others in
similar cases.
Ser Philippus Foscari, Sap. Cons.
Ser Aloysius Mocenico, Eqs. Sap. T.F.
Ser Hierons. Venerio, Sap. Ordinum.
1554 die 18 Augti. in Collegio exis-
tente in Exmo. Senatu.
Ayes, 181. Noes, 29. Neutrals, 6.
24—1—0, expulsis affinibus.
[Italian.]
934. REPORT of ENGLAND made to the SENATE by GIACOMO
SORANZO, late Ambassador to Edward VI. and Queen Mary.
The business of the Signory's ambassadors consists chiefly in
three things: in the diligent execution of the commissions received
by them, in sending detailed and speedy advices of what occurs in
the courts where they reside, and in acquainting the Senate on
their return with whatever may be worth knowing; so having been
ambassador to King Edward VI., and after his death to Queen
Mary, for the term in all of 41 months,* and having to the best of
his ability done what was required touching the two first points, will
allude to them no further, save inasmuch as shall be necessary, and
coming to the third, will divide it into three principal parts. In
the first, will tell of the Queen's qualities, and with what difficulty
she obtained the crown, and will also speak of her nearest kindred.
In the second, will tell of her realms, and military and naval forces,
and of her revenues and expenditure. In the last, will speak of
the mode of government, both with regard to church, realm, and
state, and conclude with a few remarks about her Majesty's under-
standing with such neighbouring foreign powers as trade with
England.
The most Serene Madame Mary is entitled Queen of England and
of France, and Defendress (Difensora) of the Faith. She was born on
the 18th February 1515, so she yesterday completed her 38th year
and six months. She is of low stature, with a red and white com-
plexion, and very thin; her eyes are white† and large, and her hair
reddish; her face is round, with a nose rather low and wide (largo) ;
and were not her age on the decline she might be called handsome
(bella) rather than the contrary. She is not of a strong constitu-
tion, and of late she suffers from headache and serious affection of
the heart (grave passione di cuore) [query, physical palpitation
of the heart, or mental anxiety], so that she is often obliged to
take medicine, and also to be blooded. She is of very spare diet,
and never eats until 1 or 2 p.m., although she rises at daybreak,
when, after saying her prayers and hearing mass in private, she
transacts business incessantly, until after midnight, when she retires
*In the Register" Secretario alle voci," there is no note of Soranzo's election, but by
the Register" Senato Terra," vol. xxxvii., p. 100 tergo, it appears that the Senate appointed
him to succeed Daniel Barbaro in February 1551.
t † "Bianchi," not grey. The same expression is used by Horace Walpole, in a letter
to Lord Strafford (date August 16, 1768), describing the person of the king of Denmark.
1554.
533
Account of the
repudiation by
Henry VIII.
of Katharine
of Arragon.
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S to rest; for she chooses to give audience not only to all the members
of her Privy Council, and to hear from them every detail of public
business, but also to all other persons who ask it of her. Her
Majesty's countenance indicates great benignity and clemency,
which are not belied by her conduct, for although she has had many
enemies, and though so many of them were by law condemned to
death, yet had the executions depended solely on her Majesty's
will, not one of them perhaps would have been enforced; but defer-
ring to her Council in everything, she in this matter likewise
complied with the wishes of others rather than with her own (ma
deferendo lei ogni cosa al suo Conseio anco in questo ha più
soddisfatto ad altri, che a se medesima). She is endowed with
excellent ability, and more than moderately read in Latin literature,
especially with regard to Holy Writ; and besides her native tongue
she speaks Latin, French, and Spanish, and understands Italian
perfectly, but does not speak it. She is also very generous, but
not to the extent of letting it appear that she rests her chief claim
to commendation on this quality.
She is so confirmed (firmata) in the Catholic religion that
although the King her brother and his Council prohibited her
from having the mass celebrated according to the Roman Catholic
ritual, she nevertheless had it performed in secret, nor did she ever
choose by any act to assent to any other form of religion, her
belief in that in which she was born being so strong that had the
opportunity offered she would have displayed it at the stake, her
hopes being placed in God alone, so that she constantly exclaims :
"In te Domine confido, non confundar in æternum: si Deus est
pro nobis, quis contra nos?" Her Majesty takes pleasure in play-
ing on the lute and spinet, and is a very good performer on both
instruments; and indeed before her accession she taught many of
her maids of honour (molte sue damigelle). But she seems to delight
above all in arraying herself elegantly and magnificently, and her
garments are of two sorts; the one, a gown such as men wear,
but fitting very close, with an under-petticoat which has a very
long train; and this is her ordinary costume, being also that of the
gentlewomen of England. The other garment is a gown and boddice,
with wide hanging sleeves (con le maniche larghe rovesciate) in the
French fashion, which she wears on state occasions; and she also
wears much embroidery, and gowns and mantles (sopravvesti) of
cloth of gold and cloth of silver, of great value, and changes every
day. She also makes great use of jewels, wearing them both on her
chaperon and round her neck, and as trimming for her gowns; in
which jewels she delights greatly, and although she has a great
plenty of them left her by her predecessors, yet were she better
supplied with money than she is, she would doubtless buy many
more.
G
Her Majesty's father was the most serene King Henry VIII., and
her mother the most serene Katharine, daughter of King Ferdinand,
the Catholic, of Spain, and sister of the Emperor's mother; and
therefore on her Majesty's birth, the King her father proclaimed
her heiress of the realm, although shortly after, she was bastardized,
534
1554.
+
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S the cause being, that after the King her father had cohabited during
20 consecutive years with the Queen her mother in the most
complete love and concord, he became enamoured of a damsel in
the Queen's service, an English girl, by name Anne Boleyn, and
wishing to enjoy her, not merely as his mistress, but if possible as
his wife, his flatterers, and principally the Cardinal of York, at
that time the King's chief favourite, and who was unfriendly
towards the Queen, had it represented to him by his Confessor that
his marriage with Queen Katharine was invalid, she having
previously been the wife of his brother Prince Arthur. The King,
therefore, although he had had a dispensation from Pope Julius,
empowering him to contract this marriage, did nevertheless
not scruple to send ambassadors to Pope Clement, to hear his
opinion, whether this marriage was valid or not; hoping that as
the Pope was then at enmity with the Emperor, he would favour
his wishes; and his Holiness gave such ear to this matter, that,
according to the English, he encouraged almost certain hope that
the divorce would take place; but a little later, the Pope having
come to a better understanding with the Emperor, by reason of the
assistance rendered for the enterprise against Florence by his
Imperial Majesty, who made great suit in favour of Queen
Katharine, the Pope sent Cardinal Campeggio to London, in order
that, together with the Cardinal of York, he might settle the
difficulty; but the King and Queen not agreeing to [abide by] the
sentence (ma non s' accordando il Re et la Regina del giudizio)
Cardinal Campeggio went back without any decision, although, had
they agreed to accept the award, the Queen would have consented
to the divorce, provided the King took oath, that the first time he
consummated marriage with her, he had not found her a virgin ;*
offering moreover to prove that long before the death of Prince
Arthur, he was known to be consumptive, and of so bad a constitu-
tion, that although they lived five months together, he had been
unable to consummate marriage with her.
The title of
"Supreme
Head."
On the return to Rome, therefore, of Cardinal Campeggio, the
Pope had the King summoned to restore the Queen-from whom he
was already separated--to her matrimonial rights (alla coniuntione
maritale), but the King not only refused obedience, but re-
pudiated the Queen entirely; and celebrated his marriage with
Anne, and had her crowned, causing his daughter, the Lady Mary,
to be declared a bastard, and therefore deprived of the succession to
the Crown; on which account, the Pope having excommunicated
him, he withdrew his obedience from his Holiness and the, Church;
and Parliament declared him Supreme Head of the Church of
England and Ireland, which title he subsequently held until his
death, as did his son Edward likewise. Her present Majesty
resigned the title, but when she wished Parliament to pass an Act
rescinding it from the Crown, the bill was rejected, it being merely
* "Se bene quando fussero stati concordi del giudizio, la Regina si sarebbe contentata, che,
giurando il Re, che la prima fiata, che seco consumò il matrimonio et non l'aveva ritrovata
vergine, si facesse il divorzio."
1554.
535
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Henry VIII.'s
will.
Accession of
Edward VI.
carried that she was at liberty to assume the title or not, in order
not utterly to deprive her successors of it, as written by me to your
Serenity after the first coronation.*
Not long after the marriage of Anne Boleyn, the Lady Elizabeth
was born, and immediately declared heir to the Crown, in which
grade she remained a very short time, because her mother being
beheaded on suspicion of adultery, she in like manner was deposed
from the succession, and proclaimed a bastard.
Subsequently in 1547, the late King Edward being 10 years old,
his father, by reason of his great corpulence, having little hope of life,
and wishing to make his last testament, assembled Parliament, and
made it pass an Act, whereby he was given liberty, notwithstanding
a law to the contrary, to institute his daughters heirs to the Crown
in case his son should be childless; and this he had done, as by the
statutes of the realm bastards cannot succeed to the Crown; so he
made his will, leaving the kingdom to Edward, on condition that,
should he die without children, the Lady Mary was to succeed him,
provided she had not married, save with the consent of his Council;
and in case she also should leave no legitimate heirs, she was to
be succeeded by the Lady Elizabeth, who, if she also died childless,
was to be succeeded by the Lady Jane, eldest daughter of the
Duchess of Suffolk, late Queen widow of France, King Henry's
sister; and after the Lady Jane, she not having children, her two
other sisters, one after the other, were to succeed, and in the event
of their leaving no children, the Crown was to pass to the Lady
Margaret, daughter of the Lady Eleanor Countess of Cumberland,
second daughter of the Lady Mary, late Queen widow of France
aforesaid.
On the death of King Henry he was succeeded by King Edward,
a youth of very handsome presence, with which his mental endow-
ments corresponded. Whilst under the guardianship of his uncle,
the Duke of Somerset, he attended to his studies with marvellous
success, learning not only Latin but Greek likewise, though when
the government was changed and Somerset replaced by the Duke of
Northumberland,† who was a soldier at heart and by profession, he
changed the King's studies accordingly, and had him taught to
ride and handle his weapons, and to go through other similar
exercises, so that his Majesty soon commenced arming and tilting,
managing horses, and delighting in every sort of exercise, drawing
the bow, playing rackets, hunting, and so forth, indefatigably, thougu
he never neglected his studies.
By these means the Duke obtained great favour with En, and to
gain him more completely not only caused entertainments to be
made for his diversion, but supplied him freely with money, appoint-
ing a Lord Privy Purse (un tesoriero suo proprio), recommending
him to make presents, and show that he was King; but what
* The letter no longer exists. When Soranzo made his "Report," a second coronation
was expected in honour of King Philip.
† John Dudley Viscount Lisle, and created Earl of Warwick on the accession of
Edward VI., did not become Duke of Northumberland, until the sixth of the same reign.
Soranzo had known John Dudley personally as Earl of Warwick and Duke of Northum-
berland, by which last title he here alludes to him.
536
1554.
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S mattered more, he made him acquainted with all public business, and
chose to have his opinion, in such wise that his commands might
then be executed without delay.* But although his Majesty
seemed much satisfied with this proceeding on the part of the Duke,
yet such was the excellence of his natural disposition that he would
never do any act, either of grace or justice, without the approval of
his Council, by which means he became so popular with his coun-
cillors and the whole country that there is perhaps no instance on
record of any other King of that age being more beloved, or who
gave greater promise, his Majesty's obstinate adherence to the
heresy, alone detracting from so many merits, though for this also he
may be excused as he was educated according to its precepts.
Last year, however, precisely at the moment when it was hoped he
would commence ruling in person, he was seized with a malady,
which the physicians soon knew to be consumption (fu conosciuta
essere da etico), and in a few days his life was despaired of.
Thereupon, the Duke of Northumberland, whose mode of proceed-
ing had rendered him all powerful with the King, devised a plan,
whereby, in the event of the well nigh certain death of his Majesty,
the kingdom was to pass into Northumberland's own hands; and
his first act was to obtain from the King that the Duke of Suffolk
should give his eldest daughter, Lady Jane Grey, in marriage to
Northumberland's fourth son, Guildford Dudley, the only one of hist
five sons then unmarried. Thus was it done, and after performance
of the marriage ceremony, with a display truly regal, his Majesty
becoming daily worse, they persuaded him to make a will, represent-
ing to him that the King, his father, had acted illegally by making
the will he did, as bastards may not succeed to the Crown; and if
the King obtained this from Parliament it was an unlawful act, as,
without legitimate cause, Parliament could not deprive the legitimate
line of the succession, so that the Act, to the prejudice of the Lady
Jane, was null, she being the next legitimate heir after King
Edward; in addition to which, the Lady Mary having chosen to
persist in her old opinion about the religion, and having thus dis-
obeyed the decrees of Parliament and of his Majesty himself, she
deserved on this account likewise to forfeit the succession; and,
moreover, as neither Mary nor Elizabeth (ne l' una ne l'altra) had a
husband, it might easily come to pass that they would marry an alien,
and place the country under foreign jurisdiction, she [Mary] having
clearly demonstrated how little love she bore the English nation.
The King being moved by these arguments, but yet more by his wish
to oblige Northumberland in everything, made his testament, insti-
His illness.
His will.
-
ting Lady Jane Grey his heir, and having summoned all his
councillors, announced his will (volontà) to them, making them read
his testament, which he then signed with his own hand, and had it
sealed with the great seal of the realm, ordering all the councillors
to sign it in like manner, as they did, immediately; and a few days
afterwards, namely on the 6th July 1553, he died at the age of 14
years, eight months, and 28 days, having reigned about six years.
"Ma quello che importava più, voleva che gli riferissero tutti gli negocj et si
avesse il parere, in tanto che quello che lui comandava, voleva che fusse eseguito senza
più dilatione."
1554.
537
!
Mary's pro-
ceedings on
Edward's death.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
The Duke of
Northumber-
land's relations
In the mean while, Northumberland did not fail doing his utmost
to ensure the success of this great scheme, endeavouring, above all,
that his negotiations should be kept very secret, and especially from
the Lady Mary (notwithstanding which they were known to him,
Soranzo, who gave a detailed account of them to the Signory);* and
with Princess having by divers means contrived to enjoy no less credit with the
Mary.
Lady Mary than with the King, he imagined that by continuing to
perform similar offices he should convince her of his good will, and
retain his influence. Amongst other things he gave her to under-
stand that, without any doubt, she would be Queen, although but
few of the members of the Council wished it, but he, on the contrary,
would risk his life and whatever else he had for her service. He
thus convinced her so completely, and so secured her favour, that,
although those who really wished her to be Queen knew of the
Duke's deceit, having discovered his intrigues, yet did they not dare
divulge anything to the Lady Mary from fear, lest, instead of pro-
viding for her own safety, she might reveal everything to him, and
thus ruin them completely; but, by secret means, having let her
know how the plot was proceeding, they suggested that she could
do nothing more advantageous for herself than to simulate with
the Duke, and evince greater trust in him than ever, as he would
thus feel sure, whereas any fear of detection might make him seek
to guard himself against her by some worse means.
Her Majesty—as it pleased God-gave ear to the warning of her
friends, and followed their advice to the letter; so Northumberland,
thinking he could get possession of her whenever he pleased, did not
change his conduct towards the Lady Mary, whose friends however,
considering all that might occur, contrived when the King was at
the point of death to let her know it; whereupon, although it was
night, she took flight with six attendants, including two of her
maids of honour, and went to Norwich, where having been refused
admittance, she stopped a short way off; and although without
money or other aid, she nevertheless in a few days mustered an
army of 30,000 men, and formed a council from amongst the most
faithful of those adherents who joined her.
Lady Jane at
the Tower.
On the other hand, shortly after the King's death, Northumberland
sent to arrest her, but she was gone, and at the very moment when
he took Lady Jane to the Tower, as is usually done to those who
are to be crowned, news reached him that the Lady Mary had com-
menced mustering an army, and in many places had been proclaimed
Queen, and hearing that her forces increased he determined to march
against them in person, but could not raise more than 2,000 horse
and foot; so the Lords (Signori) in the Tower with Lady Jane
became alarmed, especially on perceiving how dissatisfied the city
of London was; and when they heard that eight of the largest
ships had gone over from the Duke to the Lady Mary, giving
her all their guns and ammunition, they quitted the Tower, leaving
the Lady Jane a prisoner there, issuing also an order for the Duke's
arrest; and having assembled in the house of the Earl of Pembroke,
* In a despatch which has not been found.
538
1554.
*
1554.
REPORT
SORANZO'S they immediately proclaimed the Lady Mary Queen. This took
on England place on the 19th July 1553, when her Majesty's proclamation took
(Aug. 18.) place to the great joy of the people, which was evinced to the utmost
Proclamation of by bell-ringing, bonfires and shouts of applause; so that in those
Queen Mary.. few days she settled the business, and on the 3rd of August follow-
ing, made her entry into London with 1,000 horse, being met by
all the ambassadors including him (Soranzo), who went towards
her a distance of 10 miles from London, with 150 mounted atten-
dants. On the 22nd of August she had Northumberland beheaded on
the scaffold as usual at Tower Hill, and on the 1st of October she
was crowned by the Bishop of Winchester.
Elizabeth.
Immediately after this ceremony she assembled Parliament, and
forthwith repealed the Acts passed at the instigation of her father,
concerning the divorce from Queen Katharine, so that the marriage
being declared valid, Her Majesty remained legitimate daughter, the
Lady Elizabeth being consequently bastardized, because born in the
life-time of the Catholic Queen (della Regina Cattolica). From that
time forth a great change took place in Queen Mary's treatment of
her, for whereas until then she had shown her every mark of
honour, especially by always placing her beside her when she ap-
peared in public, so did she now by all her actions show that she held
her in small account. This disquieting her Excellency, she asked
leave to go to her country house [Ashridge], and although some
persons were of opinion that the Queen should have refused it, Her
Majesty, not loving her (as she had demonstrated by very clear signs,
even in the lifetime of King Edward) (come con molti assai chiari
segni ne havea dimostrato anco in vita del Re Eduardo), granted
the permission. After Wyatt's insurrection (la sollevazione di
Charges against Wiel―sic), she was accused of being his accomplice; so both on this
account, and also by reason of some suspicion of a matrimonial
alliance between her and Courtenay, Earl of Devon, she was sent
for to London, although indisposed, and after remaining under
custody for a few days in the Queen's palace [at Whitehall], she
was at length taken to the Tower. But what perhaps gave more
cause for suspicion than anything else, was, that at the time of these
insurrections the French ambassador being strongly suspected of
having an understanding with the rebels, the Council seized a packet
of letters which he was sending to France, and in it they found the
copy of a letter sent a few days previously to the Queen by the
Lady Elizabeth, in reply to a certain communication made to her
by her Majesty about the marriage with the Prince of Spain; and
as it contained certain words to which a suspicious meaning was
attributed, they inferred that she herself had given the copy to the
ambassador for the King, by reason of her secret understanding
with him. But although her Excellency confuted all these charges,
yet was she not set quite at liberty, for on being released from the
Tower, they took her to a palace [Woodstock], where she is in the
custody of certain gentlewomen sent by the Queen to keep her
company.*
Mary's rela-
tions with
Elizabeth.
*The Lady Elizabeth was released from the Tower on the 19th May 1554, and by
way of Richmond, Windsor, and Ricote proceeded straight to Woodstock, where she
1554.
539
Personal de-
scription of
Elizabeth.
1554.
SORANZO'S
She was the daughter of Henry VIII. and Queen Anne Boleyn,
REPORT
and was born on the 7th September 1533, so she is now about
on England
(Aug. 18.) twenty-one years old; her figure and face are very handsome, and
such an air of dignified majesty pervades all her actions that no one
can fail to suppose she is a queen (è di corpo et di faccia molto
bella et disposta con una si grave maestà in tutte le sue operazioni,
che non è alcuna che non la giudichi Regina). She is a good Greek
and Latin scholar, and besides her native tongue she speaks Latin,
French, Spanish, and Italian most perfectly (benissimo); and her
manners are very modest and affable (et è di costumi molto modesti
et umani). During the life-time of King Edward she held (tenne)
his opinion about the religion, but since the Queen's accession she
has adapted herself to the will of her Majesty.
According to the will of King Henry, the next in succession after
the Lady Elizabeth were the daughters of the Duchess of Suffolk,
the eldest of whom, Lady Jane Grey, having been beheaded, two
remain, the eldest of them having been promised to the eldest son
of the Earl of Pembroke, a most powerful and popular nobleman;
but as he knows that this alliance could but cause him great
embarrassment, by reason of the marriage of Philip and Mary, he
was on the point of breaking it off when he (Soranzo) left England.
According to this same will, the next in succession to the crown
after the ladies Grey, would be the Countess of Cumberland,* who
is not yet married, but holds place in the Queen's privy chamber
(ma è della camera segreta della Regina).
The next in blood to the crown is Courtenay, Earl of Devon,
descended from a younger daughter of Edward IV.; he is twenty-
nine years old, and when his father, the Marquis of Exeter, was
beheaded on the charge of having had an understanding with Car-
dinal Pole, this son of his was also put in the Tower, where he
remained fifteen years, but the present Queen released him and
restored the earldom, with 15,000 ducats revenue, supposing that
he was to marry her; but after the stipulation of the marriage
with the Prince of Spain, being suspected of complicity with the
Kentish insurgents, Courtenay was again sent to the Tower, but as
there were no proofs against him they took him out and placed him
in a palace under custody of some gentlemen sent by the Queen.†
He is of well proportioned frame (di corpo ben disposto), has had a
very good literary education, and speaks several languages, but
having been so long in prison he has neither that spirit nor
experience which his position would require.
Lady Jane's
sisters.
Description of
Courtenay.
remained until April 1555. Soranzo seems to have left London in June 1554, but I am
unable to ascertain the day of his departure; though as his successor Michiel arrived in
London on the 22d May 1554, it is improbable that Soranzo should have remained with
him beyond June.
*Lady Margaret Clifford, daughter of Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, by his first
wife Eleanor Brandon, youngest daughter of the Duke of Suffolk by Mary Tudor, Queen
Dowager of France. Margaret Clifford was born in the year 1540, and on the 7th
February 1555, was married to Lord Strange, eldest son of the Earl of Derby. (See
Collins' Peerage, vol. vi. p. 523.)
† On the 25th May 1554, Courtenay was brought from the Tower, and conveyed to
Fodringham Castle in Northamptonshire under the care of Sir Thomas Tresham. (See
Collins, vol. vi. p. 258.)
540
1554.
B
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Mary Queen of
Scots.
Description of
Scotland.
The kingdom of Scotland is held by Queen Mary, of the Stuart
family, sole heir of her father King James, son of Queen Margaret,
the eldest sister of Henry VIII.; so that had Lady Jane Grey re-
mained Queen, the Queen of Scotland being descended from the
elder sister, and Lady Jane from the younger, she would have
had a strong claim, although not mentioned in King Henry's will.
Queen Mary of Scotland, being now twelve years old, is out of her
minority, during which she was under the guardianship of the Earl
of Arran, who is also styled Duke of Chatelherault, in right of a
duchy given him by the King of France. On the death of the
King of Scotland, Arran assumed the government as next of kin to
the crown, according to the national law, the post being tenable
during the Queen's minority, with power to dispose of all the
revenues of the country, and of everything else, without rendering
any account; and although it was supposed that he would make a
difficulty about resigning his trust, he nevertheless retired a few
months ago, as Soranzo wrote to the Senate ;*
and the young
Queen appointed as Regent her mother, the Queen Dowager Mary,
sister of the Duke de Guise, and she is now in Scotland and rules
it, the Queen Regnant being in France, the affianced wife of the
Dauphin, she having been taken thither chiefly by the will and
exertion (industria) of her mother, who well knew that many of
the Scots were inclined to marry her to King Edward of England,
as had been already promised him. The fortresses are all in the
hands of the French or of the Queen Dowager, who being a
French woman, it may be said that everything is in the power
of his most Christian Majesty, who keeps some thousand infantry
there as garrison, that force being sufficient, as in two days they
can send over as many troops as they please.
The kingdom is almost all mountainous and marshy, and the
climate very cold, so the soil produces but little grain or fruit,
and no grapes, but abounds in fish and animals for the use of man,
especially in sheep, which yield very fine wool, though but little of
it is manufactured at home, it being exported for the most part to
France and Denmark, from which countries they import such com-
modities as they stand most in need of. The kingdom is divided
into twelve bishoprics, the chief of which is St. Andrews, and twelve
counties, which are well peopled, as the Kings of Scotland have often
brought armies of 30,000 men into the field, for the most part
against their natural enemies, the English, because Scotland being
very poor, and England plentifully supplied, the Scots have always
invaded the country, carrying off great booty, this discord being
fomented by France; and by donatives and privileges they have
induced the French always to prefer the Scottish alliance to that of
England. Part of these Scots are savages (di questa gente ne sono
parte de salvatici), and those who are the most civilized either
reside at the court or are on the borders of England. The Scots
are rigid Catholics (sono molto osservanti della Religione Cattolica),
nor is there public heresy of any sort amongst them. Such is the
* The letter has not been found.
1554.
541
Wars of the
Roses.
1554.
SORANZO'S poverty of the county that the royal revenues do not amount to
100,000 ducats.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Description of
England.
The other three parts of the island are held by the most serene
Queen of England, as they were by her predecessors, commencing
with William the Conqueror; that is to say, from 1067 down to
the present time, the Crown having always been in that descent,
although there have been many wars, and especially those which
originated with the sons of Edward III., the one, Duke of York,
from whom the House of York sprang; and the other, Duke of
Lancaster, who founded the Lancastrian family; the first bearing on
their shield the white rose, the second the red. Finally, after much
bloodshed, the Crown passing from one side to the other, and the
male line of the then reigning King Edward IV. of the white
rose, becoming extinct, there remaining only daughters, the eldest
of them was given in marriage to Henry Earl of Richmond, the
sole remaining heir of the red rose, who afterwards became
Henry VII., grandfather of the present Queen; so these two
families were again united, and her Majesty is thus the legitimate
heir of both.*
The air of England is thick (l'aere di questo regno è grosso),
so it often generates clouds, wind, and rain, but in calm weather
the climate is so temperate that the extremes of heat and cold
are rarely felt, and never last long, so that persons clad in fur
may be seen all the year round. They have some little plague
in England well nigh every year, for which they are not accus-
tomed to make sanitary provisions, as it does not usually make
great progress; the cases for the most part occur amongst the
lower classes, as if their dissolute mode of life (il disordinato
lor vivere) impaired their constitutions; but in 1551, the first
year of Soranzo's residence in England, there was an atmospheric
putrescence (una corruzione di aere) which produced the disease
The "Sweating called "the Sweat," which, according to general report, was
Sickness," 1551. never known in other countries, and only twice before in England,
at intervals of upwards of 20 years; it commenced in Wales, and
then traversed the whole kingdom, the mortality being immense
amongst persons of every condition, save that children under 10
years of age did not seem subject to this epidemic (questo influsso).
The malady was a most profuse sweat, which without any other
indisposition seized patients by the way (per via), and the remedies
at first administered taking no effect they died in a few hours, so
that during the three first days of its appearance there died in
London alone upwards of 5,000 persons,† but some remedy having
been devised subsequently, it ceased in 20 days. The alarm, how-
WO
* Finalmente dopo molta effusione di sangue, et mutazione della corona ora in una, ora
nell' altra parte, non essendo restata prole mascolina del Re Edoardo IV. (sic), che era della
rosa bianca, la quale allora regnava, ma solamente femmine, la primogenita fu data per
moglie al Conte Enrico de Richmond, restato solo erede della rosa rossa, il quale fu poi
Enrico VII. avo di questa Regina, onde di nuovo si conguinsero queste due famiglie, e S.M.
viene ad essere legittima erede dell' una et de l' altra."
">
† By a note to Machyn's Diary (Camden Society Publication), p. 319, it appears that in
1551, from the 7th to the 20th July, the deaths caused by "the sweat were in number
938; but I do not know when the disease first showed itself in London in that year.
542
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
ever was great and universal, especially at the courts [of the King
and the Princesses and Anne of Cleves ?], some of the King's cham-
(Aug. 18.) ber attendants having died, so that his Majesty and all who could
made their escape, all business being suspended, the shops closed,
and nothing attended to, but the preservation of life.
Grain.
Process of
brewing.
Fish.
Pasturage.
The soil, especially in England proper, produces wheat, oats, and
barley, in such plenty that they have usually enough for their own
consumption, but were they to work more diligently, and with
greater skill, and bring the soil into higher cultivation, England
might supply grain for exportation,* but they do not attend much
to this, so that they sometimes need assistance both from Flanders
and Denmark, and occasionally from France likewise. They grow
no other sort of grain, and their only lentilst are beans and peas.
Although they have vines they do not make wine of any sort, the
plant serving as an ornament for their gardens rather than anything
else, as the grapes do not ripen save in very small quantity, partly
because the sun has not much power, and partly because precisely
at the ripening season cold winds generally prevail, so that the
grapes wither, but in lieu of wine they make beer, with wheat,
barley, and hops, which [last ?] they import from Flanders, boiling
all the ingredients together in water, and making it stronger or
weaker by adding more wheat and less barley, and producing a
contrary result by reversing the process. This potion (potione)
is most palatable to them, and all persons drink it, even their
sovereigns, although they also consume a great quantity of wine,
which is brought from Candia, Spain, the Rhine, and from France,
this last being prized more than the rest, but it is sold at a very
high price, so that it is usually worth from 36 to 40 ducats per
butt, and in his (Soranzo's) time it cost as much as 50. As there
are no olive trees in England they import oil from Spain and the
Venetian possessions, but the consumption is small, as for food they
mostly use butter, and for the cloth manufactures rape oil, which
is imported from Flanders and Spain. They have great plenty of
white salt at home, and the black is brought from Normandy, nor
is there any salt duty. They have abundance of fish, both from the
ocean and the Thames, of the same sort as is common in Venice, but
they have also salmon, a fish not found in Italy. They have an
immense quantity of oysters, so that occasionally as many as 20
smacks (scute) are seen filled with them, but during four months in
the summer it is forbidden either to take or sell them.
The country is almost all level, with few rivers and springs, and
such hills as they have are not very high, and one advantage of the
climate is that the grass remains green at all seasons, affording
excellent pasturage for animals, especially for sheep, of which there
is an incredible number, supplying that wool which is in such
*In the "Annali Veneti" of Malipiero (pp. 710, 711) it is stated that in the year 1498
a Venetian vessel, bound from London to Venice, bought wheat at Calais (which was
doubtless of English growth) at the rate of four shillings and six pence for 660 Venetian
pounds weight avoirdupois, a cinque stera al ducato." By the Statutes of the realm,
A.D. 1492, it is shewn that four golden ducats amounted to 18 shillings, so the English
bushel may be valued at four shillings and sixpence; each "ster" weighing 132 lbs.
† Legumi, pulse?
(C
1554.
543
Lead and tin.
1554.
SORANZO'S
universal repute under the name of "Frankish" (Francesca), the
REPORT
French having been the first to bring it into Italy. Great part of
on England
(Aug. 18.) this wool is manufactured in England, where cloths and kerseys of
Wool and hides. Various sorts are wrought, which amount annually to 150,000
pieces of cloths of all sorts, and 150,000 pieces of kersey, the rest of
the wool being exported, and taken usually to Calais on account
of the staplers, who then sell it on the spot, and have the monoply of
the wool exports from England, though occasionally export-permits
are conceded by favour to other persons, though the staplers do
their utmost to prevent it. The quantity of unwrought wool
exported is said to amount to about 2,000 tons (4 mille migliara)
[annually]; they also export hides* to the value of 500,000 ducats.
In Cornwall they have lead and tin mines, from which they extract
metal in great quantity, and of such good quality that the like is
not to be found elsewhere. For some time they have not exported
much lead because permits are refused, but they export annually
from five to six thousand weight (per 5m in 6m de grezi) of un-
wrought tin, and to the value of 100,000 ducats in the wrought metal,
the greater part to Spain.
Iron and coal.
Description of
London.
In Derbyshire there are some iron mines, but in small quantity,
but none of gold nor of silver.
In the north towards Scotland they find a certain sort of earth
well nigh mineral, and which burns like charcoal, and is extensively
used, especially by blacksmiths, and but for a certain bad odour
which it leaves it would be yet more employed, as it gives great
heat (facendo gran satione) and costs little.
The principal cities of the kingdom are London and York, but
London is the most noble, both on account of its being the royal
residence, and because the river Thames runs through it, very much
to the convenience and profit of the inhabitants, as it ebbs and flows
every six hours like the sea, scarcely ever causing inundation or any
extraordinary floods; and up to London Bridge it is navigable for
ships of 400 butts burden, of which a great plenty arrive with
every sort of merchandise. This bridge connects the city with the
borough, and is built of stone with twenty arches, and shops on both
sides. On the banks of the river there are many large palaces,
making a very fine show, but the city is much disfigured by the
ruins of a multitude of churches and monasteries belonging hereto-
fore to friars and nuns. It has a dense population, said to number
180,000 souls; and is beyond measure commercial, the merchants
of the entire kingdom flocking thither, as, by a privilege conceded
to the citizens of London, from them alone can they purchase
merchandise ("altri che loro non possono comprare che essi
cittadini "), so they soon become very wealthy; and the same
privileges placed in their hands the government of the city of
London, which is divided into 24 trades (arti) or crafts (mestieri),
each of which elects a certain individual, styled alderman, the
election being made solely in the persons of those who are considered
*"Cuori." The literal translation of "cuori," or cuojo, is leather, but I suspect that in
the 15th and 16th centuries the Venetians used the word cuori to signify hides, tanned or
untanned.
544
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
the most wealthy, and the office is for life; the which aldermen,
after assembling these trades, create annually a person as their head
(Aug. 18.) for the current year entitled Mayor, and they call him Lord, which
signifies signor; and he assumes the magistracy on the day of Saints
Simon and Jude, on which day he goes to the court and swears
allegiance to the King, and then gives a banquet to the ambassadors
and lords, and to the judges of the city and others, in such number,
that in one and the same ball upwards of a thousand persons sit
down to table, all being served at the same time with the most
perfect order. The Lord Mayor is always preceded by the sword in
virtue of the privilege conceded to the city for its deserts in 1190
by King Richard the First. This mayor usually keeps a most
excellent (onoratissima) table with open doors, and in one year
spends at least 4000 ducats out of his own purse; and on the
expiration of his office he is for the most part knighted. His chief
charge is to superintend the victualling department, to legislate
for the populace in minor suits, and to have care for the custody
of the city by day and night, the keys of its gates being in his
possession.
Description of
English men
and women.
The nobility.
War and litera-
ture.
The English for the most part are of handsome stature and sound
constitution, with red or white complexions, their eyes also being
white. According to their station they are all as well clad as any
other nation whatever. The dress of the men resembles the Italian
fashion, and that of the women the French.
The nobility are by nature very courteous, especially to foreigners,
who however are treated with very great arrogance and enmity
by the people, it seeming to them that the profit derived by the
merchants from their country is so much taken from them, and they
imagine that they could live without foreign intercourse. They are
also by nature of little faith both towards their sovereigns and with
each other, and are therefore very suspicious. The nobility, save
such as are employed at Court, do not habitually reside in the cities,
but in their own country mansions, where they keep up very grand
establishments, both with regard to the great abundance of eatables
consumed by them, as also by reason of their numerous atten-
dants, in which they exceed all other nations, so that the Earl of
Pembroke has upwards of 1,000 clad in his own livery. In these
their country residences they occupy themselves with hunting of
every description, and with whatever else can amuse or divert them;
so that they seem wholly intent on leading a joyous existence, the
women also being no less sociable than the men, it being customary
for them and allowable to go without any regard (rispetto)
either alone or accompanied by their husbands to the taverns, and
to dine and sup where they please.
The English do not delight much either in military pursuits
(armi) or literature, which last, most especially by the nobility, is
not held in much account, and they have scarcely any opportunity
for occupying themselves with the former, save in time of war, and
when that is ended they think no more about them, but in battle
they show great courage and great presence of mind (prontezza)
in danger, but they require to be largely supplied with victuals
so it is evident that they cannot endure much fatigue.
;
1554.
545
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
The claim of
English Kings
to the Crown of
France.
Calais and
Guisnes.
Account of
Ireland.
Her Majesty's second title is Queen of France, and as the Crown
has held it for a long while, I will not omit telling your Lord-
ships how her predecessors became possessed of it. In 1303 King
Edward II. (sic) married Isabel, daughter of Charles (sic)* the
handsome King of France, who leaving no other heir than his
daughter, King Edward sent an ambassador to France to demand
possession of the kingdom which fell to him by inheritance; and this
being denied in virtue solely of a law called "Salic," whereby to
this day in France, females are excluded from the succession to the
Crown, King Edward [III.] assembled Parliament, which declared
him legitimate King of France, and for its recovery determined on
war, which having lasted more than a century, Henry V., after
obtaining many victories over the French, at length in 1419
espoused Catherine, daughter of Charles VI., King of France, on
condition that after the death of her father, he and his descendants
were to inherit the kingdom, the Dauphin Charles, the King's son,
being deprived of it; but Henry V. dying before his father-in-law,
his son Henry VI. went to Paris at the age of nine years, and was
crowned King of France, as at home he had been already crowned
King of England; but not long afterwards Charles the Dauphin
aforesaid recovered the kingdom, in which nothing remains to the
Kings of England but the title and the claim, and they now merely
possess Calais and Guisnes, on the borders of Picardy, in the county
of Artois, which two places are very strong, and most especially
Calais, which besides having double walls and being very strong
and close to the sea side, can at the flood tide inundate the whole
of the surrounding country; and to dam the water there, they have
made certain locks (chiavi), whereby to let it flow when necessary,
with a fortress for their defence. These places are admirably
garrisoned by a good number of horse and foot, and also well
supplied with everything necessary, as becoming, the English having
no other places than these beyond sea, so that were they to lose
them they would no longer be able to cross the Channel as they do
at present, for from Dover to Calais, which are the usual passage
ports, the distance is but thirty miles.
Her Majesty's third title is Queen of Ireland, of which the English
Crown has possessed a part from 1171 down to the present time,
as Henry II. having prepared a very powerful fleet for the invasion
of the island, the greater part of those who held it surrendered them-
selves to him, they being then all savages, and made the surrender
on the condition that it was to be deemed valid when confirmed by
the Pope, whom they said they acknowledged as their sole superior.
His Holiness ratified the surrender, because the island not being well
instructed in matters relating to the Christian religion, he thought
it might in this way be better disciplined. This island is not more
than 30 (sic) miles distant from England. Its length from north
to south is 300 miles, and its breadth 90.
* Edward II. came to the throne in 1307, having married Isabel of France, daughter
of Philip the handsome, in 1303, when Prince of Wales. Charles the handsome, son of
Philip, died childless on the 31st January 1328, and subsequently Edward III. (his father
Edward II. having died in 1327) claimed the French Crown in right of his mother. (See
Hume, History of England, vol. ii. p. 170, edition London 1762.)
5.
M M
546
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
The Irish.
O'Neil.
Title of De-
fender of the
Faith.
The climate of Ireland is very temperate, and its soil would be
productive if better cultivated. In many respects it very much
resembles England, save that it is rather more hilly, and abounds
more in springs (fonti). It is said to produce no venomous
animals, and that any taken thither would not live. There are
large flocks of sheep there, and other animals for the use of man, so
that it yields a good quantity of wool and many hides (cuori). The
wool is not so fine as that of England. The men for the most part
are still in great part wild (selvaggi) [savages]; but those subject
to the English are generally more civilised, and by degrees adapt
themselves more and more to the mode of life in England. The
wild Irish (li selvaggi) generally go barefoot both summer and
winter, and clothe themselves in a long linen shirt, dyed in saffron ;
this garment (which they rarely change, wearing it for the most
part until in tatters) reaches the ground, and over it they wear a
coarse cloth mantle; the women also clothe themselves in like
manner; and although they acknowledge the distinction between
noble and plebeian, yet do all classes dress alike. They inhabit
their country houses, and eat under-done meat (carne sangui-
nosa), roasted on a long spit, or boiled in an ox-hide, seasoned
according to their own fashion. They are naturally very religious
and Catholic, so that in the time of King Edward there were
several rebellions, which although suppressed at the time have
again broken out; and the majority of the population refuse obe-
dience to the Queen, and govern themselves under a chieftain called
The
the Great O'Neil, whom they talk of making their king.
principal towns, the chief of which is Dublin, remain in the hands.
of the Queen, but the country has almost entirely rebelled, and
last winter, when some troops were sent for its recovery, they
failed completely. Since then nothing more has been done, save
that the government is endeavouring to bring them back to their
allegiance by negotiation, and by so much the more as without
a preponderating force coercion would be vain, as the Irish are a
very warlike race, who set but little value on their lives; and
when they take the field the cavalry wear shirts of mail, and the
infantry raise their linen garment up to the waist (sino alla
centura), fastening their shirt sleeves at the shoulder, and carry
two or three javelins (dardi), which they hurl wonderfully, and
they are also girt some with a sword and others with a hatchet.
The Queen has a Viceroy there, who has his court at Dublin, with
a good number of horse and foot, besides a few armed ships as
circumstances may require.
Her Majesty is also Defendress (Difensora) of the Faith, which
title her father had from Pope Leo X., because in 1521, his Majesty
having composed a very Catholic book in explanation (in dichiara-
tione) of the sacraments,* and in defence of the Catholic religion,
against Martin Luther, he sent it to his Holiness, who having had it
read in Consistory, and approving of it greatly, it was determined
* The Latin title is "Assertio Septem Sacramentorum adversus Martinum Luterum.”
Leo X. is said to have called it " Heaven's Diamond" (Diamante del Cielo).
1554.
547
Military re-
sources.
1554.
SORANZO'S to give his Majesty and his successors the aforesaid title, as was
done.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Order of the
Garter.
Nor here will I omit telling also of the Order of the Garter, of
which the Kings of England are entitled Grand Masters (Sovrani).
This is an order of knighthood such as the Emperor's "Golden
Fleece" for the House of Burgundy, and the French King's "St.
Michael." The Order of the Garter was instituted in 1350 by King
Edward III., owing to the following circumstance :-Whilst dancing
with a lady his mistress, one of her leg-bands called in English
"Garter" fell to the ground, and the King himself picked it up to
give it her, which causing a general laugh, and confusion to the lady,
the King girt it round his own leg, saying that he would make that
band, or one like it, the most honourable thing in his kingdom; and
thus did he institute this order of knighthood, under the patronage
of St. George, the knights to be in number 25, besides the King, their
Grand Master; the regulation being, that round the neck they were
to wear a St. George on horseback in armour, and on the left leg
below the knee a riband with a golden buckle, inscribed with a
French motto, thus, "Oni soit qui mal pense,” signifying in Italian
“Shame to evil thinkers" (vituperato sia chi mal pensa), which all
the knights observe inviolably. The ceremony of the Order is
performed annually on St. George's day, and for the most part at
Windsor Castle, 20 miles from London, where there is a most beautiful
church (chiesa) built for this purpose, in which the arms of all the
knights are placed, they on that occasion appearing in the robes of
the Order, namely, a blue mantle lined with white satin, with a
crimson velvet hood on the right shoulder, and on the left they wear
a garter embroidered circularly, with a red cross in its centre; and
under the mantle they wear a vest (una suttana) of crimson velvet ;
and a rapier at their side; and round the neck the grand emblem
(l'ordine grande) in gold, with the St. George pendent. The names
of these knights are as follows:-The Grand Master, who is the most
Serene Prince of Spain, now King of England and Consort of the
Queen; the Emperor, the King of France, the King of the Romans,
the Duke of Montmorency, Grand Constable of France, the Duke of
Norfolk, the Marquis of Winchester, the Earl of Arundel, the Earl
of Derby, the Earl of Sussex, Lord Wilton, the Earl of Bedford,
the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Westmoreland, the Earl of Hert-
ford, Lord Clinton, Lord Darcy, Lord Cobham, the Lord Warden?,
(Lord Guardori), Lord La Warr, Lord Paget, the Lord High
Chamberlain (Earl of Oxford), Sir Anthony St. Leger; and there
are two vacancies. Besides these Knights, there is also a Bishop,
styled “the Prelate of the Garter," who is always the incumbent of
the See of Winchester, and wears on his finger a ring bearing the
same motto, and a buckle such as the knights wear on the leg.
From her whole realm of England, as seen heretofore, the Queen
might easily raise 100,000 men, taking at the muster those deemed
fit for military service, and who would perform it spontaneously;
but in case of war, it is not the custom to enroll every sort of
person
present at the muster, and from every district, but [merely] those
nearest the scene of action. Besides this mode of enrolment, it is
M M 2
548
1554.
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S usual to order noblemen (signori) to collect such an amount of troops
as required, which is done when the Crown does not trust every-
body; and the third mode of mustering forces-in case of foreign
invasion, or some sudden insurrection of the natives-is to place
a light on the top of certain huge lanterns (lanternoni) fixed on
heights in all the villages (in tutte le ville), on appearance of which
signal anywhere, all the neighbouring places do the like, and the
forces muster at the first sight, so in a short time the general muster
is made, the remedy and assistance proving alike efficient.
From the musters aforesaid some 15,000 horse might be raised,
but the native English horse is not good for war, and they have not
many foreign horses. The weapons used by the English are a spear,
and not having much opportunity for providing themselves with
body-armour, they wear, for the most part, breast-plates, with shirts
of mail, and a skull cap (mezza lesta), and sword. The rest would
be footmen, of which they have four sorts: the first, which in
number and valour far excels the others, consists of archers, in
whom the sinew of their armies consists, all the English being as
it were by nature most expert bowmen, inasmuch as not only do
they practise archery for their pleasure, but also to enable them to
serve their King, so that they have often secured victory for the
armies of England. The second sort consists of infantry (è dei
fanti), who carry a sort of bill; and there are some of these likewise
who would make good soldiers. The other two sorts are harque-
busiers and pikemen, of which weapons they have very little
experience.
Weapons.
Archers.
Employment of The Crown has occasionally subsidized German troops, taking
German troops. them for the most part from the sea towns, from which they have
sometimes had as many as 10,000, and to continue these engage-
ments they gave 2,000 ducats pension to a German colonel, by name
Curtprenich (sic), who has many adherents, and resides at Ham-
burg. About four years ago it was determined to raise a cavalry
force of 1,000 men-at-arms in the French fashion, but after keeping
them for a year, at a cost to the King of 80,000 crowns, they
were disbanded, it having been found impossible to make the
plan answer. They have no commanders of note in their pay,
either English or foreign, but merely give a few pensions to some
who served them on former occasions; and as to the affairs of the
militia, they being regulated as in other countries, it is unnecessary
to allude to them.
Naval forces.
Her Majesty's naval forces also are very considerable, as she
has great plenty of English sailors, who are considered excellent
for the navigation of the Atlantic (del mare oceano), and an
abundance of timber for ship-building, as they do not use galleys,
owing to the strong tide in the ocean.* Were her Majesty to take
the vessels of ship-owners in all parts of the kingdom, the number
would be immense; but she has only 80 of her own, including some
galleons; and whenever she pleased, she could very easily obtain
* Potendosi con molta difficultà navigare, per la gran forza del mare oceano.
1554.
549
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Want of com-
manders-in-
chief.
Artillery.
Revenues of the
Crown.
Wardships.
Their origin.
upwards of 150* from private individuals, but small, as in those parts
but few large ships are seen, and they say that those of 400 butts
and under, sail better than the larger ones. The head of the naval
affairs is the Admiral, he being one of the Lords of the Council, who,
when a numerous fleet is fitted out, puts to sea in person, as he did
this year, when he went out with 30 sail to secure the sea, and convey
the most serene Prince of Spain on his coming; but when there is
no such need, a Vice-admiral takes the command.
The most important deficiency in the great naval and military
forces of England, is, that in the whole realm they have no persons,
neither sailor nor soldier, capable of commanding either fleet or
army. The only man they had was the Duke of Northumberland,
who by his bravery distinguished himself in both capacities, and
from the grade of a private gentleman (his father indeed was
beheaded for treason by Henry VIII.) rose step by step through his
abilities to the eminent position at length attained by him; but in
like manner as the punishment of his rashness was well merited, so
must the friends of England lament the loss of all his qualities with
that single exception (così quelli che amavano quel regno desiderano
ch'el fusse stato quello ch' el era in tutte l' altre parti, fuorchè in
quella).
Her Majesty has a great quantity of very fine artillery, both in
the fortresses beyond sea, as well as in many places within the
realm, and especially at the Tower of London, where the ammunition
of every sort is preserved.
Her Majesty's revenues from property belonging to the Crown
itself, including that of the church which has been annexed to it,
amounts to about a million of ducats, thus :-
The duties, which they call "customs," yield
The Crown of England, comprising the Duchy of Lancaster, and
other sorts of property which have come to it, namely, lands, houses,
and the like, derives annually
Ducats 300,000
160,000
which shows very clearly how much her Majesty is defrauded by
not farming them, instead of having them collected for her own
account, as those who have the management of them take the
opportunity of enriching themselves and assisting their friends.
From the Exchequer, whither contraband goods are taken, and
where they receive the rents of confiscated estates, and other extra-
ordinary revenues (et altri straordinarij)
Ducats 100,000
30,000
From the kingdom of Ireland-when pacific
>">
From the wardship of minors [Court of Wards] for estates held
by them in fee from the Crown
Ducats 60,000
which tax, intolerable for the subject, and now of no great advan-
tage to the Crown, originated thus:-
In the year 1270, Henry III., wishing to go for the recovery of
the Holy Land, and being very poor, it was conceded him in aid
that all persons holding estates in fee from the Crown, and leaving
heirs male under 21 years of age, or females under 24, their
estates, until they arrived at that age, were to belong to the Crown,
-
""
* In the Correr MS. the number is 150; but 250 in the Lazzari-Wcovich copy.
550
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Abuses of the
system of ward-
ships.
First fruits and
tenths.
Monastic
revenues.
Church goods.
and to be restored to the heirs when they attained their majority,
his Majesty in the meanwhile being bound to have them in ward
(nella sua guardia), taking care to have them reared and educated,
according to the condition of their parents; nor could they even
marry without the King's licence. At the commencement, this
ordinance was very lucrative for the kings, and no less advantageous
for the subjects, who, being well brought up, and on receiving their
estates, finding them improved and augmented, had everything they
desired. Subsequently, however, having commenced giving these
wardships (queste guardie) to private individuals for good services
rendered by them to the Crown, with the same conditions as observed
by the kings, it being also customary to sell them, not only are the
profits of the Crown reduced to little, but the estates of the wards in
like manner go to ruin, as they are not only neglected by the private
individuals who have them in charge, and care for nothing but their
own advantage, omitting also such care as due for the education of the
wards, who thus degenerate; but they, moreover, sell them licences
to marry, patricians and plebeians thus intermarrying, which is most
evidently injurious, especially because it debases the nobility. This
dependency (obligazione) of minors is not only enforced with regard
to those who hold Crown property, but has also been adopted of late
by private individuals respecting their own estates, when they have
to dispose of them (quando ne hanno a far dispensazione).
There are also revenues of two sorts derived by the Crown from
church property, one called the "first fruits" (le primizie), which
is an annat levied by the Crown, time out of mind, on all vacant
benefices; in addition to which, there is a tenth on church lands,
which, whether held by prelates, or sold, or exchanged, all pay this
tenth; from all which the Queen is supposed to derive
Ducats 300,000.
The remaining ecclesiastical revenue was obtained by Henry VIII.,
who, at the persuasion of Cromwell, then supreme ruler in England,
having resolved no longer to have friars or nuns in his kingdom, not
only expelled them, but ordered the destruction of all their
monasteries and abbeys, which throughout the realm were in
number 2,052, together with the greater part of the hospitals,
colleges, and other pious institutions, scarcely anything but the
parish churches remaining above ground, all which revenues he
annexed to the Crown; and in order that every record or claim
possessed by these institutions thus destroyed might perish eternally,
all the deeds (scritture) relating to these monasteries were burned.
From this property the King obtained a revenue amounting to
566,000 ducats; but his expenses increasing with his means, he and
his son, King Edward, sold so much of this property as yielded
260,000 ducats annual rental, and the two together gave away as
much more as amounted to 300,000 ducats per annum; so that from
this source there remains to the Crown but from 50 to 60 thousand
ducats annual revenue.
King Henry also determined to despoil all the churches of their
moveables, thus obtaining five millions of gold; and if any of this
property remained after his death, it was taken during the protec-
torate of the Duke of Northumberland.
1554.
551
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18).
Loans.
subsidies.
As the revenues in ordinary do not suffice for the exigencies of
war and other necessary expenditure, it is therefore requisite to
make extraordinary provision, and impose taxes. I will merely
mention the mode employed of late, leaving aside what was done of
Mode of levying yore; and it is a tax called "subsidy," laid on the people at her
Majesty's request, by Act of Parliament, and which is levied thus:-
Commissioners (deputati), both in the cities and towns (ville),
summon all the inhabitants, parish by parish, and in the King's
name, charge them under oath to declare truly the amount of their
capital, for which he is made debtor, and taxed at the rate of a
penny (soldo) in the pound, if an Englishman; twopence if an
alien; and four if a churchman, this sum forming one subsidy ;
and when voted, it becomes payable within the year. If, when the
amount of the capitals is declared, the commissioners suspect any
fraud, they can compel the suspected person to produce his [account]
books; and should they detect any error, they are authorized to
punish him; but, notwithstanding all this, means are found to
conceal the truth; nor do they even administer the oath; so the
Crown is grossly defrauded, a subsidy not yielding more than
200,000 ducats, of which the City of London alone pays 50,000.
The Kings are also accustomed to raise loans (di accomodarsi)
through the merchants in Flanders, at the rate of upwards of 14 per
cent., and the Queen is understood to be debtor to them for more
than a million of gold.
Debasement of
I will not omit to mention a mode adopted by Henry VIII. to
the coinage by raise money, which in like manner as it well nigh ruined the
and Edward VI. country, so did it bring great infamy upon himself. This was, that
he debased the coin of the realm by one fourth, and after his death
the councillors who ruled King Edward, availing themselves of this
bad example, debased it to such an extent that although on two
occasions in 1551 they lowered the moneys 18 per cent.,* they never-
theless still remained of very low standard (molto triste). Had this
loss for the realm, however, proved beneficial to the King it would
have been more bearable; but the great personages (li signori)
having agreed together had a coinage for their own personal
benefit, and not satisfied with this, as their rents were paid them
in this base coin, they commenced raising their "leases," which
they call "farms" (ferme), with the intention of bringing them to
a level with the depreciation of the coinage, but being without
discretion even in this they exceeded that limit, which caused it sub-
sequently to come to pass that the farmers knowing what a sorry
plight they would be in unless they also sold their produce at
The consequent equivalent prices, they commenced raising them, and being no less
!
rise of prices.
covetous than their landlords beef, and veal rose to 9d. and 10d.
per lb., wheat to five ducats (sic) [22s. 6d.] per stajo,† and every
* There was a proclamation dated in June 1551, but without a day of the month, for
reducing immediately the value of the teston or shilling to 9d. and the groat to 3d. (See
Domestic Calendar, Edward VI., p. 33.)
† As already stated, the stajo weighed but 132 lbs., so I suspect that in the present
instance stajo must mean an English bushel, as in 1498 the stajo cost one-fifth of a ducat.
552
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
thing else in proportion, and even this might have been borne, had
the commodities been procurable (e se ne avesse potuto avere, ancora
si avrebbe potuto sopportare); but although by the reduction of
the money aforesaid and by other acts passed moreover by the
Parliament, they endeavoured to apply a remedy, yet they were
unable to make such provision as necessary; nor will they ever
succeed, until the farms are reduced, and even then it is not sup-
posed that the plentiful supply of good food can again prevail, owing
Results of the to the destruction of the monasteries, which from many causes
the monasteries, produced this abundance, above all by cultivating much more land
than is now under the plough (facendo lavorare molte più terre
che non si fa al presente); and besides the great amount of alms
distributed by them, they gave ample employment to numbers of
persons, whereas at present not only are no alms given, but the
proprietors of the land, finding it more profitable to leave it for
pasturage, instead of cultivating it, have deprived many, of the
means of subsistence.
dissolution of
Officers of state.
The Queen's
Guard.
Her Majesty's ordinary expenditure amounts to 830,000 ducats;
and first of all I will tell of her principal ministers.
The first of them is the Lord Steward of the Kingdom (Henry
Fitz-Alan, 21st Earl of Arundel), President of the Council, in which,
all matters are proposed by him; and as Lord Steward, it is his
office, when the Queen dines in state, to place the viands on
the table and to present the napkin when she washes her hands.
Next comes the Marquis of Winchester (William Paulett), Lord
Treasurer, who has to overlook all the ministers who handle the
public money, and to decide any questions arising thence; and
when the Lord Steward performs his office with Her Majesty, he in
like manner holds the basin when she washes her hands. The
third personage is the Lord Great Chamberlain, Earl of Oxford
(John De Vere, 16th Earl), whose business it is to accompany the
Queen wherever she goes; and to convoke the Peers to Parliament;
and on state occasions to pour the water over the Queen's hands,
and to make the assay of the viands. The fourth personage is the
Chamberlain of the Household (William Lord Howard of Effingham),
who is the principal person in Her Majesty's Chamber, and has care
and guard of the upper floor of the house, as the Vice-Chamberlain
has of the lower floor, and he is moreover the head of all the gen-
tlemen in Her Majesty's service. Then comes the Treasurer of the
Household; and next the Comptroller (Sir Robert Rochester), whose
care it is to inspect the accounts, and the administration of the
money expended for the household. Besides these, there is the
Grand Equerry (Gran Scudiere), who is the head of Her Majesty's
stable (Anthony Brown Viscount Montagu, Master of the Horse);
and there is also one who keeps the Privy Seal (William Lord
Paget); all of whom, and many others their dependents, receive
stipend.
Besides these, there is Her Majesty's Guard, consisting of 50
gentlemen, all English, who carry a weapon called an axe (un'arma
chiamata asta), each of them receiving 200 crowns pension; besides
1,50 archers, who have 150 crowns each.
1554.
553
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
The Queen's
expenditure.
Ship-money.
Parliament.
For all these pensions and costs, and for other officials throughout
the realm, Her Majesty spends annually
Ducats 200,000
For the board of Her Majesty's entire Household, for which 22
upper tables are usually kept, besides the lower ones Ducats 180,000
To the Lady Elizabeth, Her Majesty's sister are given.
Ducats 10,000
To the Lady Anne of Cleves, heretofore repudiated by King
Henry VIII.
Ducats 10,000
And Her Majesty, before coming to the Crown, had the same
allowance.
For the costs of Infantry and Fortresses in Ireland, in England,
and in the places beyond sea
Ducats 130,000
Ducats 10,000
For the Tower of London
-
For pensions and provision extraordinary both to Englishmen
and foreigners
Ducats 100,000
For provision for abbots, priors, and other ecclesiastics deprived
of their revenues
Ducats 40,000
For provision given, to keep Her Majesty's palaces in good repair,
they being in immense number
Ducats 10,000
For costs of the Arsenal, including powder, artillery, and other
necessaries
Ducats 20,000
For the cost of ten armed ships, which from year to year are
kept at sea for the protection of merchandise against corsairs, the
Queen being bound to incur it, as for this purpose she levies a duty
called "the subsidy" (il sussidio)
Ducats 100,000
-
the revenue.
The revenues, therefore, amounting to about a million of gold,
and the expenditure being 828,000 (sic) [810,000], Her Majesty
would have a surplus of about 170,000 ducats, but from the research
Insufficiency of used by me, I understood that the revenues do not suffice for the
expenditure, partly because, as usual everywhere, it is impossible to
levy all the taxes, and in part owing to the mal-administration of
the money; to such an extent, that since a long while stipendiaries
receive barely half their pay; and the costs of the Coronation, and of
the outfit of the 30 ships which put to sea this year for the coming of
the Prince of Spain, were defrayed by a loan, for which the merchants
in Flanders contracted at exorbitant interest.
It remains for me to tell of the mode in which the Realm is
governed; and first of all, I will speak of its foundation and first
element (principio), which is the Parliament-general of the Kingdom.
It is convoked at the King's pleasure, and on one part, its members
are all the Peers of the Realm and the Bishops. Heretofore, the
Abbots also attended it, but as they no longer exist, since the
destruction of the monasteries, it is held without them; and when
this congregation is assembled, it is called "the Upper House "
la Casa di Sopra). On the other part, in the so-called "Lower
House" (Casa Bassa), the assembly of the people meets; every city
and castle, and all the counties likewise, each sending two members
thither, amounting in all to 300 persons, they remaining in place
as long as a Parliament lasts; and when a new Parliament is needed
after a dissolution, the cities, castles, and counties make a new
554
1554.
1554.
REPORT
SORANZO'S election. The members of the Upper House, on the contrary, are
on England) always the same, and the chief personages (li Signori) now sitting
(Aug. 18.) there are in number 18; namely, the Duke of Norfolk, the Marquis
of Winchester, the Earls of Arundel, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Derby,
Devon, Westmoreland, Worcester, Rutland, Cumberland, Sussex,
Wilton (Grey), Bath, Southampton, Bedford, Pembroke, and the
Viscount of Hertford; besides whom, there are about 50 individuals
who have the title of “Lord.” It must be borne in mind that
these Lords (questi Signori) have nothing but the title given them
by the King as an act of grace, or for merit, for themselves and
their descendants; nor have they any authority or jurisdiction in
ordinary, save such as is conceded them by their Sovereign, which is
for the most part temporary; though it is true that when the title
of Duke is conferred on any one, they also provide him with
revenues for the maintenance of his grade, which requires at least
10,000 crowns; doing the like by the Marquises, Earls, and all the
others according to their station. All the Bishops of the Kingdom
sit in the Upper House, in number 22 (sic), including the two Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops being London, Durham,
Winchester, Bath and Wells, Exeter, Ely, Coventry and Lichfield,
Norwich, Salisbury, St. David's, Llandaff, Carlisle, Worcester,
Hereford, Gloucester, Peterborough, Chichester, Lincoln, and
Rochester.
-
Manner of
ment.
On the day of the opening of Parliament, all the Lords of the
holding Parlia- Upper House robe in certain scarlet gowns, lined with ermine of
various sorts (foderato d'armellini differenti) according to their
grade; the Bishops also with their scarlet capes (cappe) in like
manner; Her Majesty also being present in the Royal habits,
without the Crown; and they go all together to the Church, where a
solemn mass of the Holy Ghost is sung; after which, Her Majesty
takes her seat in the place prepared for her in Parliament, and there,
the members of both Houses being present, the Lord Chancellor,
who at present is the Bishop of Winchester, makes a speech about
what is to be treated in Parliament; though for the most part he
says in general terms, that matters will be treated relating to the
welfare of the Kingdom. Next day the Lower House assembles,
and elects a Proctor and Advocate (un Procuratore e Avvocato),
entitled "The Speaker," and then the King returns to Parliament
to hear him, he also making a speech in common and general terms.
Then the two Houses commence assembling apart, each member being
at liberty to present such suggestions (ricordi) as seem advantageous
to him, in writing, and they are given to the clerks (alli notari),
who register them, after which they are discussed three times, not
on three consecutive days immediately, but after an interval of
timě. When about to pass any Act, the House is asked whether
the proposal has its approval, each member answering aloud " Aye,"
or "No," and when the opinion of the majority is clearly known,
it is adopted (deliberata); but when many are heard to say
(<
Aye, aye," or " No, no," so that the opinion seems doubtful, the
Ayes" are told to move to one side, and the "Noes" to remain
(6
in their places; and both sides being counted, the greater number
C
1554.
555
1154.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
The Reforma-
tion.
conquers; and immediately after the resolve is made in either
house, it is forthwith communicated to the other, there to be
debated in like manner; and if not annulled, but confirmed,
it is kept until Parliament ends, being presented to the King
on the last day when His Majesty returns to close the
Parliament; and such of its resolves as he thinks it fit to approve
he signs with his own hand, and of those disapproved by him he
says in French "Le Roy s'avisera;" so that before a resolve can
become a conclusive act it must pass the two houses, and be
then signed by the King's hand. I will not particularize all the
errors committed through this mode of deliberating by word of
mouth, but shall merely remark that each member having to state
his opinion openly it comes to pass that from fear they are often
compelled to vote (a deliberare) what they know to be the will of
those who rule them, rather than according to the dictates of their
own conscience, so it is clearly manifest that there is no longer the
Contradictory liberty there used to be*; and since a certain period, in order yet
enactments
touching reli-
gion.
more to restrict that liberty in the Lower House, whose members
are elected, it is contrived that none be returned, save such as con-
form to the will of the Crown, as was clearly seen when treating the
matters of religion, about which so many contradictory statutes were
enacted, the persons elected, whether of one sort or the other, always
voting with the government, that not only did the Parliament lose
much of its authority with the people, but by so many variations
and changes, they reduced the country to such a state as well nigh
not to know what to believe, nor on what to base their faith; and
if by means of this most serene Queen, and the Bishop of Winchester,
the Almighty had not shed his light whereby they might return to
the truth, no greater confusion could have been witnessed anywhere
than would have been seen in England, by reason of the endless.
variety of heresies which swarm there (pullulando la diversità
delle eresie senza fine).
Concerning this matter I will not omit saying what the heresy
was in the time of King Edward. It consisted in three chief
articles, namely, in the total alienation from the Pope and the
Roman Church; in the diversity of ceremonies; and in denying
that in the sacrament of the altar there was the real body of the
Son of God. With regard to the separation (alienazione) from the
church, having mentioned above the mode in which it was effected,
and the cause, I will merely add that they would not acknowledge
either "pardons" or "indulgences," denying the [doctrine of] free
will, and purgatory, and every other opinion maintained in these
matters by the holy church. The ceremonies also were well nigh
entirely changed, the mode of reciting the divine service (gli uffici
divini) according to the Roman ritual being suppressed, as also the
mass, or else it was performed in another manner, and in the
English tongue. They likewise suppressed all the festivals of the
Saints, save such as are mentioned in the New Testament. They
moreover enacted that the priests were not to wear sacerdotal orna-
-
* Onde chiaramente si conosce che non vi è più quella libertà che soleva esservi.
556
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Restoration of
the Roman
Catholic reli-
gion.
ments (paramenti) of any sort, but merely the white surplice (cotta),
and they also removed all the images of the Saints, and the altars,
leaving the churches all bare and whitewashed, with the Royal
Arms in the front of the church, surrounded by passages from Scrip-
ture. They allowed the priests to marry, and also to bequeath
their property to their children, but not the benefices, the presenta-
tion of which belonged to the King alone, it not being customary to
make renunciation of them in any way. In case of adultery they
also granted divorce, which gave rise to endless irregularities and
confusion. They suppressed every sort of light in the churches, as
also the holy water and the holy oil, considering them superfluous ;
the commemorations of the saints, and the prayers for the dead
being in like manner abolished, though they ordained the observance
of the Eves, the four Ember weeks, and Lent; and moreover ex-
horted everybody to make auricular confession to the priest, but
not by precept, and they called it counsel, and satisfaction of con-
science (conseglio et soddisfazione della coscienza).
With regard to the Communion, they ordered all persons to take
it at least three times in the year, but not in the manner observed
by the [Roman] Church; nor did they believe in the real presence
(nè credevano che vi fusse il vero Corpo di Cristo), but merely a
sacramental efficacy (virtù), in commemoration of the supper and
passion of our Lord; and they celebrated it thus: In the place
where the choir used to be they had a table, covered with the cloth,
on which they put common bread and wine, making the communi-
cants kneel round it; and after recital by the priest of a number of
prayers, he took a mouthful of the bread for himself, and drank some
of the wine, making the communicants do the like; and this they
called Communion, sub utrâque specie; and in the act of giving
the bread, the priest said, "Take and eat this, in remembrance that
Christ died for thee, and eat of this Christ in thy heart through
faith, with thanksgiving ;" and then, when giving the wine, they said,
Drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for thee,
and be thankful.”*
On the accession of Queen Mary, immediately on arriving in
London, she had the mass performed, and the first Parliament re-
stored all the ancient ceremonies and the doctrine of the sacrament
(insieme con la opinione del sacramento), and everything else, in
accordance with the custom of the Roman Church, so that in this
brief period such progress has been made that the mass and divine
service are performed in all the churches, and attended by a good
number of persons. Though the majority of the population is per-
haps dissatisfied, yet may it be hoped that the Almighty will support
her Majesty's good intentions. Nothing remains for adjustment with
the Roman Church, save the obedience to the Church, which the Par-
liament has not hitherto confirmed, but will doubtless give its assent,
* "E dando il pane dicevano, Piglia et mangia questo in commemorazione che Cristo è morto
per te et mangia di esso Cristo nel tuo cuore per fede con azioni di grazie. Dando poi il
vino, dicevano: Bevi questo in commemorazione che il sangue di Cristo fu sparso per te et
sii grato."
1554.
557
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Question as to
Church pro-
perty.
provided the church property already distributed by the crown,
remain in the hands of its present possessors, as having been given,
sold, and exchanged, for so long a while, it can scarcely be supposed
that the present possessors would restore it; and indeed it would
be almost impossible by reason of the endless law-suits which
would ensue; nor is it the Queen's intention to renounce the church
property, of which she lately sold some, of considerable value,
although she is quite bent on the union. This is proved by her
negotiations with Dom. Francesco Commendone, the Pope's chamber
attendant, who, being at the Emperor's court as datary to the Cardinal
Legate Dandino, introduced himself through Marc' Antonio Da Mula,
Venetian ambassador with his Imperial Majesty, to him (Soranzo), to
whom he announced the Cardinal's wish that he should be presented to
the Queen to offer her (per offerirle) the Pope's goodwill, and that he
(Soranzo) should give him information about the state of the religion,
Commendone telling him that at Rome they knew little or nothing
about it. Therefore, considering the benefit of Christendom and
how much the Signory would be gratified by the increase of the
Catholic religion, did not fail to give Commendone full information
Secret interview about all he required, and by means of an intimate friend, deep in
between Queen the Queen's confidence (confidentissimo di sua Maestà), contrived to
Mary and a
Papal agent.
have him introduced by night to speak to her Majesty, to whom
he announced the Pope's goodwill. She evinced satisfaction at
the performance of this office, and made answer that she had always
been inclined to live according to the religion in which she was
born, and that thus did she desire to continue, so that she did not
believe she had incurred any ecclesiastical censure, having never
consented to the things which took place against the religion, but
that nevertheless to put her mind more at ease she moreover wished
for absolution from the Pope, not only for herself but also for the
whole kingdom; though as everything was still so unsettled that
the publication of her demand might seriously injure the affairs of
the kingdom, and perhaps endanger her life, she charged him to
communicate this her wish solely to him (Soranzo), and then beyond
the Channel to his Cardinal Dandino and to Cardinal Pole, pro-
ceeding subsequently straight to Rome, there to kiss the Pope's
feet in her Majesty's name, and to make this request, as he did;
but at Rome the secret was not kept as it ought to have been, and
the Pope conceded the absolution to her Majesty and all those
who were heartily disposed to resume their obedience to the Roman
church.
Laws.
The laws whereby the kingdom is governed are not common, but
peculiar to the realm, having been enacted from time to time by
Parliament; and without saying how causes are treated in detail, it
will suffice to mention the mode of judging, which is well nigh alike
both in civil and criminal causes for in civil actions, after both
parties have given sufficient evidence before the ordinary judges,
Trial by jury. the causes are referred for final despatch to the judgment of 12 men
not elected, but drawn by lot from persons of any condition what-
ever, they being taken first from one parish and then from another,
so that the whole city participates in the appointment; 12 indi-
YEAR
558
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S viduals being appointed for each cause, in such wise that when the
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
suit ends the authority of the 12 who judged it ends likewise; and
if the suit is between two Englishmen, all the judges are English,
and if between an Englishman and a foreigner, they draw six
Englishmen and six foreigners. After having heard the cause these
judges are shut up in a place, from which they cannot come out, they
remaining without food or liquor until they all 12 unanimously give
the sentence, which is afterwards carried to the judges in ordinary,
who then despatch it formally (in forma). The like is done in
criminal causes, though the judges are not elected by chance, but
they take accidentally (a caso) such persons as proved to have been
nearest at hand when the fact occurred, they apparently being best
able to know about it. The process being drawn up, the delinquent
presents himself before the above-mentioned judges, he being at
liberty to reject them, on assigning legitimate reasons, and they are
replaced by others, to whom no objection is made; whereupon the
delinquent either confesses the crime laid to his charge, or defends
himself personally, without any barrister or counsel (senza altro
avvocato ò consultore); and having closed his defence, the 12 indi-
viduals aforesaid shut themselves up together, and with the same
forms as in civil causes, announce the sentence to the judges in
ordinary, who despatch it in form, it not being the custom either
to mutilate any member, or to send into exile, but to acquit or
condemn to death. To say how defective and reprehensible this
mode of trial is seems to me unnecessary, so I will merely observe
that one of these 12 judges being better able than his fellows to
withstand hunger and other inconveniences, has been the cause of
the death of a person under trial, although the others wished to
acquit him.
Appeals.
The Lord
Chancellor.
Account of
Stephen
Gardiner.
The appeals against sentences, both civil and criminal, are decided
in the place where Her Majesty resides, certain courts of judges
appointed for this purpose assembling four times a year (called
terms), for each of the four seasons, with supreme authority for the
decision of all causes.
The mode of government hitherto detailed is ordinary and
according to the statutes; but I will now tell of the supreme
authority of the Crown, which extends even beyond these laws, as
necessary, they being in great part imperfect, and too rigorous.
But as, because were Her Majesty to attend in person to the
despatch of all the necessary business, the burden would be too
great, she lays this part of it on the Lord Chancellor of the kingdom,
who, as already mentioned, is the Bishop of Winchester, and by
the Royal mandate he decides summarily such causes as seem to
him worthy of being countenanced (suffragate) by his authority;
and as it has been necessary to speak of his right reverend Lordship,
he being the person who at present not only governs this department,
but has greater authority than anybody else about Her Majesty, it
will not be irrelevant for your Serenity to hear his condition.
His name is Stephen Gardiner, LL.D., his father having been of
very middling station, but he himself, by reason of his abilities, was
very much esteemed by Henry VIII., who accredited him several
times as ambassador, and amongst the rest to Pope Clement, to
treat the divorce from her present Majesty's mother, which he
1554.
559
The Privy
Council.
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S advised him to effect; but not having assented to the alienation
from the Catholic Church, he got rather out of favour with the
King, after whose death, as he never would consent to what was
done about the Sacrament (alle cose del Sacramento), they put
him in the Tower, where he remained for six years, but on the
Queen's arrival in London he was released immediately, and made
Lord Chancellor, and the favour which he has gained with Her
Majesty is caused principally by his having been an excellent agent
for restoring the religion to its present state.
Gardiner.
Paget.
The government of State affairs is entirely in the hands of her
Majesty's Council, which at present consists of about 40 members,
although under former sovereigns they were not more than 20, but
as all the members of the Council of King Edward were the accom-
plices of the Duke of Northumberland in proclaiming Lady Jane
Grey queen, and therefore guilty of rebellion, her Majesty created a
Council of her own, to which, on arriving in London-having par-
doned the rebels-she added the greater part of those who had been
the councillors of King Edward.
The manner in which they transact business is as follows:-The
leading members are lodged in the palace where her Majesty resides,
some of them sleeping there, according to ancient custom, so that
she may never be alone. They meet very early in the morning,
and, provided the chiefs are present, although they may not be more
than six or seven, the Council is understood to be assembled, and the
president proposes the matters for discussion-though at present
the Bishop of Winchester has the management of everything—and
each member present is at liberty to give his opinion by word of
mouth, the decision of the majority being presented for approval to
the Queen, who, deferring in everything to the Council, approves
accordingly. As according to the custom of the country one of
the councillors is always superior to the rest, and what pleases him
seems nearly always to please the others also, the present Prime
Minister, as aforesaid, is the Bishop of Winchester, and next to him
those most in the Queen's favour are the Earl of Arundel [Henry
Fitz-Allan, twenty-first Earl of Arundel,] Lord Paget, and Secretary
Petre; but Paget, both because he is a very experienced statesman
(molto pratico delle ationi del mondo), as also from having been the
person who negotiated the marriage with the Prince of Spain, took
precedence of all of them until now, when, as an acknowledged anti-
Catholic, he is out of favour with her Majesty. The Bishop of
Winchester, on the contrary, who at the commencement opposed
the marriage and ran great risk of disgrace, until being convinced of
the Queen's firm intention he diligently aided its accomplishment,
is now paramount to everybody.
Although in my despatches, I gave very detailed account to the
Signory of the mode in which the marriage was treated,* I will
now, nevertheless, mention briefly a few particulars about it.
Queen Mary
Immediately on her accession, the Queen became well aware of
and Courtenay. the great wish of the country that she should marry Lord Courtenay,
* The despatches here alluded to no longer exist.
560
1554.
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Proposals for
the marriage
with Philip.
whose noble descent entitled him to a preference over any other
native, everybody being above all desirous that she should marry an
Englishman, and by no means a foreigner; but the Emperor, who
purposed effecting, at any rate, what subsequently came to pass,
had recourse to various means for sounding the will (animo) of her
Majesty, who, although she had always shown very great affection
for the Emperor, yet being quite intent on gratifying the general
wish of the kingdom, did not give ear to him. But from a very
feeble commencement (d'assai debil principio) he derived means for
accomplishing his project, as Lord Paget, having discovered that
Courtenay was not true to him, being told that Courtenay said
if ever he became the Queen's husband, he would bear in mind
that, in the reign of Henry VIII., Paget proposed to have him put
to death, took this much to heart, and the Imperialists took occa-
sion thence to persuade Paget to exhort the Queen to marry the
Prince of Spain, laying before her the straits to which the kingdom
was reduced by the scarcity of money, and that there were no better
means for reforming the religion than through the support of so
great a Prince, who, being very Catholic, would and could convert
the English from their false doctrines. In addition to this, the
Imperial Ambassador made an offer of the Low Countries and
other patrimonial territory [to be incorporated with the English
Crown]. The Queen, being born of a Spanish mother, was always
inclined towards that nation, scorning to be English and boasting
of her descent from Spain, was moved by these arguments; the like
offices being performed both by the Earl of Arundel and Secretary
Petre; and becoming more and more aware daily of the largeness of
the Emperor's offers, her Majesty sent for the Bishop of Winchester
and the three other personages aforesaid, and manifested to them
her inclination in favour of this marriage; and although Win-
chester at first combated it, he at length acquiesced. But as
Parliament was then sitting, the Lower House, on hearing of this
negotiation, determined to go to her Majesty and lay before her in
the name of the Commons, the detriment which might be caused
the kingdom by her marriage to a foreigner; wherefore they were
compelled to beseech her to marry an Englishman, without naming
anyone in particular. Not only did she reply ungraciously, but with-
out allowing them even to conclude their address, rebuked them for
their audacity, in daring to speak to her their Queen about mar-
riage, saying, however, that she would consult with God, and with
no one else, which greatly disturbed everybody, and yet more when
they heard that it had been stipulated; so last Christmas, many
of the chief gentry, partly from dissatisfaction at seeing the king-
dom in the hands of the Spaniards, and partly from disapproval
of the change in the religion, plotted together, and arranged
amongst themselves that on Palm Sunday, the 18th March, an
insurrection was to break out all over the kingdom. But the con-
spiracy being discovered before the time in Cornwall, where Peter
Wyatt's rebel- Carew was the ringleader, and subsequently in Kent, where Wyatt
.
lion.
headed the insurgents, having mustered there some 4,000, he, after
suborning the Queen's forces at Rochester, under the Duke of
C
1554.
561
1
1554.
SORANZO'S
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
Articles of the
marriage con-
tract.
Norfolk, marched to London, and encamped in the borough of
Southwark, on the other side of the bridge, and having departed
thence, in order to cross a bridge seven miles off and enter the city,
he was met and routed on the first day of Lent by the Queen's
troops under the Earl of Pembroke. I will not now tell of the
great danger which then threatened the city of London, as, had
Wyatt succeeded, the foreigners at least would have been sacked,
it being quite certain that the Londoners had an understanding
with him; nor could any better mode be devised for keeping them
in check, as they had already commenced rioting, than for Her
Majesty to go in person through the city to the Guildhall (nella
salla), where, having assembled the people, after saying many
things to quiet them, she promised to call a Parliament imme-
diately, in which she would hear the reasons (le ragioni) alleged
by the kingdom, and not do anything to dissatisfy it; so Parlia-
ment met, but as through the assiduity employed (con la diligenza)
no members were returned, save such as were known to be of the
Queen's mind, it was very easy to obtain from the two Houses the
approval of the marriage contract, of which, although I sent your
Serenity a private copy made from the original, I will not omit
alluding at present to the chief articles.
After consummating the marriage, the Prince was to have the
same titles as Her Majesty, and to assist her in the government of
the kingdom, he retaining the titles so long as he shall be Her
Majesty's husband; and should she die before him he is bound to
renounce the title of King, and to quit the realm immediately. The
Queen, in like manner, is to have the same titles as the Prince on
the same terms. The eldest son born of this marriage is to have
the states of Flanders and the other patrimonial territories of the
Emperor; and should there be no male heirs, the eldest daughter
is to inherit, provided she marry either a Fleming or an English-
man, with the consent of Don Carlos, Prince Philip's son. In the
administration (maneggio) or government of the kingdom of Eng-
land none but English are to be admitted (non si admetterà alcuno
che non sia Inglese). The Prince is neither to take the Queen
out of England against her will, nor yet the children who may
be born of her (che nasceranno), without the consent of the Peers
of the realm (delli Principi del Regno). The kingdom is not to
be bound to give assistance to the Emperor, or to the Prince, in the
war against France.
From this contract and alliance your Serenity may perfectly
comprehend the understanding and union between the kingdom of
England and the Emperor, so on this subject it is unnecessary to
say anything further; but convinced as I am that your Lordships
King Philip in would fain know how Prince Philip can rule that realm pacifically,
England.
Prospects of
although all opinions of future events are very uncertain, and
above all such as relate to affairs in England, where men's minds
(gli umori) are very mutable, I will nevertheless not omit to say
something about them.
It is quite clear that, should Don Philip choose to maintain
himself in England by sheer force, he would require a very great
5.
N N
562
1554.
1554.
REPORT
on England
(Aug. 18.)
SORANZO'S number of troops, which I do not think he could muster at present
during the Emperor's war with France, so it may be supposed that he
intends to rule in peace and quiet, which would, I think, render him
more secure; for the greater the amount of foreign troops introduced
into the country, the greater cause would the English have for riots
and discontent, as very well known to his Highness; for the Spanish
soldiers who came with him from Spain did not even disembark, the
Lords of the Council having required this, and it was also specified
in one of the articles of the marriage contract, which, at least, at this
commencement, he may be expected to observe above all things;
and as it is throughout very greatly in favour of the English, and
to their advantage by adhering to it, there will, doubtless, be no
cause for riots. It may also be supposed that, through a variety of
opportunities, he will endeavour to benefit the nobility (li grandi),
without whom, with difficulty, can the people ever do anything of
consequence; and by associating with the aristocracy, he, in time,
will have no great difficulty about ascertaining their disposition, and
will give them colleagues, who, acknowledging their dignity and
profit as the gifts of his Highness, will seek his advantage, nor will
he lack means for disposing adroitly of those who dissent from him
(che non v'assentirano). It may also be supposed that his chief
care will be to garrison the fortresses with Englishmen who he
can persuade himself depend on his own immediate will. These
and very many other precautions he could take, which might benefit
him; but nothing would be more efficacious than the Queen's
pregnancy, the mere hope of which is sufficient to curb the people.
On the other hand, as it is a very easy matter to raise a rebellion
in England, not only when headed by some great personage of
authority (qualche principe d'autorità), but even without such
support, there is no doubt whatever of his Highness being in
constant danger, experience having shown that often in these.
rebellions even the native kings were well nigh worsted (quasi
oppressi); so it is always to be feared that his Highness may have
to endure some trouble, most especially as the English (quelle genti)
are so fickle (di così poca fede), that neither benefits nor anything
else can ever give security for their resolves (volontà).
Relations be-
At present Her Majesty is quite at peace with the most Christian
tween England King, though there are many visible causes which might disturb it,
and
as for instance, the many English ships captured by the French
during the last few months, and for which the English have never
received entire compensation, although his most Christian Majesty
promised it in full (largamente). It is also very evident how much
the English writhe under the French domination of Scotland, both
because it seems to them that that kingdom passed out of their
hands fraudulently, the young Queen-already affianced to King
Edward—having been carried off to France; as also because they
very well know that, through that quarter, many and most serious
attacks may be made upon them; so this is, doubtless, their chief
* Si può anco credere che principalmente attenderà a mettere nelle fortezze degli
Inglesi, li quali immediatemente si possa persuadere, che dipendono dalla sua volontà.
:
1554.
563
1554.
SORANZO'S grievance. In addition to this, in England, it is considered
REPORT
certain that the King of France had an understanding with the
on England
(Aug. 18.) Kentish insurgents, which is the more believed the more they
see him harbour the [English] exiles (fuorusciti); and although
the Queen has repeatedly required the French Ambassadors to
renew the [international?] treaty, no determination has ever been
announced to her.
But what matters more than everything else, is the love she may
be expected to bear her husband, and should he determine on
persuading her to make war on France, it may be believed that she
will not refuse him, most especially if he makes himself agreeable to
her. Considering, on the other hand, the unpopularity of the mar-
riage, which has estranged (mutato) the affection borne by the people
to the Queen, and they knowing that the war would benefit-not
the Realm, but one whom they consider well nigh their enemy-it is
credible that they would strongly oppose it, besides which, the
Exchequer is in the last state of exhaustion; and owing to the
discontent of the people, with great difficulty can it be supposed that
Parliament would vote any money grant, or that the country would
pay it; so on these and other accounts, those who wish to bear in
mind the welfare of the kingdom, must be of opinion that the best
it can do is to keep quiet.
Soranzo's con-
duct and treat-
During his residence in England as the Signory's Ambassador,
ment in England. Was always treated with the greatest marks of goodwill, was
admitted into King Edward's chamber without any previous
demand for audience, and was always detained by him for a long
while with every demonstration of honour towards the Republic.
Has also been most graciously treated by Queen Mary, both since
her accession and before, when he frequently visited her and did her
service by procuring for her many articles of value from Venice,
much to her satisfaction.* After she came to the crown, did not
fail to do whatever he thought might be to the satisfaction of her
Majesty and the Signory, having gone to meet her with 150 horse
when she made her entry into London; and at the time of the
coronation he appeared in a mantle and other habits as customary
with Venetian Ambassadors on similar occasions, performing what-
ever other office could prove acceptable, as mentioned from time to
time in his despatches.†
The like goodwill was always shown him by the Lords of the
Council, both in the time of King Edward, especially by the Duke
of Northumberland, who was the nead of the government, and now
by the Bishop of Winchester, who on every occasion showed favour
to Soranzo and to all Venetian subjects. Can therefore assure the
Doge and Senate that the Queen and the whole court hold the
prudence and power of the Venetian Republic in very great account,
and wish to gratify the Signory on every occasion whatever.
Praises his successor Giovanni Michiel (who arrived in London
* "In fargli condurre da questa inclita città molte robbe, et anco di valore con molta
sua satisfazione."
† A few of Soranzo's letters to the Council of Ten, have been found amongst the
miscellanies in the Venetian archives, but the rest of the correspondence seems to have
perished by fire, in the 16th century.
NN 2
564
1554.
1554.
Aug. 18.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
on the 22nd May 1554), and his own Secretary Giovanni Francesco
de Franceschi.*
[Italian.]
935. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with the
Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Account of the war in the Low Countries. The Spanish infantry
have not yet crossed from England, and they are receiving supplies of
hose, jerkins, and arms, being naked and needy, as implied by their
Spanish title “bisoños" (perchè son nudi et bisogni come dicono loro).
Brabant has consented to give 200,000 crowns, and they are now
treating to prolong the time of payment (the Queen [Maria of
Hungary] wishing it to be made in the course of October), and about
the mode of exacting it from private individuals, which will, it is
believed, be by increasing the duties on the necessaries of life (le robe
de vivere). Flanders will give 300,000, and Holland, Zealand,
and other provinces make up the sum total of 1,000,000 in all,
Luxemburg, Hainault, Namur, and Artois not being reckoned, as
it supposed they will be exempted on account of the ruin caused
them by the wars. A bargain (un partito), now very near conclusion,
is being treated with German merchants for 500,000 crowns, to be
disbursed by them forthwith to the Emperor in Spain, his Majesty
repaying it in these provinces at the end of 15 months without any
interest, security to that amount being given on the "giuri" in
Spain. Of the money received from England 100,000 crowns
have been distributed to the Imperial army on account of arrears
without making any inspection.
Don Francisco de Mendoza has arrived from England with news
of the coming of the King and Queen to Westminster; of the Garter
given to the Duke of Savoy and Lord Fitzwalter; and that the
coronation will not be performed until after the meeting of Parlia-
ment, which will take place next October; but your Serenity will be
better informed about these matters by the accompanying packet
from London.
The Queen of England has sent handsome presents of jewels to
the Emperor, and to the Queens of France and Hungary; and a
beautiful emerald to the Duchess of Lorraine.
Brussels, 18th August 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
In ne printed copy of this report, Soranzo says that King Edward knighted and gave
him a gold chain as a badge when he went into mourning for the death of his (Soranzo's)
grandfather; and on his departure the Queen gave him another gold chain. The two
together were worth 800 crowns, and he requested the Senate to allow him to retain them,
in consideration of what he suffered at the time of the sweating sickness; from the
famine prices; from the reduction of the money; from the length of his embassy; and
from the expenses incurred by him on the Queen's entry into London, and for her
coronation; when he was obliged to reapparel himself and his attendants several times.
The "giuri" signified the acknowledged or funded debt of the crown,-" GIURI, così
si domanda l' interesse del denaro del quale è stata servita la corona in diversi tempi."
(See Surian's Report of Spain in the year 1559, published by Alberi, series 1, vol. 3,
p. 340.) In Tiepolo's Report of Spain, A.D. 1563, vol. 5. p. 38, the explanation of the
word is given thus : "Interesse di juri, che sono come i nostri MONTI ;” “monti” signify-
ing the funded debt of Venice.
1554.
565
1554.
Aug. 19.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
936. MARC' ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
The King of England has written Cardinal Pole a beautiful letter
(una bella lettera) full of love, of honour, and of offers; and charged
Count Horn to perform [a complimentary] office orally, but the
Count, having remained in the camp, forwarded the letter; and to
certain English friars, who asked his leave and advice about return-
ing to England, the King had them told that they can go thither at
their pleasure, so England is now seen to change her mind and cus-
toms, and take the true path (si che si vede mutarsi le voluntà, et li
costumi di quel Regno et incaminarsi alla vera via).
The English ambassador resident here [Sir John Masone] has told
me that his colleague [Peter Vannes] resident with your Serenity
has written a letter, or rather a schedule (processo) to his Queen,
about certain words uttered in Venice by a servant of said ambas-
sador [by name George Page] against her Majesty, purporting that
he would have the heart to kill her (che gli saria bastato l' animo di
amazzarla, &c.),* and that the ambassador came to your Serenity to
demand the arrest of his servant for this cause, and that you told
him it was of no importance (che non importava), nor should the
words of similar persons be heeded (nè era da metter a mente le
parole di tali), and that at Venice there was liberty for good men
and for rogues (era libertà alli buoni et alli tristi), and that he him-
self was to make him hold his tongue. So as Vannes did not think
fit to allow this outrage against the Queen to remain unpunished
he went to Mantua, where the Cardinal [Ercole Gonzaga] and
the Duchess [the Regents of Mantua] conceded him the appre-
hension of the servant, who, on being examined, confessed to having
said the words, and thereupon many witnesses were examined.
Sir John Masone added that he should send his colleague's letter
to the Queen by the next post, and that Peter Vannes was very
timid, and wrote to him from fear lest, in case of the words reaching
the Queen's ear, they might subject him to reproof as well as
detriment (egli ne ricevesse biasimo et danno anchora).
I said to Sir John Masone that fear was by certain persons appro-
priately styled a tie and ligature (vinculo et legame), and that some
had too much of it, as seemed to have been the case with Mr.
Vannes, who was as it were bound (legato), and knew not what to
do, and that occasionally, under other circumstances, I had seen him
in greater fear about ridiculous matters; nor was it becoming to
imprison men for light causes, such as the words of a base menial
(un vil servitor), who was either mad or drunk, and that I believed
when the Queen heard them they would move her to laughter; nor
are trifles of this sort held in account at Venice.
At this point Sir John Masone interrupted me, confirming my
remarks by saying that when in England he heard of and saw
your Serenity's letters to the late King Edward about the timidity
of Mr. Vannes, and that previously he [Masone] had seen him cry
from fear, and that according to his belief the Queen would laugh
at the matter.
* The letter here alluded to has been printed in the Foreign Calendar, date Venice, 16
June 1554 (entry 224, pp. 97, 98).
566
1554.
1554.
DAMULA to the
DOGE and
I commended her Majesty, saying I imagined he [Masone], when
writing to the Queen, would apologize for Vannes, on the plea of
(Aug. 19.) his being afraid of that which he should have disregarded, be-
SENATE.
cause otherwise sovereigns would have too much to do, as both at
this Court and all over the world there are ignorant persons in
great number who, wherever they chance to be, defame their own
sovereigns.
Masone replied that he would do as I told him, and that since
the last Parliament, this liberty of speech is greater in England
than in any place in the world, whereas previously, one word of
the sort constituted crimen laesae Majestatis, which, seeming too
harsh and unjust, they therefore repealed the statute.
I have now received letters from the camp, where it was heard
through French prisoners that in the engagement of the 13th the
Admiral of France was killed, a man much beloved by the King,
on account of his valour, and nephew of the Constable, besides
many other cavaliers; that the Count d'Egmont and the Marquis
de Berghes had arrived from England, with news that in two days
the greater part of the Spanish cavalry, which came with the
Prince, would join the camp, it having been asserted that Mons. de
Ri (sic) [Rieux ?] the Emperor's Chief Chamberlain, and his brother,
have also passed through Brussels for Burgundy for this same pur-
pose; but nothing was said in the camp about the time appointed
for their march, nor when the Emperor was to depart thence.
I understand that the entry of the King and Queen into London
has been delayed for four days, and the announcement made by
Don Francesco de Mendoza of their arrival at Westminster, was
untrue.
Aug. 20,
MS. St. Mark's
Further particulars of the war in Flanders, and of the retreat of
the French from Renti.
It is now reported that the Emperor will leave the army and
reside at St. Omer, his frontier town, on the borders of Picardy,
towards the sea.
Since having written thus far, I have received letters from Heidel
berg, dated the 15th, purporting that in the Diet of Worms* they
are now discussing the demand made by the Bishops, with regard
to the war waged on the Marquis [Albert of Brandenburg?], as
rebel to the Empire, &c., &c.
Brussels, 19th August 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher, the portion in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
937. CARDINAL POLE to the PRINCE OF SPAIN.
Having for so many causes, human and divine, congratulated
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. himself on his Majesty's marriage with Pole's most Serene Queen
No date of time (Serenissima Regina nostra), has chosen by the gentleman the bearer
or place in MS. of the present letter, to do the like with his Majesty, whom he
requests to give entire credence to whatever will be said to him in
Pole's name on this subject by the envoy. Prays God, that in
* This Diet is alluded to in Foreign Calendar, September 26, 1554, p. 121.
1554.
567
1554.
[Aug. 20?]
MS. St. Mark's
Library.
Cod, xxiv. Cl.
Aug. 20?
MS. St. Mark's
plakat petadata w
Aug. 20?
MS. St. Mark's
Aug. 26.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
938. CARDINAL POLE to the EMPEROR CHARLES V.
Having been informed with how much contentment the King his
x. son has been received in England,† congratulates the Emperor, in
the hope that the marriage of two such Catholic and pious Princes
may effect the establishment of the holy religion and the complete
welfare of England.
From Brussels, 20th July [20th August ?] 1554.
[Italian.]
like manner as by means of this marriage, he has called the King
for the real advantage and welfare of England, which since so many
years has been so harassed, so will he favour it in such wise, as daily
more and more to prove the Divine goodness and providence, to the
universal joy of all men, by means of his Majesty.*
From Brussels, 20th August 1554?
[Italian.]
939. CARDINAL POLE to QUEEN MARY.
Request of the Cardinal of Burgos, writes a letter of recommenda-
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. tion to the Queen for Burgos' present messenger.‡
Library.
No date of time
From Brussels, 20th August 1554?
or place in MS.
[Italian.]
940. CARDINAL POLE to the BISHOP OF ARRAS.
Congratulates the Emperor on the arrival of the Prince of Spain
Library.
Cod. xxiv. Či. x. in England and on his marriage with the Queen.
Cl.
No date in MS.
From Brussels, 20th August 1554 ?
[Italian.]
941. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
Narrative of the sequel of the war in Flanders (in cipher.)
A courier addressed to the Queen of England has arrived from
Valladolid, and on passing through France was detained eight days
at Paris, his bag and everything else being searched for letters
addressed to the King of England, but when it was ascertained
that he was merely conveying despatches to the Queen, they set
him at liberty. He brings word that 300,000 crowns now due
to her Majesty from Spain, could not be obtained so immediately,
because the bills of exchange (le lettere) had not arrived in time
for the fair [of Medina de Campo],§ so the money will be longer
[on its way], (et però li danari seranno più lungi), but it is
* King Philip arrived at Southampton on the 20th July 1554. (See Foreign Calendar,
25 July 1554, No. 106.) Pole probably wrote this letter at the same time as the following
one to the Emperor.
† In the manuscript this letter is dated Brussels, the 20th July. As King Philip did
not land at Southampton until the 20th July, I do not understand how Cardinal Pole
could have had news of his reception on the very day it took place.
† By name Pedro Pacheco. (See Foreign Calendar, June 22, 1554, Naples, p. 99.)
& Two of the principal exchange fairs in Spain were held at Seville and Medina de
Campo, and by the late Mr. Turnbull's Calendar, date Seville, 30 November 1554, entry
No. 297, pp. 141, 142, it is shewn that the English merchant Thomas Gresham was then
negotiating in person at both those marts.
568
1554.
S
1554.
DAMULA to the certain that in Spain there is a great scarcity [of money]; and
DOGE and
SENATE.
(Aug. 26.)
therefore the Queen is now taking on [bills of] exchange (a cambio)
at Antwerp about 150 thousand crowns, with which her agents say she
purposes paying off a debt of 110,000 contracted by her at Antwerp
last October; but from what I hear through another channel, her
Majesty intends to make use of this sum in England, where the King
has been compelled to incur great expense, which still continues,
and a great quantity of money was spent on his passage with
so large a fleet, and troops of so many sorts, so that the greater
part of the money brought by him has remained on the other side
of the Channel, and the Emperor could only use a small part of it;
so, as written in my last, he made the request of the States, and
insists at any rate on having the money in October, the belief being ·
that it will be paid, most especially should he make war in the
quarter where he now is.
The Marquis of Pescara will go to Naples in the new King's name
to take possession of the investiture and administration made and
conceded him by the Emperor, his father, and to make all the mem-
bers of the Government and warders take the oath, for which same
purpose Don Juan de Cordova will in like manner go to Milan,
and every day of late the Emperor has been attending to the despatch
of this business (a questi spazzi).
Although this [affair] of the administration of the Milanese for
the Prince, his son, is not yet completed; it is as good as made,
because, as your Serenity knows, the investiture was given him as
long ago as the year 1549,† the oath of fealty having also been ten-
dered to the Milanese magistrates in favour of such person as the
Emperor might be pleased to nominate,‡ and this, I believe, was
written to your Serenity and the other Italian potentates. It is not
yet known who are to be the Governors of Naples and of Milan, but
the Duke of Alva is talked of for the one, and the Count de Feria
for the other; and it is said that Don Ferrante Gonzaga has had
leave to go and kiss the hand of the King of England.
The English Ambassador with your Serenity [Peter Vannes],
has written hither that Peter Carew, who was the leader of the
Cornish insurrection, is in Venice, and that he often wished to speak
to Vannes, who always refused to listen to him, nor does he
[Vannes] know how to comport himself (et non sa come governarsi),
as Carew is a rebel to the Queen. To Sir John Masone, who spoke
to me about this, I said that in no place could Peter Carew do less
mischief than in that noble city (quella inclyta città), where he
might learn obedience and quiet, and repent himself, which Masone
admitted, and seemed glad of it, as I added, that the least harm Peter
Carew might have done [in England?], would have been to turn
corsair, like the others, and plunder English subjects.
Mons. de la Chaux [Jean Poupet] (Mons. de Lasciao) has been
* Benchè questo della administratione dello stato di Milano nel Principe suo figliuolo
non sia anchor spedito, etc.
† According to L'Art de Verifier les Dates, the Emperor gave the investiture of the
Milanese to his son Philip on the 11th October 1540.
† Et fu dato etiam il iuramento di fideltà a quelli del stato di Milano, in quella persona
che piacesse a Cesare nominare.
1554.
569
1554.
Aug. 28.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
sent by the Emperor to the King of England to give him account of
the events of the war, and perhaps for some other cause likewise.
The Duke of Savoy also is sending his Majesty an ambassador, who
came to salute and compliment me in the name of his master, who
has done the like by me through several other gentlemen in his
service, whose narratives of events in the camp since his departure
hence differed but little in many particulars from the true informa-
tion already transmitted by me.
For the instruction of the Ambassador Michiel in England, I have
communicated to him my conversation with Sir John Masone, as
mentioned in my letter of the 19th.
I hear on good authority that amongst the Strozzi papers cap-
tured in the Siennese territory, were letters from the French Am-
bassador resident at Rome, purporting that the Pope had promised
him victuals, to be conveyed by the French fleet in Porto Venere, for
the succour of Sienna; so here they have suspended the export permit
for grain from Sicily, which had been already despatched at the
request of his Holiness; and consequently, six days ago, the Nuncio
sent his Auditor to the Emperor, nor has he yet returned, for which
cause there is a difficulty about expediting the business.
Gives further particulars of the war in Flanders.
Brussels, 26th August 1554.
?
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
942. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA to the DOGE and SENATE.
Many persons say that Mons. de Segni, who in the skirmish of
the 13th was captured by the French, has been set at liberty, and is
come to the Emperor with articles of peace and terms from the
King, more ample (più larghe) than any that have been offered
hitherto.
However this may be, there can be no doubt the Emperor and
the King wish for peace, as according to report, both one and the
other lack money; but my own opinion is, that the Emperor's
hope and reliance rest on the money voted by these States, amount-
ing to 800,000 crowns, more or less. From Spain, they have only
received the 300,000 crowns, about which I wrote, and the Queen
of England has well nigh stipulated (ha come concluso) a loan for
240,000 crowns, the money to be disbursed in Antwerp, I know not
at what rate of interest, but with the crowns they give her a
quantity of fustian (ma tra questi, le danno una quantità di
fustagni), the sum to be repaid within a year; and the Emperor,
most especially should he attack Ardres, as is told me, would
greatly benefit the English, and it is certain that his Majesty
purposes making an expedition this year, as both from Arras
and other places, they are bringing a very great quantity of
heavy artillery to his camp, besides the 40 pieces which have
already arrived from Mechlin. The number of pioneers has also
been doubled, and waggons for the conveyance of ammunition and
victuals have been ordered from all parts, and another infantry
regiment was lately sent for from Germany, in like manner as
570
1554.
1554.
DOGE and
DAMULA to the was done for the one from Swabia, about which I wrote heretofore.
Everything, in short, indicates a speedy and vigorous attack, and
heavy cannonading. Some persons counselled the Emperor to
attack Abbeville, and employ these forces against a much more
important fortress than Ardres; but if it were well garrisoned and
provided (munito), it might make great resistance, and withstand
a long siege.
The Spaniards have landed on this coast from England, and were
yesterday about three miles from St. Omer.
The Governor of Arlon, an Imperial fortress of Luxemburg,
having heard lately that some French horse, with about 200 foot,
had quitted their fortresses and were going towards Thionville
to plunder, attacked them on the sudden, and routed them, killing
and capturing almost all the infantry.
This evening, the Auditor of the Papal Nuncio returned from
St. Omer, where he complained to the Bishop of Arras, not so much
because the export permit for grain from Sicily, as demanded by
the Pope, had been stopped, but because this indicated some distrust
on the part of the Emperor, with regard to the Pope's good-will
towards his Majesty, although he knows what tricks the French
play, and ought not to trust them, having seen with his own eyes
the letters written by them occasionally to the Princes of Ger-
many, accusing him of wishing to subjugate Germany, and make
his son, the Prince, hereditary lord of it; and that the French
Ambassador may have written to Strozzi to feed him with hope of
assistance from the Pope, who is so far from giving victuals to
the French, that they have occasionally bravadoed about making
the Turkish fleet come in those waters, as also of withdrawing the
obedience of France from the Roman See. In short, after much
discourse, which it would be long to write, the Bishop of Arras
despatched the Auditor with very fair words and promises of
sending the export permit to the Imperial Ambassador for pre-
sentation to the Pope, but did not choose to send it to the Nuncio,
perhaps that he might apologise, or else avail himself of this op-
portunity for confirming him in his friendship, and yet more
probably take, perchance, occasion hence to ask for half of the
ecclesiastical fruits of Spain, a demand which, upwards of a
month ago, the Emperor caused his Ambassador to make of the
Pope, without ever saying the least word about it to Cardinal
Pole, or to the Nuncio; and as the measure encounters much
difficulty, they hope thus to facilitate it.
Brussels, 28th August 1544.
SENATE.
(Aug. 28.)
Aug. 28.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
Archives.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
943. GIOVANNI CAPELLO, Venetian Ambassador in France, to
the DOGE and SIGNORY.
Many persons here disapprove of the determination so speedily
to disband the greater part of the army.
I have been told that the Papal Nuncio proposed to these
Lords (a questi Signori) that as they had taken Marienburg, built
1554.
571
1554.
by Queen Maria, who prized it greatly, it might be inferred that
were it proposed to restore it, both she and the Emperor would consent
to a cessation of hostilities, and that the most Christian King should
consent to make this restitution in order to obtain a truce, which
would prove very convenient to him, as he had given Cardinal
Pole to understand; but many days having elapsed without a
reply, the Nuncio departed. I now understand that a Burgundian
nobleman, in great favour with the Emperor, who was captured
lately in the engagement under Renti, offered to find a means of
making a truce between them, provided he could go and negotiate
it; whereupon these Lords released him on his parole (su la fede
sua) to return in a few days, and he returned last evening, but it
is not yet known what answer he brings.
Compiegne, 28th August 1554.
[Italian, in cipher, deciphered by Signor Luigi Pasini.]
Sept. 2.
Original
Despatch,
Venetian
The Prince of Orange, the Count d'Aremberg, and the Count
Archives. of Meghen, came hither lately, as personages of these States, to
negotiate and urge the exaction of the monies promised to the
Emperor, as written by me; nor does the difficulty consist in the
payment, as they have already promised it, and his Majesty
avails himself of the promise [by raising the amount] through
the merchants, but it has not yet been settled in what way this
sum is to be obtained from private individuals, as the other
means seem difficult, and to put new duties on the necessaries of
life (sopra le cose del vivere), as they did lately, would to my
knowledge hazard a fresh insurrection, the people having rebelled
on this account at Antwerp, and other places also, nor as yet
has the matter been decided.
944. MARC ANTONIO DAMULA, Venetian Ambassador with
the Emperor, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Duke of Savoy has been canvassing the Imperial ministers,
and perhaps his Majesty himself, to obtain the government of the
Milanese, in the hope that it may not only benefit him for the
government of his own subjects, who hitherto have been greatly
maltreated by the hands of others, but be also advantageous for
the Emperor, as the Duke would be better able to obtain accommo-
dations (comodità) for him from his subjects than a Spanish Go-
vernor, the name of that nation being execrated, not merely in the
duchy of Savoy, but in the Milanese likewise. A certain Imperial
minister answered him (gli è stato risposto da alcun ministro
di sua Maestà), that what he now demands is much less than
what the Emperor wishes to do for him, and that this he will
see by fact, giving him good hope by word of mouth; so the Duke
seeing that the Milanese is given to the King of England, by
whom he believes himself much beloved, has sent to make this
request to the Duke [Philip of Spain] aforesaid, and is now by
no means satisfied with the Emperor.
The English Ambassador here has written to his colleague [Peter
Vannes] resident with your Serenity, that on his own account
(sopra di se), he may speak to Peter Carew whenever he pleases
572
1554.
1554.
DAMULA to the and that he [Masone] has written to the Queen that said Carew
could not be in a better place than Venice, and that he should
be entertained, because he is not naturally bad.*
DOGE and
SENATE.
(Sept. 2.)
The Bishop of Arras, Mons. de Praet, and the Doctor Gerardo have
been charged to investigate all the accusations, defences, and writings
sent lately by the syndics of Milan, concerning Don Ferrante
Gonzaga, and report to the Emperor everything relating to this
matter; so Don Ferrante has deferred his journey to England, but
has sent an agent thither, and is not at all pleased that the treat-
ment of his affairs should pass through the hands of the personages
aforesaid.
Some relations of the Cardinal of Burgos, who have arrived from
England, say that the most Christian King had sent three ambas-
sadors to perform an office of ceremony with the King and Queen,
and that they were also commissioned to learn the King's mind
as to whether he would observe the convention which exists be-
tween the realms of France and England, to which his Majesty
replied that he would do whatsoever might be suitable for his
kingdoms, such being the precise words which they say were uttered
to them by the King of England ("et che havevano anche commis-
sione d' intender l' animo del Re se voleva osservare la capitulatione
che è tra li Regni di Franza et di Anglia, il che dimandato al Re, Sua
Maestà rispose, che faria tanto quanto fusse conveniente alli suoi
Regni, et sono le formali parole che dicono haver ditto il Re
d' Inghilterra"); and that in October King Philip is to have an
interview with the Emperor; and I wrote from Brussels that
such was the order given him, if he could execute it conveniently;
and he has sent, as a present to two noblemen of these pro-
vinces, a horse and a mule for their use on the way to meet him,
as he is coming to confer with the Emperor. Many persons, able
to obtain authentic intelligence, are of opinion that the interview
will take place, though the period will be delayed according to
circumstances.
Having written thus far, I received letters written from Bethune
on the morning of the 30th ult., on the morning of which day the
Emperor was to go to Arras, where he will perhaps remain some
days to speed (per favorire) the enterprise against Dourlens. They
do not tell me that the Switzers have been dismissed, my corre-
spondent, on the contrary, having received a hint that the French
army will hang on the Emperor's rear, as heretofore, to keep him
always in alarm (in sospetto) and short of victuals (et stretto delle
vittuaglie), and to prevent the enterprise, as the Imperialists did by
the French, until they retreated.
The Lucchese merchants at Antwerp, by order of their Republic
have elected two ambassadors [one] to the Emperor, and [the other
to] the King of England, to perform an office of congratulation on
this marriage. But I understand from another quarter, that the
chief cause is to complain to both Sovereigns that the Duke of
Florence wants to build a fortress in a place where the Lucchese
consider it will be a grievance for them (in loco dove Luchesi
* Et che egli è huomo da esser trattenuto, perchè non è di sua natura cattivo.
1554.
573
1554.
Sept. 7.
Deliberazioni
Sept. 21.
MS. St. Mark's
(C
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 42,
tergo.
etc.
pp. 162-166.
pretendono gravame), nor will they consent to it, although the Duke
promises to raze it (disparlo) at the end of the present war.
I disbelieve the above-written intelligence from England about
the coming of fresh ambassadors from France, as the Florentine
ambassador, who arrived last evening from England, [and] to whom
I spoke, after having written thus far, tells me there is no fresh
ambassador there from France, but that the ambassador in ordinary
[Antoine de Noailles] and his brother [François]* spoke to the King
and Queen about the conventions aforesaid.
Brussels, 2nd September 1554.
[Italian, partly in cipher; the portions in italics deciphered by
Signor Luigi Pasini.]
945. The DOGE and SENATE to ANTONIO ERIZO, "Bailo" at
Constantinople.
By letters, dated Brussels, 28th August, learn that the Emperor
was at St. Omer at no great distance from his army, that he was
preparing a battering train, and that 3,000 Spanish infantry, sent
by his son the most Serene King of England, who brought them with
him from Spain, had arrived in the camp.
946. CARDINAL POLE to KING PHILIP of ENGLAND.
Library.
It is now a year since he commenced knocking at his palace gate,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. nor as yet has any one opened it to him. Were the King to ask
Printed with "who knocks," he would merely reply, "I am he who, in order not
some omissions to exclude your consort from the palace of England, endured ex-
in vol. iv.
Epistolarum pulsion from home and country, and twenty years of exile." Were
Reginaldi Poli," he merely to say this much, would he not seem worthy to return to his
country, and to have access to the King? But as he is not acting
in his own name, nor as a private person, he knocks and demands,
in the name and person of the vicegerent of the King of kings, and
the Pastor of man, namely, the successor of Peter, or rather Peter
himself, whose authority heretofore so flourishing and vigorous in
England, is now most injuriously ejected thence.
Through Pole, Peter has long been knocking at the royal gate,
which, although open to others, is still closed to him alone. The
voice, perhaps, was not heard? It was heard perfectly, and with no
less marvel at the Divine power and graciousness towards the church,
than was felt of yore by Mary the mother of John, when the damsel
Rhoda announced Peter (whom King Herod had put in chains on the
eve of execution, and for whom the Church was praying devoutly),
released from prison and knocking at the door. If this caused
great surprise to Mary and her companions, how is it possible that
The letters from England down to the 14th August, say that in a
few days the most Serene King and Queen would be in London for
the coronation.
Ayes, 165. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
* See Foreign Calendar, 1554, October 5, No. 267, p. 124.
574
1554.
1554.
CARDINAL POLE those who know that the supporters of St. Peter's authority and
to KING PHILIP.
(Sept. 21.) power in England during the Herodian rule, were put in chains and
most cruelly deprived of life,—the names moreover of the successors
of St. Peter being expunged from all books containing the prayers of
the Church for their safety and well-being, -can fail to marvel
greatly at this pledge and testimony of the Divine graciousness and
power; Peter at present, as if again freed from the prison of Herod,
stands knocking at the very gate of the palace from which all
these most iniquitous decrees against him proceeded; and astonish-
ing as this is, yet is it no less so that the palace should belong to
Mary. Why, then, did she so long delay the opening of the door?
It is written of the damsel of Mary the mother of John, that on
hearing the voice of Peter, being almost beside herself with joy,
and not thinking about giving admittance, she hastened first of all
to tell the tidings to Mary and the others who were with her, and
who all at first doubted them; but then, as Peter continued to
knock, they opened the door, nor did they hesitate to admit him,
although there was great cause for fear, Herod himself being alive
and on the throne.
But what can Pole say of Mary the Queen? Is it fear or joy,
that forbids her to open the door? above all now that she has
heard the voice of Peter, and knows for certain that he has been
long knocking at her door; nor on this occasion can she but
acknowledge the admirable power of God, who released her with
his own hand, and not by means of an angel as was the case with
Peter when freed from the prison of Herod, overthrowing the iron
gates which barred her way to the palace. Pole knows that Queen
Mary rejoices; but he also knows that she fears; had she not
feared, she would not have so long delayed. If she rejoices in
Peter's release, if she acknowledges the miracle of her accession,
what prevents her from giving him admittance when he comes to
the gate, and returning due thanks to God, especially now that
Herod is dead, and that she has inherited his whole Empire?
Perhaps Divine providence permitted this timid delay, in order that
he, King Philip, might aid his consort Mary in the noble under-
taking? Such was the interpretation given to this fear by Pole,
in a letter which he addressed to the Queen; and therefore he now
writes to the King her husband—a most religious Prince-and re-
quires him, in the name of the said Peter, to relieve her entirely from
all fear, demonstrating to her that when she sought his hand (dum
te illa sponsum accerseret), although there was apparent cause for
apprehension, she nevertheless alone defied fear, as she ought now
to do, when joined in the flesh to so great a Prince, and give ad-
mittance to her spiritual Spouse, who, with Pole and Peter, has
been so long waiting at the door, above all after he has so often
and in such wonderful ways declared himself her guardian and
defender.
This will fully convince the King why Pole perseveres so long;
as had he come alone, he would already have departed alone; ex-
postulating against the opening of the door to other Ambassadors,
whilst to him, alone it remained closed; or had Peter alone accom-
1554.
575
1554.
Sept. 28.
MS. St. Mark's
panied him, Peter in like manner would have departed, taking
Pole with him, and shaking the dust off his feet as enjoined him by
the Saviour whenever not admitted by any one whom he approached
in the Lord's name; but Christ is with them, and they, Pole and
Peter, are his representatives.
It is for Philip to consider whether, being a Catholic Prince, who
has inherited the title of "Defender of the Faith," it becomes him
to receive all foreign ministers who come to congratulate him on
this acquired dignity, whilst the Legate of St. Peter's Successor
who conferred it-that Legate being sent to confirm him on his
throne in the name of the King of kings,—is alone denied admission.
May it not be feared lest Christ take offence at the immediate
admission of Ambassadors of all other Princes, whilst his Legate
remains waiting without? Should it be said that Pole commences
complaining; he does so, that King Philip may not complain of
his omitting to give him the warning which he gave the Queen, of
the danger of delay. The reception of Christ's Legate should have
taken precedence of everything; as in every building the founda-
tion stone is entitled to the first place. Should Philip attempt to
build on any other foundation, Pole foretells him, in the words of
Christ, that on that house the rain will descend and the floods
come, and the winds will blow and beat upon it, and great will be
its fall. The kingdom cannot be secure, unless based on obedience
to the Church, which abolished, discord arose and the prosperity
of the realm vanished; and should the King wish to restore it,
he must restore the obedience to the Church. It is, therefore,
necessary for him to receive forthwith him who is sent by God and
by his Vicar. Should King Philip believe that Pole is not accep-
table, he prays God to send some one else in his stead, as he desires
nothing but the King's welfare.
From the Monastery of Diligham (sic) near Brussels, 21st Sep-
tember 1554.
[Latin, 140 lines.]
947. CARDINAL POLE to the EMPEROR.
Heretofore when there was so little hope of re-establishing the
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Catholic religion in England, by reason of the Rulers (Governatori)
who persecuted it, Pole frequently, either spontaneously or by com-
mission from the Pope, had recourse to the Emperor on account
of the place held by him amongst the Princes of Christendom, as
also by reason of his piety, and from seeing him called to this
office by so many other causes, both public and private.
As the Divine Providence has now given the government of
England into the hands of the Emperor's son, chosen for this
purpose as consort of the most Serene Queen, he being so pious and
obedient to his Imperial Majesty, Pole ought so much the more,
and with surer hope, to have recourse to the Emperor.
this appeal seem by any means immature, as whilst other foreign
embassies have been graciously received, the Papal Legate has
waited more than a year; most especially as his Holiness, who was
Nor may
576
1554.
1554.
Sept. ?
MS. St. Mark's
entitled to precedence, remained aloof until the celebration of this
auspicious marriage, which he so readily furthered by means of his
authority.
Pole therefore prays the Emperor, as God has given him great in-
fluence in England, to do what is expected of his piety, and to show
himself grateful to the Almighty and the Apostolic See, by opening
to him the road thither without further delay, that he may serve
their Majesties for the honour of God, for the welfare and advantage
of the nation, and for the eternal glory of his Imperial Majesty, who
alone comprehends what has always been the object (fine) of
the Pope, and of Pole his minister, in this cause. Should it be
chosen to delay doing what is so due to God and to the Church, and
to the whole realm of England, until the obstacles vanish of
themselves, any good result will be rendered hopeless, to the great
offence of God, to whom Pole will never cease to pray for the con-
summation of so pious and holy a work, and for the conservation
and prolonged prosperity of the Emperor, for the service of God,
and for the benefit of all Christendom.
-
From the monastery of Dilignan (sic) near Brussels, 28th Sep-
tember 1554.*
[Italian.]
948. CARDINAL POLE to DON BERNARDINO.
Has received his letter of the 13th July, in which, by commission
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.from the fathers and brethren of the monastery, he requests Pole
Library,
No date of time to sanction the return to Naples of his and their Don Thomaso. In
in MS.
reply Pole writes that his sole reason for taking Don Thomaso with
him on his journey, was, that he might serve the Church in his own
country [England?]; so by sending him back before Pole knows
whether the road would be open or closed to Don Thomaso (which
God forbid), it would seem as if this proceeded from Pole, and that
he had merely called him as a travelling companion, of which he
had no need; and according to the dictates of conscience, Pole
merely detained him until there was some greater certainty about
his own going to England. But the first letters were written in
such a tone, that had they arrived in time for Don Thomaso to
return to Naples without endangering his life on account of the
heat, Pole would have sent him back immediately, in order not to
distress those whom he wishes to comfort; but now that Don
Bernardino writes that the matter is referred to Pole, and to the
will of Don Thomaso, Pole says that, for his own part, not only
has he no mind to send Thomaso back, but rather to call another
of the monks, namely, Don Bernardino himself, to assist this holy
cause, hoping that he will not come in vain, and that there will
be room for him also, to serve God and the Church, under such
holy Sovereigns, the Queen having followed Pole's suggestions
before her consort's arrival, so that now there is more cause for hope
than ever.
* This letter seems to have been received by the Emperor at Arras, and is the one
alluded to in Pole's letter to the Pope dated 13th October.
1554.
577
1554.
Had written thus far, before Don Thomaso showed him the
second letter from his brethren, whereby not only do they not
leave Pole to decide about his remaining or returning, but desire
Thomaso to come away insalutato hospite, should Pole oppose his
departure.
Sept.?
MS. St. Mark's
Library
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of time
in MS.
It has greatly pleased Pole to see so much zeal and care for the
salvation of their brother's soul, on which they appear to have been
so intent, that like those who anticipate danger for one they love
immoderately, they forget to bear in mind both the cause and the
person with whom Don Thomaso finds himself, and who holds the
post of Vicar of Christ, and has power to call assistance from every
quarter for the cause committed to him. But Don Bernardino knows
Pole's sentiments, and mode of proceeding; and although he might
with a clear conscience detain Thomaso, who is willing to stay, yet
will he not use violence in this matter by doing anything which is
not quite satisfactory; and therefore answers Don Bernardino,
desiring him to pray God for the revelation of what shall be most
for his honour, and the welfare of Thomaso; and Bernardino's
decision about his return, will always be to Pole's satisfaction.
Brussels, [September ?].
[Italian.]
949. QUEEN MARY to CARDINAL POLE.
Right Reverend Father in Christ, most faithful and well beloved
Cousin.
By her letters addressed to him before her last Parliament,
recommended, amongst others, her faithful and beloved chaplain
Master John Upton, Doctor in Theology, that the Pope might
promote him to the Bishopric of Norwich, now vacant through [the
appointment of] the reverend father Bishop of Ely. The Queen
knows him to be a man learned and catholic, and one who fears
God, and the sooner he is created Bishop of Norwich, [the sooner]
will that Church be provided with a good pastor, very greatly to
the Queen's pleasure; and so she prays God to have her good cousin
in his blessed keeping.
Oct. 12.
Senato Mar,
v. xxxii. p. 169.
Would have willingly written this letter in her own hand to her
good cousin Pole, but has not the opportunity (comodità), so she
does not doubt he will take this in good part.
[1554, September ?]
[Italian.]
950. MOTION made in the SENATE for a Present to the
AMBASSADOR from KING PHILIP of ENGLAND.
It being opportune to evince towards Don Luis de Cordova, Envoy
to the Signory from the most Serene King of England, such
gratitude and munificence as it has always been customary to dis-
play towards representatives of other Princes, most especially as his
Lordship is a person of quality, and very dear to the aforesaid most
Serene King, be it therefore
Put to the ballot that the College be authorized to spend to the
5.
00
578
1554.
"b
1554.
Oct. 13.
Deliberazioni
Senato Secreta,
v. lxix. p. 51
tergo.
Oct. 13.*
MS. St. Mark's
amount of 300 golden crowns of the Signory's moneys for a gold
chain to be presented to the aforesaid Don Luis.
Ser Marco Antonius Venerio, LL.D., and Procurator, Sap. Cons.
Ser Hieronymus Superantio, Sap. T.F.
Ser Joannes Cornelio, Sap. Ordinum.
Ayes, 154. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 3. 1554, 11 October, in the
College.
[Italian.]
951. The DOGE and SENATE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
A few days ago, Don Luis de Cordova arrived in Venice to take pos-
session of the Milanese for the most Serene King [of England]. On
entering the Signory's presence, accompanied by Venetian noblemen
and by the English ambassador resident with them, he presented
credentials from his King, saying that he had charged Cordova to
visit them in his name before presenting himself to any other
Italian potentate, as his dearest and most esteemed friend, acquaint-
ing them with what is aforesaid.
Ayes, 156. No, 1. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
952. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Not having anything of great importance to communicate, it is a
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. long while since he has written to the Pope, as to save him trouble,
Library,
Pole gave all necessary information through his agent; and although
at present he has not as much as he could wish to tell, it seems
fitting to him to acquaint his Holiness first with a conversation held
with the Bishop of Arras, and then with what he negotiated with
the Emperor. On the 9th, when Arras went to visit him, (the
Nuncio being present at the time) he said the Emperor had seen
the letter which Pole sent him lately by his Auditor,* and that
he was very well inclined towards this affair of the religion in Eng-
land, as was becoming, and evident, by reason of his piety, and on
account of the interests of the Low Countries, which are so connected
with those of England, but that it was very necessary to come to
details, and discuss the impediments and the means for removing
them, concerning which the Emperor would very willingly listen to
Pole. Replied that he did not doubt the Emperor's goodwill, of
which he had always been most perfectly convinced, but that so far
as his Legatine office was concerned, he had been sent to express
the Pope's desire for the salvation (salute) of the realm, and his
readiness to apply all such remedies as could proceed from papal
authority; that Pole had nothing to do but to seek entrance, and
that it appertained to those Princes who are on the spot (i qualli
sono sul fatto) and have the government in their hands, to remove
the obstacles. As the Bishop again said that Pole must descend
* In the manuscript this letter is misdated 24th September, but the Foreign Calendar
shews that on the 26th September 1554 the Emperor was still at Arras, and did not come
to Brussels till the 9th October. See also date of Pole's letter to the Pope in Burnet's
Collectanea, quoted by Froude, vol. vi. p. 264.
† See before, letter dated 28th September.
1554.
579
¦
1554.
CARDINAL POLE to particulars, he rejoined that they must by no means proceed in the
to POPE
JULIUS III.
(Oct. 13.)
present case as they did with regard to the peace, when all parties
remained in suspense (stava sopra di se), not choosing to declare
themselves, the one merely endeavouring to discover the intentions
of the other, by reason of their individual interests; whereas the
cause now under discussion is common, the Pope and the Emperor
having the same views about it, as also Arras and Pole, their
ministers. The Bishop admitted what Pole said about the negotia-
tion for peace, saying that in fact when treating it he (Arras) is
always in arms, etc., but again told him nevertheless to ponder these
impediments and discuss them with the Emperor; whereupon the
Nuncio, turning towards Pole, said it was in fact necessary to come
to these details, and so at length it was settled that they were
all to ruminate them.
*
Subsequently, on the 11th, when Pole went to the Emperor, the
Bishop of Arras again repeated to him the same expressions at the
audience of his Majesty, both Arras and the Nuncio being present
there.
After congratulating the Emperor on having freed his territory
here from the curse of war, and that after so much mental and
bodily toil he had returned in stronger and better health than on
his departure, which showed that the Lord God had preserved him
for greater feats, to the honour of his Majesty, and for the common
weal, Pole commenced speaking about the letter written by him to
the Emperor, and the reply given by the Bishop of Arras postponing
the matter until the shortly expected return of his Majesty to
Brussels. He then said that had he to treat this business with any
other Prince of whose piety he might be less well convinced than
he is of his Majesty's, which is evinced by so many passages both
in his private and public life, he would seek to exhort him by all
ways possible to embrace and favour this so holy a cause; but there
being no need of this with the Emperor, especially as in this cause
the honour of God is coupled with his Majesty's own advantage,
and that of the most Serene King his son, Pole merely expected
every assistance from him for the removal of the impediments
which seem to be of two sorts, the one relating to the Catholic
doctrine, in which the Pope could by no means show himself
indulgent, as the matter relates to the faith, nor could he heal this
disease, save by re-introducing the sound doctrine.
The other hindrance, Pole said, was the church property, whose
usurpers knowing the severity of the ecclesiastical laws, were for
this reason afraid to return to the obedience of the Church; in
which matter, he added, the Pope could and was disposed to exercise
his graciousness and indulgence. And first of all, as to the censures
and penalties incurred, and the restitution of the fruits, which was
of great importance, the Pope intended in both these cases to use
great indulgence, freely remitting the whole, nor did he think of
applying (aplicar) any part of that property either to himself, or to
the Apostolic See, as apprehended by many, and as might reasonably
be done on account of the injuries and losses incurred; but he would
* Con dir in effetto in trattar del negocio della pace io mi armo tutto.
0 0 2
580
1554.
1554.
to POPE
JULIUS III.
(Oct. 13.)
CARDINAL POLE Convert the whole to the service of God and the benefit of the realm,
without the slightest regard for his private interest, and, relying on
the piety of the sovereigns in question, would do them the honour
to grant through his Legate* such favours as may seem fitting,
according to the proposal and intercession of their Majesties, to
those persons whom they shall consider worthy of them and fit to
aid the cause of the religion.
The Emperor, in reply, thanked the Pope greatly, first of all
acknowledging his goodwill, and saying that in truth his Holiness
had done much, but that he himself, owing to the hindrance and
occupation of the war, had been unable to attend to this matter as
he could have wished, but would do so now, and had already
written and sent to England to know better the state of affairs in
this respect, and expected a reply shortly; and that they must
consider well how far they can go in removing these impediments
about the church property, which is the chief of them, as the
Emperor knows by his experience in Germany; and he said that as
for doctrine, men of this sort cared little, as they had no belief
either one way or the other.†
His Majesty also said that this church property having been
dedicated to God, they ought not thus to concede everything to
those who held it; and that although Pole told him how far his
authority extends, yet should he by no means acquaint others with
the whole, and that it would be necessary to see the "brief of
faculties" (il breve delle facultà) [dispensing powers] and to enlarge
it where necessary.
To this Pole replied that he had already shown it to the Bishop
of Arras, who made no remark; and suspecting this to be a road for
delay, Pole told the Emperor that as according to report at Brussels,
and as would be better known to his Majesty, Parliament was to meet
shortly, great care should be taken lest it be held without deciding
the matter of the obedience of the Church, as otherwise it would be
a very great scandal for the whole world and injurious to the said
cause; and that as the Queen, for the performance of so grand an
act, had judged the union (congiuntione) with the King her hus-
band to be necessary, because non esset bonam mulierem esse solam,
so God having prospered this holy union (congiuntione), if the
execution of this result (effetto), which is to be the commencement
and foundation of all their actions, were to be deferred any longer,
no way would remain for satisfying either God or man. The
Emperor said that great regard (respetto) should be had to the
evil disposition of those interested in the business, and to the
intense abhorrence of this term of "the obedience of the Church,"t
and of this red hat, as also of the habit of the religious; and
then turned to the Nuncio, speaking on this subject, about the
friars brought from Spain by the King his son, who was advised
to make them change their habits, although that was not done, nor
was it fitting to do it. He also said how important popular tumult
* "Volesse far loro questo honore di fare per mezo del suo Legato queste gratie," &c.
† "Disse che poco curavano questi tali non credendo nè all' una nè all' altra via.”
"Et quanto humilte (sic) [intensamente ?] sia abborito questo nome dell' obbe-
dientia della chiesa."
I
1554.
581
1554.
Oct. 15.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
Oct. 19.
MS. St. Mark's
was, alluding moreover to the incessant evil offices of foreign
enemies. Pole rejoined that to wait till all spontaneously became
well disposed (si disponessero), and till every impediment was
removed, would be to protract the conclusion for ever, as the parties
concerned most especially desire nothing more than to continue in
the present state having and holding what they possess. At length
it was determined to await the return from England of the secretary
Erasso, which will take place in a few days; and in the meanwhile
Pole is to ponder these things, and announce the result to the Bishop
of Arras.
[Brussels, 13th October?] 1554.
[Italian.]
953. QUEEN MARY to CARDINAL POLE.
Good Cousin Pole.
Knows what great toil and how long a journey he has undergone,
all which he still most patiently endures, though the performance of
his holy legation has been hitherto impeded. The Queen not only
regrets this, but being desirous of removing all cause for further
delay, so that by God's grace matters being well prepared, Pole,
with the hope of a good result, may soon come to the King her very
dear lord and consort, and to her, she sends the present letter by the
Lieutenant of Amont,* ambassador accredited to her by her very
dear father the Emperor, to acquaint Pole with certain things on
her behalf. Prays Pole to give him credence, as to the King and
Queen themselves, arranging for whatever additional provision may
be necessary.
"And thus, good cousin, with my most cordial re-
membrances I commend you to the guardianship (alla tutella) of
God omnipotent."
From our Palace of Westminster, 15th October 1554.
[Italian, translated from the English.]
954. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
By his last letter of the 14th [13th ?] informed the Pope of all
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. that he negotiated at his audience of the Emperor.
Now, at this second hour of the night, the Bishop of Arras,
accompanied by the Nuncio and the Secretary Vargas, has come to
tell him that by a courier who arrived from England a few hours
ago, King Philip wrote that he had greatly exerted himself to
induce the chief personages interested in the Church property, to con-
sent to Pole's going to England, and that the whole difficulty consists
in this, that Pole's powers (facultà) concerning the disposal (dispo-
sitione) of this property, are not as ample as desired, and that to
give universal satisfaction in this matter, it would be requisite
for the Pope to send a new brief, in more ample form. Besides
the words, "componendi et transigendi," there should be added,
"cedendi et remittendi," according to the opinion and at the
intercession, however (pure), of their Majesties, for the benefit and
quiet of the realm and of the religion; and in addition to this,
the clause about having recourse "in arduis et gravibus" to the
* Simon Renard. (See Foreign Calendar, 1553-1558, Index, and p. 131, October 23,
1554.)
582
1554.
1554.
1
See Apostolic should be cancelled as they seem to take umbrage at
those words. They would also wish the brief to be dated after
the consummation of the marriage; and as the King and Queen
and the Emperor wish not to lose the opportunity of the present
Parliament, which is to meet on the 12th of next month, they
therefore send this courier in haste, that the brief may arrive in time;
and the Bishop of Arras requested Pole to write this to the Pope,
whom he prays to send the courier back as soon as possible, with
such decision as he shall think fit, so that they may determine in
time what can be done in this matter.
Brussels, 19th October 1554.
[Italian.]
Oct. 23.
955. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
MS. St. Mark's
The Bishop of Arras, when visiting him on the 19th, said that
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. from the Lieutenant of Amont [Simon Renard], Imperial ambassador
Library,
((
in ordinary in England, who was expected at Brussels, Pole would
hear more in detail the state of English affairs. On the morrow,
the Lieutenant arrived,* and next day conferred a long while with
the Emperor. Yesterday, he came to Pole, the Nuncio being
present; and after presenting the letter from King Philip and
Queen Mary in reply to his last insisting on admittance, the
Lieutenant said he had been sent by their Majesties solely to
give him account of past events, and of what was necessary at
present; and, in a long and apposite discourse, beginning with
the Queen's accession, narrated the impediments which had hitherto
prevented her from executing her holy purpose of returning to the
obedience and union of the Church; all which, in short, pro-
ceeded from the evil disposition of many interested persons, who,
understanding that in the powers (facultà) given to Pole by
the Pope with regard to church property, there were these words,
componendi, transigendi," &c., greatly suspected that they should
be despoiled of all they possess. So their Majesties were induced to
demand the extension of Pole's powers (facultà), knowing that
when these opponents shall hear that he has ample authority
to dispose of the church property, they will become less averse
to return to the obedience of the See Apostolic and of his
Holiness; and this was the first thing he had to propose in the
name of their Majesties. He then said that three things remained
for him to hear from Pole: one was, in what capacity he purposed
making his entry; the second, the course he meant to pursue
in using his powers, that is to say, whether he would exercise
them of his own accord (da me) or communicate everything in
the first place to their Majesties. The third inquiry was, whether
Pole felt certain that the Pope would enlarge the powers as de-
manded, in which case their Majesties would leave it to Pole to
go before the meeting of Parliament; but should he be doubtful
of this, he must await at Brussels his Holiness' reply. These three
points being decided, no further difficulty would remain,
·
* Renard arrived at Brussels on the Friday preceding the 23rd October. (See Foreign
Calendar, date Brussels, 23rd October 1554, p. 131.)
1554.
583
1554.
Pole said, in reply, that although for his own part he had acted
with all patience, and with due regard for the will and opinion of
the Emperor, beginning so long ago as when he left Italy and
stopped at Dillengen, alluding also to his protracted sojourn at
Brussels, yet did he confess that now the time seemed to him so
mature for carrying into effect the becoming and pious will of Queen
Mary and King Philip, that further delay seemed to him a very
great fault, and fraught with manifest peril for the real welfare of
England and of their Majesties, and that therefore he was moved to
write so warmly to the King as he did in his last letters; and that
on this last occasion it had been most agreeable to him to see still
more clearly the piety of their Majesties.
With regard to the point proposed about the mode of his entry,
Pole said that he represented three persons, one private as an Eng-
lishman by birth, the second as the ambassador of a great Prince,
the third as Legate to restore the religion; and that although it
would be fitting, most especially after such long delay, for him to
enter as Legate, nevertheless, should it seem expedient, he might
on his first entry dispense with this third person, and enter as the
Pope's ambassador without the legatine emblems and ceremonies,
which, as proposed by the Lieutenant [Renard], might subsequently
be used in due season; and this he could do to the satisfaction of
the Pope, who had provided and ordained everything to facilitate
his entry.
To the second point, about using his powers, Pole said he did
not intend to do anything about using them without the consent
and will of their Majesties, having the same object in view as they
have. Renard seemed satisfied; and touching the third point Pole
said he had no doubt the Pope would use all graciousness to remove
any impediment to his going, and therefore the sooner he was in
England the more did Pole think it would be opportune, that he
might speak and perform such offices as should seem expedient for
the desired effect. So Renard came to the conclusion that having
settled these three points no further difficulty remained, and that
with this resolve he would return to England whenever Pole
pleased, not having anything else to do, nor having come hither for
any other purpose.
X
Renard then alluded to the arrangement made that at .
where he was to land, two of the chief personages of the Court were
to meet him; and besides this, for his greater personal safety, their
Majesties chose him to be escorted by some of their cavalry (da certi
de i suoi cavalli); and stated that it had been already said that
Pole's residence was to be in the palace, or in some neighbouring
place. In conclusion, he said that after acquainting their Majesties
with the whole, he would return to him.
In the meanwhile, through a person who departs to-day from
Brussels for Trent, Pole sends this, being certain that the Pope will
derive consolation from the hope, that with God's assistance a good
result may be obtained in this holy business; and having nothing
more to communicate at present, he kisses the Pope's most holy
* Blank in manuscript.
"
584-
1554.
1554.
Oct. ?
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x.
No date of
time in MS.
feet, praying God long to preserve him for the service of his holy
Church.
Brussels, 23rd October 1554.
[Italian.]
956. CARDINAL POLE to MESSER BERNARDINO and his Bre-
thren.
Announces the death of their brother Messer Bortolomeo (sic)
[Thomaso ?], whom he loved as a father. Has thought fit to give
them this advice, although unpleasing, yet considering that by
the will of God he had arrived at such an age that prolonged
years could not but have been burdensome to him, and that this his
end was such as to give sure hope, that by Divine mercy he has
passed to life blessed and eternal, they have all reason to comfort
themselves for their loss, which is for him a gain.
Although Pole has reason on his own private account to lament
this loss, he would not have failed to incur it on theirs,* after
enjoying the fruit of his companionship for so many years, with as
much satisfaction to Pole as could have been derived by him from
the dearest kinsman he had in the world. He however consoles
himself with the aforesaid consolation, which will increase when he
hears that Bernardino is consoled by the same cause, and on any
occasion when Pole can oblige Bernardino, he may imagine that
their brother Thomaso is alive in Pole, and for such he offers
himself heartily, praying God to comfort Bernardino.
Brussels, October?
[Italian.]
957. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Oct. 26.
MS. St. Mark's
By his last of the 23rd announced the arrival at Brussels of
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Renard, and what he said to Pole in the name of King Philip and
Library,
Queen Mary, giving him sure hope of his speedy departure. Yes-
terday Renard returned to him, the Nuncio being present; and
when Pole thanked Renard, alluding to his obligations for the
sure hope he had brought him that after such long delay Pole
would be enabled to perform his legation, Renard replied that he
not only brought him hope, but a certainty (ma cosa fatta), and
that having acquainted the Emperor with what had passed between
them, his Majesty remained well satisfied with everything, and
Renard was of opinion that Pole could continue making his arrange-
ments for the journey, most especially as he was content to go in
the form arranged at their last conference; and that at any rate he
(Renard) would depart to-morrow, with the hope that on his arrival
in England their Majesties would immediately determine to call
him, sending a personage as far as Brussels to accompany him, and
giving orders for him to be met on his landing in England, as
written in Pole's last letter; and even should it be thought
advisable to wait until they could call him with the consent of
*"Benchè se per nostro privato rispetto si havessimo a doler, io non ne haverei
mancato, causa di voi." In the former letter to Don Bernardino it is seen that the monks
to whom this present letter was addressed had urged Friar Thomaso, who seems to have
been an Englishman, to desert Pole.
1554.
585
1554.
Parliament, the Queen would so contrive (faria tale opera) that if
not all, at least the majority of the chief members, would vote for
his being called, so that even should a part oppose the measure, the
majority would suffice for calling him. Renard then said much
about what the Queen had done, and still continues doing in several
ways, to this effect; and assured Pole that all would succeed well,
and to the honour of God and to the satisfaction of the Pope.
Pole having then congratulated himself as becoming, said that he
thanked the Divine goodness for having opened the way for King
Philip and Queen Mary, and the Emperor, to do so worthy and
glorious an act, and one so advantageous for Christendom, and that
he considered this a greater and more praiseworthy exploit than if
he had rescued Jerusalem from the infidels; nor could Pole but
greatly congratulate himself on being employed in this matter as
the Pope's minister and instrument. But as at the first conference,
and at this second one likewise, the only doubt suggested by
Renard was that of the extension of the powers, Pole said that he
was merely anxious about this, that so noble and holy a work
should be nobly and holily negotiated and accomplished; and how
could it be so were they to reduce the business to an offer of the
church property, and thus make, as it were, a purchase of the
obedience? for which he said plainly that neither should he be a
good agent, nor did he think the Pope would ever be induced to
make it; on which Pole dilated much, saying that such a course
(modo) would be neither agreeable to God nor advantageous for
England, and very scandalous in the sight of the world.
Renard admitted the truth of this, and said that the extension of
the power was demanded merely for the purpose of removing all
umbrage from the parties concerned, who were apprehensive of
Pole's molesting them at this commencement, having been already
rendered suspicious by those words in the brief transigendi [et?] com-
ponendi rem, lest he establish an ecclesiastical court (un tribunal)
in England, and summon them immediately to give account and
compound, and rigorously deprive them of the property they held;
some little umbrage being also taken at the clause which "in gra-
vioribus causis" transferred judgment from Pole to the See Apo-
stolic, declaring that if the Pope had freely referred everything to
Pole, promising without further restriction to consider his acts
valid, there would have been no difficulty about admitting him.
Pole rejoined that the Pope had already done this by another
bull, promising in general terms “bona fide in verba Pontificis” to
approve and ratify whatever Pole did. Renard expressed a wish
to see it, and after perusing the document expressed himself per-
fectly satisfied with it, saying that if this had been known pre-
viously, it would have been unnecessary to send the courier lately
despatched to his Holiness, and that it would be well for Pole to
show it to the Emperor; and thus ended the conversation between
Pole and Renard.
Yesterday, when Pole had audience of the Emperor and took the
Nuncio with him for the affairs of Sienna, he spoke to his Majesty
in Pole's name about this bull, and the Emperor seemed glad
to hear of it, asking Pole for a copy of it for transmission to the
Queen, to whom, however, Pole sent it as long ago as when he was
586
1554.
1554.
Oct. 27.
MS. St. Mark's
at Dillingen, but perhaps then they did not hold it in the same
account as they seem to do now. According to report the course
which they intend to pursue in this matter is by means of the
bull, or of such power as the Pope shall send Pole, to endeavour to
convince the parties concerned that he by no means intends to compel
them to relinquish the property they possess; but as the King and
Queen find themselves in the same case as the other holders of this
property, and to a greater extent, and as without them Pole could
do nothing, it is requisite that both for themselves and the others
their Majesties should propose some means whereby to satisfy
everybody, and by their proclaiming this intention and promise
the opposition will consent without repugnance to the return to the
obedience ;* and may it please God to grant this, and to favour all
the rest of this his cause, for the entire consolation of the Pope and
the whole Church. When on the spot, should it please God that
he go thither, Pole will be better able to know everything, as
Renard himself also says, and Pole will then give account accord-
ingly to the Pope, whose most holy feet he kisses with all due
respect, praying the Lord God long to preserve him.
Brussels, 26th October 1554.
[Italian.]
958. CARDINAL POLE to QUEEN MARY.
Has received the gracious letters of the Queen and King Philip
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. delivered to him by Renard, the Imperial ambassador at their court,
Library,
in reply to Pole's former letter about the performance of his lega-
tion. This reply, and the verbal communication made to him in
their name by Renard, have given him no little comfort, at a
moment when in truth he had most need of it, being much harassed,
not indeed on his own account, as it becomes him to take patience,
as by God's grace he does, and always has done hitherto, but by
reason of the great inconvenience which seemed likely to ensue
had he been recalled after his frequent appeals to the Queen (which
he ought to have made to the Pope) without obtaining access to her
presence after so long a period, and without receiving any messenger
from her, nor any demonstration which could give satisfaction to
whom it was most due. This recall of himself individually would
not have been so great a matter, but for the consequent delay in
laying the foundation of the quiet of the realm and of the Queen's
throne, which can never be well established unless the body of the
realm is well established and united in that spiritual obedience
which is professed by both their Majesties who are its head.
Nor does the delay of this so necessary a result harass Pole so
much on account of the dissatisfaction which the Pope might rea-
sonably feel, though Pole has performed every good office, alleging
the same arguments used by Renard with Pole, as because he saw
clearly that, although the Pope continued to take everything in
good part, their Majesties' authority (stato) could not but receive
very great detriment; and, therefore, the Queen having sent such a
personage for the settlement of this affair, and for the Emperor's
C
* Et che con questa intentione et promissione siano per contentarsi senza ripugnanza.
1554.
587
1554.
better acquaintance with it, as also by means of Renard's statement
to enable Pole to comfort the Pope with the hope that the object
of his legation will at length be effected, he is convinced that their
Majesties have been moved thus to do by the Holy Spirit, both in
the choice of the messenger, than whom no one could be more suit-
able for the purpose, and by reason of the opportune moment of his
mission.
In reply to the announcement in the name of their Majesties, in
like manner as he has limited himself to a mere letter to the King
to avoid troubling him, so has he thought fit to give the Queen a
more detailed account by means of his agents (de miei), whom he
requests her to receive graciously as usual, and to give them full
credence for whatever they may tell her in his name; and thus
does he end, praying God that in like manner as to Pole's very
great joy he heard that his Divine Majesty has granted the Queen
the grace of conceiving fruit, in her corporeal womb, rendering her
the mother of an heir to the temporal kingdom, so may he also
give her the grace to be mother of those who are heirs to a kingdom
eternal, of whom it is written in the name of God "Ego dixi
dii estis et filii Excelsi omnes," so the Queen may with truth be
styled mater deorum, leading the children of God to his unity
and obedience; and this is that heavenly fruit with which the Queen
having been already long pregnant in her mind and spirit, now
that the fruit (parto) is mature, it is expected of her that she should
produce it in the light and to the glory of God, and for the consola-
tion of all Christendom, and the welfare (salute) of England, which
may the Divine goodness and mercy speedily grant.
Brussels, 27th October 1554.
[Italian.]
Oct. 27.
959. CARDINAL POLE to KING PHILIP of ENGLAND.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
etc.
The King has given great proof of his pious wish to restore
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. Catholicism, not merely by answering Pole's letter on the subject,
Printed in vol. 4, but by moreover sending the Imperial ambassador in England
pp. 168, 169. (Simon Renard) to acquaint him with what has been done, and
Epistolarum
Reginaldi Poli," with what has been omitted in the matter, and to discuss the
means for effecting the desired result. Renard informed him of
the state of affairs, and of King Philip's piety. Pole therefore
thanks God for having given the Queen, who of herself would
have been unable to accomplish what she desired, so powerful an
auxiliary to anticipate her wishes. Of the commissions given to
Renard some must be referred to the Pope, others the Pope has been
pleased to refer to Pole. The reply to these last will be conveyed
by Renard, and Pole hopes that the King's policy in England (ut
istud Regnum sic administret) may prove advantageous for his
other realms likewise, and profitable for the whole Church, as will
certainly come to pass if his Majesty succeeds in completing what
he has commenced.
Brussels, 27th October 1554.
[Latin, 35 lines.]
588
1554.
.
1554.
Oct. 28.
960. CARDINAL POLE to CARDINAL MORONE.
MS. St. Mark's
Is in the habit of communicating with Morone, and through him
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. with others also, respecting matters he has most at heart, as with
Library,
that lord and friend given him by God, with whom he can speak
freely of everything, as he will do at present, telling him in the
first place the present state of the affairs of his legation to England,
which seem to commence prospering, as Morone will hear in part
from the letters which are being sent to Messer Gio. Francesco, and
in part from those of Pole himself, expressing his hopes and fears.
His hope is that England will return to the obedience of the See
Apostolic, and that this will be settled in the present Parliament ;
which hope he rests not merely on the piety of Queen Mary and King
Philip, but also on the words uttered by the Imperial ambassador in
England, who was sent to Brussels by the Emperor with the reply
to the letters written by Pole to his Majesty. When Pole said freely
to Renard that in case the article of the obedience were not settled
in this Parliament, he should have no more oil of patience in his flask,
and would no longer remain waiting, neither did he believe the
Pope would compel him to do so; Renard thereupon rejoined that he
must not have any doubt of this, as should England not reunite
herself to the Church, King Philip and Queen Mary could not long
hold the crown; so if the return (la reduttion) were not to take place
on other accounts it must at least be effected for their advantage.
In addition to this, Pole seeing that their Majesties have com-
menced urging him to go, doing the like also by the Pope, he
thinks he may believe that they intend soon to come to some
settlement. This is what he hopes.
""
On the other hand, his fear proceeds from the means deemed
necessary by their Majesties for arriving at this effect, it appearing
that they choose the church property to be conceded to those who
hold it, to which mode Pole is averse, and Morone will see what
answer he made to Renard on the subject in his letters to Messer
Gian Francesco; but it is true that when discussing this topic with
him, Pole modified his reply, saying that he would be content not
to speak about this property at present, and assure its possessors
that he would not molest them, as they professed to apprehend by
reason of those words in the papal brief, "transigendi, componendi,'
etc. Renard added that in addition to this they might rely on not
being molested, in virtue of the ancient statute Præmunire; so
should Pole in his legatine capacity serve summonses on any of
the parties concerned (onde quando io come legato volessi far citare
alcuno di essi interessati), they could not be compelled [to appear]
without the royal consent, so that they were guaranteed by the
promises both of Pole and of their Majesties. Renard, therefore,
inferred that if at this commencement Pole went as Papal ambas-
sador to congratulate their Majesties, and with the pretext of the
other commission about the peace, he might be enabled to perform
many good offices, and so conciliate the parties concerned (gli inte-
ressati), who, according to Renard, are quite determined to obtain
(sic) [retain ?] what they hold (ostinatissimi in voler ottener (sic)
1554.
589
1554.
MORONE
CARDINAL POLE quel che tengono); but he said, nevertheless, that Pole's presence
to CARDINAL might be beneficial, most especially with the Queen (con la Regina),
who is the person the most interested of any, both because she has a
good conscience and also because she trusts much in Pole, but that in
whatever way accomplished, the most important matter is the return.
to the obedience, on which the salvation of so many souls depends.
(Oct. 28.)
At this conversation the Nuncio was present, and although silent
throughout he also spoke at the close, saying in substance that he
rejoiced at the arrangements for Pole's going (andata) being so far
advanced, as he anticipated the best result from it; and with regard
to this he expatiated at great length on the graciousness of the
Pope, who would be ready to give the Church property rather than
"the obedience" should be in the least delayed on this account, and
said that one single soul was worth more than all the property in the
world; coming to the conclusion that provided the door was opened
to Pole to go and establish "the obedience," no difficulty whatever
would be made by the Pope on account of the Church property, and
that he would give him the most ample power in this matter,
without limitation of any sort; which words caused Renard to
be yet more satisfied, though, to say the truth, Pole would not
have wished at this first conference to promise so largely, but on
considering the matter afterwards it seemed to him that the Nuncio
spoke prudently, to mitigate somewhat what might have seemed to
them Pole's scrupulousness in this particular.
Morone now sees to what pass the affair has been brought, and
what there is to hope and to fear. The hope that in this Parliament
they may enact the return to the obedience, consists in what Morone
has heard, namely, that the parties concerned will not oppose the
measure, being certain that he has the fullest possible power
(faculta), and moreover that he is unable to do anything against
them, without the will and consent of the King and Queen, who
are more interested than the rest of the parties concerned in the
business, and might promise them what they please.
Pole's fear consists chiefly in this, that although the "return"
may be stipulated without any compact on his part, yet subse-
quently when, in accordance with his office, he acquaints their
Majesties and the others also with their duty in this matter of
Church property, whilst on the one hand it may be hoped from the
piety of King Philip and Queen Mary, that they will determine to
do (most especially with what is in their own hands) what becomes
their obligation to God; yet in case from other human considera-
tions this end be not attained, Pole for his own part would greatly
fear lest they and the kingdom, although it return to the obedience,
may incur the displeasure of God, which he dreads more than the
detention of Church property by private individuals.
X
*Facendo io da poi come è debito mio intendere alle Maestà loro et agli altri ancora,
il debito loro in questa parte de' beni. Da un canto si può sperar nella pietà delle loro
Mtà che habbino a risolversi di fare, massime di quel che è in man loro, cosa che con-
venghi con la pietà et obligo che hanno con Dio, ma quando per altri humani rispetti
non si venisse a questo fine, io per me dubitarei forte della disgratia di Dio, sopra esse
et quel regno, ancora che sì fusse tornato alla obedientia, non temendo tanto per rispetto di
quello che non si potesse condure gli altri privati a fare.
44
590
1554.
1554.
CARDINAL POLE
Morone, therefore, sees that matters being in their present state,
to CARDINAL Pole is compelled at this commencement to acquiesce and be silent,
in order not to render the negotiation difficult, announcing in general
terms the best possible intention to everybody.
MORONE
(Oct. 28.)
Touching the Church property held by the Crown, Renard said
to Pole spontaneously that the Queen was conscientious, so it might
be hoped she will do what is becoming; and Pole hopes that thus
may it please God, but declares that should his exhortations with
regard to this matter not take effect with her, neither will he on his
part accept place in England, even should they give him a moiety
of the kingdom, still less the see of Canterbury,* which Renard
urged him to accept before going thither, as it would greatly pro-
mote the Queen's cause, and his friends in England write to him
[to do so], that he may sit in Parliament and have a vote there ;
but until they return to the obedience it would not seem to him
by any means becoming to allow himself to be bound by any
charge to remain there, although otherwise he would not refuse any
toil or trouble the Pope might be pleased to assign him.
Requests Morone to urge the Pope to have prayers offered up in
all the monasteries and religious establishments at Rome for the
success of his legation, and to have alms distributed.
Brussels, 28th October 1554.
[Italian.]
Oct. 29.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 57,
tergo.
Nov. 11.
MS. St. Mark's
962. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
By his last, of the 7th, wrote to Cardinal del Monte, what the
Cod. xxiv. Cl. x. most Serene Queen had written to him, and sent word by a mes-
Library,
senger whom he despatched in haste for this purpose.
On the 8th, the English ambassador at Brussels [Sir John
Masone],† delivered to him letters from the Queen, confirming what
is aforesaid, and charging him to inform the Emperor that now
the time appearing to them mature for calling him to treat and
conclude in the present Parliament, the return of England to the
union and obedience of the Church, they proposed both these matters
to the whole body of their Council, whose unanimous consent was
given so readily, that the members seemed really to have been
M
961. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTAN-
TINOPLE.
The Emperor has given his son, the most Serene King of England,
the investiture of the kingdom of Naples and of the Duchy of
Milan, of which his Majesty has sent to take possession.
Ayes, 164. Noes, 3. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
* Ma dico bene che se le mie esshortationi in questa parte non trovassero luogo
appresso di Lei, non sono ne anco io, per accettar luogo in Inghilterra seben mi fusse dato
la metà del regno, non che l'Arcivescovato di Cantuaria, il quale questo ambasciatore mi
sollecitava che io volessi accettar' inanzi che io andassi là.
† See Foreign Calendar 1554, November 9, No. 290, p. 136.
T
1554.
591
1554.
(Nov. 11.)
CARDINAL POLE moved by the Holy Spirit; and that as compensation for such long
to the POPE. delay, they thought fit to honour his coming (andata) by sending
to him, as far as Brussels, two Lords of the Council, one of whom
was to be Lord Paget, and the other the Master of Horse [Sir
Edward Hastings], brother of the Earl of Huntingdon,* with some
other noblemen and gentlemen, who, as they were to depart post
wise on the 26th instant, expected to arrive at Brussels on the 30th;
but that should the Emperor dismiss Pole previously, their
Majesties wished him not to await their arrival at Brussels, but to
be accompanied by the English ambassador [Sir John Masone] until
he met them, in order that he might be present, if not at the com-
mencement of the Parliament, which was to meet on the 11th
instant, at least shortly afterwards, to assist this cause of the
reconciliation (reduttione).
S
On the very day of the letters' arrival the ambassador having
reported accordingly to the Emperor, presenting also letters from
King Philip, to the same effect, his Majesty evinced approval of
everything; but with regard to Pole's departure, as the arrival of
these noblemen was to take place so shortly, he determined that
it would be better to wait for them, and that on the 10th or 11th
instant, he would give him audience.
On the 9th the Bishop of Arras came to Pole, telling him he was
sent by the Emperor; he exulted and rejoiced (essultava e giubilava),
and holding in his hand two letters addressed by King Philip to
his Imperial Majesty, he narrated their contents to him, thus: that
the King having heard of the Emperor's indisposition sent him such
news as would, he hoped, alleviate all indisposition; and then made
two demands of Pole-the one, that he would be pleased at this
commencement to go without the emblems (le insegne) of the
legation, although both the King Philip and the Queen would
acknowledge him as Legate subsequently in public and in due
season; the other, that with these Lords and gentlemen, he should
not descend to any particulars about the disposal of the Church
property, but merely announce good intentions to all in general
terms.
Pole replied that King Philip had in truth great reason to con-
gratulate himself on the carrying into effect of this legation, on
which depended the confirmation and seal of all the felicitations
hitherto offered him, and that he (Pole) was aware of owing this
great obligation to God for this opportunity for serving his Divine
Majesty, his Holiness, the See Apostolic, his own country, and King
Philip and Queen Mary, as also his Imperial Majesty, at one and
the same time; adding that in the affair of this his legation, the like
had occurred as is wont to happen in all the affairs of God, which,
causing at the commencement some dissatisfaction and bitterness,
produce in the end the sweetest fruit. And touching the two demands
—with regard to the first, about going without the emblems of his
legation, Pole said that their Majesties deeming it expedient so to
* See Foreign Calendar, date November 5, 1554, Nos. 285, 286, 287. Instructions to
Lord Paget and Sir Edward Hastings.
592
1554.
1554.
CARDINAL POLEdo, he would obey them, not unwillingly (io non mal volentieri
to the POPE. obedirei); and as to the second, about not descending to particulars,
(Nov. 11.)
he would most willingly do so, seeing that the arrival of these
noblemen was expected, and in fact took place this morning.
In the afternoon they went to the Emperor, sending in the first
place to apologise to Pole for not having come to him immediately,
as they were tired, but that this evening they would come to sup
with him, as they did, presenting him with credentials from King
Philip and Queen Mary, in whose name they apologised for this long
delay in admitting him, and then told of the great unanimity of the
whole Council, both in calling him at this time, and in approving
that in the present Parliament it should be treated to conclude the
return to the unity and obedience of the Church; and said that for
the satisfaction of the parties concerned, it was merely desired that
the Pope should give him all ample power about the disposal of the
Church property (which power they believed had been received by
him subsequently), and that without it, even should the return to
the obedience be concluded, as they expected it would be by Parlia-
ment owing to the good choice made of its members, there nevertheless.
would be great difficulty and trouble in carrying it into effect.
They then spoke about his going as Cardinal and ambassador
from the Pope, saying that this was done to avoid prejudicing the
authority of the Parliament, as would be the case were he to
appear as Legate, before the enactment of the obedience.
To this Pole replied that they may be very certain that the Pope
bears, and ever will bear her Majesty (quella Maestà) and all of
them as much affection as can be desired from a most loving father
towards his children; and that as to the mode of his going, being
convinced by their Majesties' goodness, and perceiving this their
consent, he did not doubt that they acted thus solely because it was
deemed expedient for the success of the cause.
In conclusion, they strongly urged Pole, in their Majesties' name,
to go as soon as he could conveniently, saying that King Philip by
no means chooses the Parliament to commence debating about the
religion until after Pole's arrival there, and they declare the
Emperor will not delay despatching him; so he thinks of obtaining
audience to-morrow, and departing the day after, should it please
God, who he hopes will soon comfort the Pope by gratifying his
holy wish for the welfare of England; and thus may his Divine
Majesty deign to do, granting continued prosperity to the Pope,
whose most holy feet Pole kisses.
Brussels, 11th November 1554.
[Italian.]
Nov. 12.
Original Letter-
Book of Agustino
963. GIOVANNI CAPELLO and AGUSTINO BARBARIGO, Venetian
Ambassadors in France, to the DOGE and Senate.
Barbarigo in the Barbarigo wrote from Lyons on the 28th ult., and, continuing his
journey, arrived on the 9th instant in Paris, where yesterday he and
Capello had audience of the King, and then went to the Constable,
who told them that next year the King would be beforehand with
Venetian
Archives.
1554.
593
1554.
Nov. 22.
Original Letter-
Book of Agustino
Barbarigo in the
Venetian
Archives.
M
the Emperor, and send him the Constable in advance, and that
Capello, returning to Italy, will find horse and foot on their march
towards Piedmont; nor have they anything to fear from England,
as on her finger the Queen has two rings, with which she was
espoused twice, first on her accession when she was crowned and
confirmed the treaty with France, and secondly when she became
the wife of the present King of Spain, which marriage, it may be
supposed, she will not consider binding, as she is, moreover, supposed
not to have money ;* and that his most Christian Majesty had
remained a month here in Paris, not for his amusement, but to make
such preparations as were necessary. Capello has taken leave of the
King and Queen and the whole Court.
Paris, 12th November 1554.
[Italian.]
Nov. 24.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta)
v. lxix., p. 62,
tergo.
964. AGUSTINO BARBARIGO, Venetian Ambassador in France
to the DOGE and SENATE.
His predecessor (Capello) departed on the 15th. On his
On his way to
the French Court, Barbarigo met several men-at-arms and light-
horse, going towards Piedmont, [and was told at Turin that they
purposed soon making some notable attempt, and hoped to succeed.]†
Has seen a letter from England, dated the 7th instant, announcing
the departure of Lord Paget and another personage to meet Cardinal
Pole, to whom, however, Queen Mary had written, desiring him to
set out for England without awaiting their arrival; and the writer
considered it certain that, when he wrote, the Cardinal had departed,
for the purpose, as he (the writer) supposed, of attending this new
Parliament.‡
Paris, 22nd November 1554.
[Italian.]
965. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTAN-
TINOPLE.
By the last advices from Brussels, understand that the Emperor's
army, having well fortified New Hesdin, were to raise the camp on
the 5th instant, and march towards a certain border castle near
Montreuil, which had been well fortified and provisioned by the
French, who were in great force there; so it was said the Imperial
army would do nothing more this year. The French advices tell
them that besides a good number of German and Gascon infantry
which the French are marching into Piedmont, with men-at-arms
and light-horse, his most Christian Majesty is also sending a number
of Switzers with orders to his General, Monsieur de Brissac, to go
against the Duke of Florence, both to attack his territory and to
raise the siege of Sienna.
* Et che è da creder che non haverà per fermo il predetto sponsalitio, non havendo
anche si come si giudicava danari.
† Paragraph bracketed in letter-book and ciphered in the despatch.
The writs went out on the 6th October and Parliament met on the 12th November
(See Froude, vol. vi. pp. 260, 268, ed. 1860).
5.
РР
594
1554.
1554.
Nov. 30.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
Printed in
x.
(6
vol. 5, pp. 1-4,
Epistolarum
Reginaldi
Poli," etc.
It is heard from England that the King and Queen are in London,
and his Majesty's coronation was delayed; and, according to report,
the King will go to his father, the Emperor, not having seen him
since he came from Spain.
The siege of Sienna by the forces of the Duke of Florence
continues, and they have taken the towns of Casola and Monte
Rotondo in the Maremma of Sienna.
Ayes, 190. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
966. CARDINAL POLE to POPE JULIUS III.
Gives account of the ceremony performed on St. Andrew's Day
for the return of England into the bosom of the Church. It took
place in full Parliament in the presence of the sovereigns with such
universal consent and applause, that when at the close Pole gave
absolution by blessing the congregation, there was a spontaneous
and repeated shout of "Amen." Bestows exuberant praise on
Philip and Mary. Philip is the spouse of Mary, but treats her so
deferentially as to appear her son, thus giving promise of the best
result. Mary has spiritually generated England, before giving birth
to that heir, of whom there is very great hope (cujus in spe maxima
sumus). Gratitude is due to God, to the Pope, and to the Emperor,
for concerting so holy a marriage; it remains for the Pope (according
to the intention notified by his Nuncio at the Imperial Court) to
reform what time has vitiated in the Roman Church, and then
may it be said, "Put off [O Jerusalem] the garment of mourn-
(C
ing and vexation and cast about thee [a double garment of]
righteousness," &c. This alone remains to complete the joy of his
Holiness and of the Universal Church.
London, 30th November 1554.
[Latin, 61 lines.]
(C
--
967. AGOSTINO BARBARIGO, Venetian Ambassador in France,
to the DOGE and SENATE.
Dec. 6.
Original
Letter Book
of Agostino
On leaving Blois, the King went for four days to d'Anet, the seat
Barbarigo, of Madame de Valentinois (Diane de Poitiers), and was to be at
in the Venetian St. Germain yesterday, so the writer intending to go to Poissy
Archives.
to-morrow to be nearer the Court, writes the last news before his
departure from Paris.
The Prothonotary de Noailles, brother of the French ambassador
in England, arrived thence at the Court lately, on his own private
business, as supposed, and perhaps with orders from Queen Mary
to persevere in the performance of such offices, as proceed in-
variably from her wish for a good understanding between the
Emperor and King Henry. He remained two days in Paris, and
then went to the Court. Will endeavour to learn something more
about the matter, although the Cardinal of Lorraine said that by no
means was the agreement to be any longer discussed, or thought of.
Paris, 6th December 1554.
[Italian.]
1554.
595
Venetian
Archives.
1554.
Dec. 11.
Original Letter
Book of
Agostino
Audience of the most Christian King having been appointed me
Barbarigo in the for the day before yesterday, I went first by invitation to dine
with the Constable, and after communicating the advices to him,
and when he had asked me if I knew where the Turkish fleet was,
he said he would also tell me his news. He commenced by saying
that the Emperor was at Brussels in his usual house in the garden,
(nella solita sua casa et giardino), with the gout in his hand, accord-
ing to report, [though nothing could ever be said for certain about
his Majesty's bad or good health, as he represented himself sick or
sound according to his pleasure and convenience] ;* and that the
Duke of Savoy was going to England to perform a loving and
complimentary office with King Philip, on his own private account,
which may explain the report current at the court lately, although
the writer did not allude to it, doubting its authenticity, that the
Imperial troops were mustering to ravage France again under the
command of the Duke. He then added that England had resumed
her obedience to the Church of Rome, and that it might be hoped
affairs would proceed from good to better, with God's assistance, and
through the address of Cardinal Pole. [Inquired whether, as he
(Barbarigo) understood, the fortress constructed at Hesdin had been
in part destroyed. The Constable replied that a wall had fallen
down, that they could retake the place whenever they chose, and that
Barbarigo would soon see it in their power; and putting his hand
to his heart, he said, You may believe it on my authority.]* Talking
thus, he introduced me to the most Christain King, to whom
I in like manner communicated the advices, and he made me repeat
where Sultan Solyman was, and at what distance, [saying that
every now and then he attacked the Sophy, but with no profit, as he
was strong and powerful],† asking me also how long he had been
on the present expedition; and his Majesty having told me moreover
what I had already heard from the Constable about the affairs of the
religion in England, I took leave of him, and went to visit Madame
de Valentinois.
Dec. 14.
MS. St. Mark's
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl.
968. AGUSTINO BARBARIGO, Venetian Ambassador in France,
to the DOGE and SENATE.
There has arrived in Paris an ambassador from Portugal, who
is going straight to England to congratulate King Philip, as told me
yesterday by the Portuguese ambassador resident in France, who
came to visit me, and has in like manner returned here to the
court.
Poissy, 11th December 1554.
[Italian.]
969. CARDINAL POLE to KING HENRY II. of FRANCE.
It having pleased the Divine mercy and goodness to bring to the
x.desired end the return (la reduttione) of England to the unity of
the Church, and obedience of the See Apostolic, Pole begins to have
greater hope of operating more successfully according to the commis-
* Paragraph bracketed in letter-book and ciphered in despatch.
† Bracketed in letter-book and ciphered in despatch.
PP 2
596
1554.
1554.
sion received from his Holiness to seek peace between King Henry
and the Emperor, most especially seeing the first negotiation brought
to its due end by those noble means which he always thought and
hoped were most adapted to that end.
Is therefore now induced to write to his most Christian Majesty,
to congratulate him on this great work of God, accomplished so much
to the benefit and consolation of the Christain race, knowing that
by reason of his piety, it cannot but cause him great pleasure, as
evinced by his Majesty in his conversation with Pole, who has the
like desire to serve both France and the Emperor, and also the
common weal, in this other legation, as, should the opportunity be
afforded him, he hopes will be known by facts; and with all due
respect he kisses his most Christian Majesty's hands.
From London, the 14th December 1554.
[Italian.]
Dec. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 68,
tergo.
970. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR
with the EMPEROR.
By letters from their ambassador with the most Serene King and
Queen of England, having heard of the final decision formed by the
Magnifico the Parliament of that kingdom to return to the obedi-
ence of the Apostolic See, and to reunite the English Church to the
Roman and universal Church, the pleasure and consolation caused
them by this news was very great; so in the most loving form of
words he can devise, he is to congratulate the Emperor in their
name on this so fortunate and important an event; and knowing
that it proceeds from the sage foresight (savio avedimento) and
prudent counsel of his Majesty, to his eternal glory, they therefore
choose to hope that the entire realm will persevere in this obedience
and reconciliation, through the good and just government of the
most Serene King and Queen, and that the affairs of the kingdom
will proceed with such quiet and tranquillity as becoming so grand
a conversion (riduttione) and renewal (renovatione), and that with
this example, those of bad opinion (di mala opinion) may be
brought back to the true and holy religion, to the glory of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, and increase and exaltation of his holy faith.
Is not to omit performing the same office with the Bishop of Arras,
and such other personages of the Court as he shall think fit, in
declaration of the Signory's goodwill, and of the satisfaction derived
by them from the Emperor's prosperity.
Ayes, 170. Noes, 5. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
Dec. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 69,
tergo.
971. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
By letters from their ambassador with the most Serene King and
Queen of England have heard, to their great content and satis-
faction of the decision formed in the Magnificio the Parliament
of that realm, to return to the obedience of the Apostolic See,
and of his Holiness, and to re-unite that Church to the Roman
and Universal Church, so earnestly and by such general consent
1554.
597
C
1554.
Dec. 15.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 68.
Dec. 21.
Deliberazioni
(grande consento), as to cause them infinite pleasure and conso-
lation, as for an event intensely desired by them. They there-
fore desire him to congratulate the Pope in their name on so
auspicious and fortunate a result, which is by so much the more to
their satisfaction and agreeable from its taking place in his pontifi-
cate, to his immortal glory; it being their hope that not only will
all England persevere in this obedience and reconciliation, but that,
with her example, the Catholic faith and religion will so much the
more prevail and increase to the honour and glory of their Redeemer
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ayes, 158. Noes, 3. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
Dec. 15.
972. The DOGE and SENATE to the "BAILO" at CONSTANTINOPLE.
Deliberazioni The Right Reverend Cardinal Pole had arrived in London, being
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 70, 'sent by the Pope as Legate to the King and Queen, and in the
tergo.
Parliament-general, he being present there, it was decided for the
kingdom to return to the Catholic faith, and everything passed off
quietly, to the universal satisfaction; which advices he is to com-
municate as usual.
Ayes, 175. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 2.
[Italian.]
S
-
973. The DOGE and SENATE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
Have read with agreeable satisfaction his letters of the 28th ult.
and 1st instant, concerning the decision of the High Court of Par-
liament (in quel Magnifico Parlamento) to return to the obedience
of the Apostolic See, and re-unite the English Church to the Roman
and Universal Church. To congratulate their Majesties on so grand
and auspicious an event.
Desire him also to perform the like office with the Right Reverend
Legate, the Bishop of Winchester, the Lord Chancellor, and the other
Lords of the Council, as shall seem fitting to him.
Resolved, to send for the English ambassador into the College,
and to address him in conformity with what is aforesaid.
Ayes, 171. Noes, 0. Neutral, 1.
[Italian.]
974. The DOGE and SENATE to the VENETIAN AMBASSADOR at
ROME.
Senato (Secreta), To congratulate the Pope on the return of the realm of England
v. Ixix., p. 71, to the true Christian religion, and the pious reconciliation effected
tergo.
by that Church with the Roman and Universal Church, and also with
the Holy See.
Ayes, 167. No, 1. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
598
1554
1554.
Dec. 24.
MS. St. Mark's
Dec. 28.
Deliberazioni
Senato (Secreta),
v. lxix. p. 72.
975. FRAGMENT, without name of Writer, or of the person to
whom addressed.
Library,
Cod. xxiv. Cl x.
Postscript, Yesterday, the same lords and judges returned, and
p. 119, tergo. with much difficulty it was at length settled that all the laws made
Ma
1
at the time of the schism against the Papal authority should be
abrogated thus: that in the Act of Parliament, all those [laws]
which they have been able to collect, are to be specified, and to
remove all difficulty, they have placed at the end a general repeal
(derogazione) of all the others that may be found to this effect;
thus deciding (concludendo) that his Holiness and the See Apostolic
be restored to that same authority compatible with the supremacy
of this kingdom, and all its dominions, which it exercised and was
allowed to exercise in the first twenty years of the reign of
Henry VIII., that is to say before the schism; and that the Church
property is to remain in the hands of its present English possessors
(et che nel stabilmento dei beni che pertenivano, tenuti hora da
questi del regno, che si ha da stare): the Parliament inserting the
petitions in this matter presented to Cardinal Pole (per il Parla
mento siano inserite [embodied] le supplicationi date a Monsr.
Revmo. sopra ciò), making mention of his Right Reverend Lord-
ship's concession, and basing this Act thereupon; so that, by the grace
of God, matters have passed better than they expected.
From London, Christmas Eve, 1554.*
[Italian.]
976. The DOGE and SENATE to GIOVANNI MICHIEL, Venetian
Ambassador in England.
After desiring him by their letters of the 15th instant to con-
gratulate the King and Queen in their name on the fortunate and
grand acquisition made in England, through the country's recon-
ciliation and union with the rest of Christendom, and its obedience
to the Apostolic See, they received his letter of the 4th instant,
acquainting them with the solemnity and ceremony performed on
the preceding day in St. Paul's Cathedral (nella chiesa grande di
quella citta),† with the multitude of people present there, and with
the universal satisfaction caused by the office performed in public
by the Lord Chancellor, and what the King with so great a demon-
stration of love and affection towards the Signory, desired him to
tell them in his name; all which things gave them the greatest
pleasure; and therefore, besides the thanks and congratulations
already offered by him to the King and confirmed by their letter of
the 15th, they now desire him again to repeat them. Is also to con-
gratulate the King on the prosperous course of religious affairs in
England; which office he is also to perform with the Queen, the
Legate, and the Chancellor, as shall seem fit to him.
400
* This postscript was evidently written by one of the attendants of Cardinal Pole, to
some personage at Rome. The Legate's "reply to the petitions by the Parliament" are
alluded to in Foreign Calendar, 1554, circa Dec. 24, p. 148, No. 308. The date is now
confirmed as above.
† In Machyn's Diary it is stated that the ceremony at St. Paul's took place on the 2nd
December.
1554.
599
¡
1554.
That the ambassador may know the Signory's intention with
regard to his following the King (in reply to the inquiry made
in his former letters), their will is, that should his Majesty quit
England for the purpose of visiting the Emperor, as stated in
his letter of the 4th, he is to do what shall be most agreeable to the
King and Queen; and should he follow his Majesty, he is to leave
his secretary in England, with orders to give the Signory, and the
ambassador himself, daily account of all events worthy of their
knowledge, and to do what shall be necessary for the Signory's
interests, and for the merchants, until Michiel's return to England;
and in the meanwhile is to make use of the secretary in the service
of the Venetian ambassador with the Emperor.
Ayes, 175. Noes, 10. Neutrals, 14.
[Italian.]
1376.
May 23.
Liber iste
600
ACTS of the VENETIAN SENATE, respecting the Signory's negociations
with SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD, for military assistance against the
Archdukes of Austria.
APPENDIX.
May 25.
p. 8, tergo.
977. CAPTA.
xxiii. Maii.
continet partes
Cum sit multum utile pro statu nostro providere de contrata
secretas Consilij subditis et fidelibus nostris Trivisane et Ĉenete, ubi est mora
Rogatorum. istarum gentium ad damnum ipsorum et cum periculo status nostri,
On parchment ; et omnis mora sit contraria nostre intentioni, ne videamur deserere
marked D.
Venetian
Archives.
p. 8.
ipsos subditos ac fideles nostros; Vadit pars quod scribatur de presenti
Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, quod per illum modum, qui sibi videbitur
convenire, vadat ad locum ubi sciverit esse dominum Johannem
Aguto, cui ex parte nostra facta salutatione, cum literis nostris
credulitatis, exponat qualiter in transactis temporibus, per nuntios
proprios, se obtulit promptum ad honores et commoda nostra, et quod
inter cetera libenter videret casum propter quem, cum honore nostro,
possemus comprehendere bonam dispositionem quam habet ad
conservationem status nostri. Unde considerantes predicta, deli-
beravimus sibi notificare, qualiter Dux Leopoldus Austrie, cum
aliquibus gentibus, descendit ad partes nostras Trivisane et Cenete,
nulla nobis facta conscientia de mala dispositione quam habebat et
habet erga nos et subditos nostros, derobando, capiendo, et multa alia
mala committendo, contra suum honorem, de quibus omnibus multum
gravati sumus, sicut merito possumus et debemus. Et propterea
libenter sciremus, si intentio ipsius Domini Johannis esset, velle
venire velociter ad servitium nostrum, et cum quanta quantitate
gentium, computatis gentibus quas habet ad presens, et hiis quas
posset recuperare, de brevi, et cum quibus pretio, modis et condi-
tionibus, et quam cito posset recedere, quia nostra agenda stant in
celeri expeditione. Nam habita sua intentione, statim respondebimus
sibi pro dando expeditionem huic facto; et quicquid Ser Nicolaus
Mauroceno habuerit ab eo circa predicta, et specialiter pro quanto
tempore posset nobis servire, et cum quanta gente, de presenti nobis
scribat singulariter, et distincte, pro nostra informatione; dando
intelligi dicto Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, quod intentio nostra esset
quod tempus foret, quam plus breve esse posset; etiam reddatur
previsus Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno, quod propterea non stet de
adimplendo sibi commissa, de gentibus quas firmare debet ad
servitium nostrum.
Non, 4. Non sincere, 3.
978. CAPTA in COLLEGIO.
Quod Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno firmet alias L. lanceas, ad nostrum
servitium, ita quod sint in totum lancee C C.
APPENDIX.
601
1376.
May 26.
p. 8, tergo.
Cons. Cap. Sap.
May 27.
p. 9.
D. Consil.
Cap. et
Sap. omnes.
979. CAPTA.
26 Maii.
Cum per formam pacis quam habemus cum Domino Padue ipse
tenetur et debet esse in liga nobiscum contra Duces Austrie, et pro
honore nostro faciat communicare secum factum infrascriptum ;
Vadit pars quod per unum nostrum nuntium notificetur sibi,
qualiter Dominus Johannes Aguto, amicus nostri dominii, pluries
fecit nobis dici, quod libenter et cum bono animo faceret ea que
forent nostri bonoris et status, et quod misimus ad eum unum
nostrum nobilem, et credimus quod pensata bona dispositione sua ad
honorem et statum nostrum, veniet ad servitium nostrum cum
brigata sua contra Duces Austrie et gentes suas, que sic hostiliter
venerunt ad damnum nostrum. Et quia ipse Dominus Padue est in
liga nobiscum contra ipsos Duces, propterea notificamus predicta
magnificentie sue, non dubitantes quod placebunt sibi; et ea que
sequentur super hoc, similiter sibi nota faciemus.
Non, 11. Non sincere, 3. Alii de parte.
Item roget notarius vel nuntius iturus Dominum Padue, quod si
alique gentes domini Marchionis Ferarie, que debent venire ad ser-
vitium nostrum, vel alie gentes et soldati nostri, transirent per
territoria et loca sue magnitudinis, quod placeat sibi ordinare quod
habeant liberum et expeditum transitum, et victualia pro sua
pecunia, sicut de sua magnificentia plene speramus.
May 26.
980. CAPTA.
p. 8, tergo.
Dnus. Cons. Cap.
Quod scribatur Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, quod si poterit adimplere
et Sap. omnes. nostram intentionem, non dando alicui ultra quinque vel decem
lanceas, bene quidem; quando vero videret non posse obtinere
nostram intentionem per modum predictum, possit dare usque XX.
lanceas pro quolibet, secundum condicionem et qualitatem per-
sonarum, pro non perdendo tempus in factis nostris, non dando
aliquid plus ultra ducatos XX. pro lancea.
981. CAPTA.
Quod iste executor qui deficit, et alii qui deficerent inposterum, fiant
per scruptinium inter Dominum, Consiliarios, Capita, et Sapientes.
Ser Jacobus Mauro.
Ser Micael Mauroceno. Sap. Trivisane, Istrie,
Ser Andrea Zeno.
et Padue.
Ser Pantaleon Barbo.
982. CAPTA.
27 Maii.
Quod scribatur Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, civi nostro, quod pro
expeditione agendorum nostrorum intentio nostra est, et sic ei
committimus et mandamus expresse, quod faciat posse suum de
eundo celeriter ad Dominum Johannem Aguto, ubi est, procurando
habere literas securi conductus, et scortam sufficientem, a Domino
Johanne, vel aliis, ut sibi videbitur, ita quod possit adimplere sibi
commissa per nos; quando vero, facta experientia possibili, hoc non
esset factibile, nec posset fieri, nec adimpleri per eum, tunc, pro non
perdendo tempus, debeat celeriter, et sine mora, mittere, cum nostris
literis credulitatis, Tibertum de Bagnacavalo ad ipsum Dominum
602
APPENDIX.
1376.
Johannem Aguto, cum commissione et verbis et mandato nostro,
sicut ipse Ser Nicolaus facere et procurare debebat. Et quicquid
Tibertus fecerit et habuerit nobis significet celeriter et sine mora, et
particulariter et distincte, ut possimus esse previsi et providere factis
nostris.
983. CAPTA. Indict. xiiij. Die octavo mensis Junii.
June 8.
p. 11, tergo.
Cum in pactis treuguarum nuper factarum inter comune et
Dnus.
Consiliarii
ancianos Bononie ex una parte et Dominum Johannem Aguto et
Capita et
socios suos ex altera, contineantur duo capitula infrascripti tenoris,
Sapientes. videlicet, quod Thomas filius Domini Johannis Aguto, Philipus filius
Domini Johannis Tornoberii, et Laurentius filius Domini Johannis
Briz, pro obsidibus et observatione omnium et singulorum conten-
torum in instrumento ipsarum treuguarum debeant stare, morari,
retineri, et custodiri, expensis eorum, secundum arbitrium domini
Ducis Veneciarum vel alterius conservatoris assumendi, durante
treugua presenti, in Veneciis, ad peticionem comunis Bononie. Item
convenerunt adinvicem dicte partes, modis et nominibus quibus supra,
si aliqua controversia vel discordia oriretur, vel posset oriri, inter
partes predictas, de aliquibus, vel pro aliquibus, in quibus diceretur
fuisse contrafactum per aliquam dictarum partium, quod talis con-
troversia vel discordia, et cause ipsarum controversiarum et discor-
diarum, audiantur, examinentur, et decidantur, infra xv. dies,
querela exposita, per illustrem Dominum Ducem Veneciarum in
quantum acceptare vellet, et in quantum nollet, per Dominum
Galeotum, et in quantum nollet, per Dominum Padue, vel alium
eligendum per partes, concorditer, summarie, de plano et absque
strepitu judicii, veritate inspecta et secundum bonam conscientiam,
et quod declarationi, arbitramento, et laudo, ferendis per ipsum
electum, assumptum et acceptatum stari debeat, et per dictas partes
laudata debeant observari; et in casu quo comune Bononie amplius
treuguam nollet, teneatur in continenti, conservator, facta notifica-
tione, restituere Anglicis in Veneciis obsides, comuni Bononie pro
dicta treugua assignatis. Et sicut notum est, comune Bononie et
Dominus Johannes Aguto per nuncios et literas suas amicabiliter et
domestice fecerunt nos rogari et requiri, quod complaceamur sibi in
facto predicto, et pro nobis faciat retinere et habere predictos pro
amicis, et complacere eis in eo quod honeste fieri potest; Vadit pars
quod Respondeatur istis nunciis, et primo ad factum quod illustris
Dominus Dux noster, sit conservator et judex differentiarum que
possent occurrere inter partes, etc., quod, sicut est plene notum,
Dominus Dux non est solitus, ullo modo, se de talibus impedire,
ymo est sibi soli ab antiquo expresse prohibitum, per suam promis-
sionem; sed tamen, ut comune Bononie, et dominus Johannes Aguto
plene videant et cognoscant bonam dispositionem nostram, et quod
intendimus eis amicabiliter complacere, sumus contenti, quod ubi
dicit, Dominus Dux dicatur, Dominus Dux et suum Consilium qui
sunt, vel erunt per tempora secundum ordines Veneciarum, et quod
de hoc appareat publicum instrumentum rogatum per partes, vel
quod veniant litere partium, bullate sigillis partium, in quibus fiat
mentio, quod partes sint contente quod dicatur Dominus Dux
Veneciarum et suum Consilium, non obstante illo puncto contento in
APPENDIX.
603
1376.
p. 12.
June 8.
Cons. Cap. Sap.
treugua ubi nominatur Dominus Dux solus. Super alio puncto,
quod filii domini Johannis Aguto, et aliorum sociorum suorum
predictorum, debeant conservari in Veneciis, pro obsidibus, et ad
peticionem communis Bononie, etc. Respondeatur istis nunciis quod,
sicut est manifeste notorium, terra nostra est patens et omnibus
aperta, et in ea omnes possunt ire, stare, et redire qualibet hora sine
aliqua contradictione, et dicere quod assumeremus istud onus, sicut
petitur, non videmus quod ullo modo posset fieri nec servari per nos,
et sic ubi crederemus velle servire, veniremus ad faciendum con-
trarium; sed tamen pro amore eorum, et ut clare videant quod
nostra intentio est velle eis complacere, reperimus istos modos,
videlicet, quod de voluntate ambarum partium procederet, quod isti
pueri consignarentur ad custodiam et manus alicujus vel aliquarum
bonarum personarum in Veneciis, que haberent curam et custodiam
de eis, cum illis modis qui placerent partibus, nam in Veneciis
sunt multe bone persone terrigene et forenses, que poterunt de hoc
partibus complacere, et iste esset modus bonus et expeditus pro
utraque parte.
.
Quando vero istud non placeret partibus, posset teneri iste alius
modus, videlicet, quod isti pueri mitterentur ad civitatem nostram
Tarvisii, que est terra custodie, et placibilis et alectabilis locus, et
ibi possent consignari alicui vel aliquibus personis, sicut placeret
partibus, quia ibi essent valde bene securi, et nos daremus ordinem
ad portas civitatis et aliter, ita quod nostro posse, non exirent dictam
civitatem, intelligendo et declarando, in omni casu, quo pueri
ponerentur in civitate nostra Veneciarum, vel in civitate nostra
Tarvisii, per modum predictum, quod commune nostrum, ut justum
est, propterea non possit incurrere aliquod damnum, vel teneri ad
aliquam rem, occasione predicta, et quod istud appareat per cartam
vel privilegium opportunum.
Non, 6. Non sinc., 10.
984. CAPTA.
viii. Junii.
Cum sint in Veneciis tres ambaxatores domini Johannis Aguto
et sue compagne, causa veniendi ad servitium nostrum, et istud
requirat fieri caute et secrete, pro utilitate et bono agendorum nos-
trorum; Vadit pars quod dominus, consiliarii, capita, et sapientes, per
majorem partem habeant libertatem accipiendi et firmandi ipsam
compagnam, partem vel totam, ad servitium nostrum, cum illis
pactis, modis, tempore, et conditionibus, et soldo, vel provisionibus,
que videbuntur Collegio predicto, vel majori parti; et si opus fuerit,
dictum Collegium habeat libertatem mittendi nuncium, vel nuncios,
ad illas partes, et sicut fuerit opportunum, pro adimplendo nostram
intentionem predictam. 56, 63, 68.
De Non, 55, 50, 48. Non sinc., 15, 13, 10.
985. CAPTA in COLLEGIO, vigore libertatis tradite a CONSILIO
ROGATORUM et addit.
Quod respondeatur istis ambaxatoribus vel nuntiis compagne,
quod intellectis intentionibus suis nobis in scriptis exhibitis, tenore
presentium respondemus, quod petitiones sue nobis videntur alte et
604
APPENDIX.
1376.
magne, et ad ipsas non attenderemus ullo modo, quia intentio nostra
non est firmare eos ad modum lancearum propter magnum tempus
quod perderetur, cum notabili damno agendorum nostrorum; sed
est nostra intentio firmare compagnam, ad modum compagne ;
et propterea ut non perdatur tempus, disposuimus de presenti,
simul cum eis, mittere unum ambaxatorem nostrum ad dominum
Johannem Aguto et ad compagnam predictam, plene informatum de
nostra intentione. Omnes.
986. CAPTA in COLLEGIO.
Quod eligatur unus nobilis per scruptinium in hoc Collegio, qui
possit accipi, de omni loco et officio, et judicatu peticionum, non
perdendo officium nec utilitatem ejus, nec aliquid quod haberet, et
respondeat de presenti, et recedat, cum istis ambaxatoribus compagne.
Omnes.
Electus ambaxator ad compagnam, Ser Leonardus Dandulo,
miles.
987. CAPTA in COLLEGIO, vigore dicte libertatis.
Quod committatur ambaxatori nostro ituro ad compagnam, quod
facta salutatione domino Johanni Aguto et sociis suis, ut sibi vide-
bitur, ex parte nostra, cum illis sapientibus et dextris verbis, que
sibi videbuntur, procuret sine temporis amissione, de habendo per-
sonam domini Johannis Aguto ad nostrum servitium cum lanceis
viii. c. usque mille, et usque vi.c. in vii.c. arceriis ad modum compagne,
per tempus quatuor mensium, possendo dare et promittere predicto
tempore, a centum mille usque C. xx. M. duc. ut melius poterit
pro nostro communi. Et usque duc. x. M. possit donare capitaneo et
suis magnis, sicut erunt plus contenti, pro toto dicto tempore pro sua
provisione. Facta vero experientia possibili si non posset obtinere,
per modum antedictum, tunc quia non facit pro nobis perdere tempus
in factis nostris, procuret ambaxator noster quod dominus Johannes
Aguto ad modum compagne nobis complaceat, vel per viam amoris
vel mutui, de lanceis iiij.c. et pluribus, si poterit, et arceriis iij.c.
et pluribus, si poterit, per quatuor menses; procurante ambaxatore
nostro quod in hoc casu etiam veniat persona domini Johannis
Aguto, que esset nobis carissima ultra omnem modum; et quando
persona domini Johannis Aguto in hoc casu venire non posset, facta
experientia possibili procuret quod veniat alia famosa et notabilis
persona loco ejus, ita quod agenda nostra bene procedant.
Et habeat libertatem ambaxator noster in casu quo nobis com-
placeatur de lanceis iiij.c. et arceriis ccc. L. per modum predictum,
promittendi usque summam duc. L. M. ve linde infra, ut melius
poterit, per quatuor menses, et duc. v. M. pro donando domino
Johanni Aguto et sociis ejus magnis, ut ei videbitur, et sicut erunt
plus contenti ; et si dominus Johannes Aguto venire non posset, alteri
magno caporali et sociis suis magnis, ut de domino Johanne
dictum est.
Et si ambaxator noster obtineret de majori quantitate lancearum
iiij.º. et arceriorum iij.º. L., habeat libertatem promittendi plus pro
rata, secundum quantitatem superius limitatam, usque ad numerum
de lanceis viij.c. usque mille, et a vi.c. usque vij.º. arceriis.
APPENDIX.
605
1376.
Et si non posset obtinere de tanta quantitate lancearum et
arceriorum, habeat libertatem defalcandi de summa predicta pro
rata, ita quod non perdatur tempus in factis nostris, et quod ad
minus habeamus, quando plures obtineri non poterunt, lanceas iij.c.
et arcerios centum.
.
Et si non posset obtinere per quatuor menses, procuret per tres,
promittendo per ratam temporis, ad rationem quantitatis predicte,
faciendo quam melius poterit pro nostro communi.
Et si Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno reperiet se ibi, sit simul cum
nostro ambaxatore ad omnia predicta exequenda, quia est de factis
istis plene informatus.
Et in omni casu quo ambaxator noster obtineat nostram inten-
tionem, procuret quod habeamus quam plures Anglicos poterit, et
quam pauciores Teutonicos et Ytalianos poterit, pro meliori agen-
dorum nostrorum.
988. CAPTA in COLLEGIO.
Quod possit ambaxator noster iturus expendere pro istis modicis
diebus id quod erit necessarium.
Et procuret ambaxator noster pro bono et expeditione agen-
dorum nostrorum, quod dicte gentes recedant et veniant quam
citius esse potest, ita quod ad longius recedant per totum mensem
presentem et ante si fieri poterit.
C
Item, quod incipiant livrare soldum die qua incipient equitare.
De facto passuum, dicat ambaxator noster quod de passu bene
providebimus, ita quod bene habebunt passum cum gratia Dei.
Et detur copia pactorum nostrorum soldatorum equitum nostro
ambaxatori, in aliis capitulis exceptis pretio, et aliis que non faciant
ad factum.
Item, quod recipiant solutionem suam in hunc modum, videlicet
statim tertium, et aliud tertium usque duos menses proximos, et
aliud tertium ad complementum aliorum duorum mensium; et non
possendo facere per modum predictum, faciat ut melius poterit pro
bono nostri communis et expeditione facti, non transeundo medieta-
tem statim, et aliam medietatem ad quam longiores terminos poterit
obtinere.
Et si aliqua differentia occurreret, ita quod per eam non posset
adimpleri nostra intentio, scribat subito et expectet mandatum.
Non, 1; alii de parte.
June 20.
989. CAPTA.
20 Junii.
p. 15, tergo.
Jacobus Mauro,
Cornario, Sap.
Quod respondeatur Ser Leonardo Dandulo, militi, ambaxatori
Micael Mauro- nostro ad dominum Johannem Aguto, et Ser Nicolao Mauroceno,
ceno, Andreas quod recepimus literas suas, datas Faentie 17 Junii, continentes
Zeno, Federicus ordinate gesta per eos, suam solicitudinem et portamentum merito
commendantes; ad quas respondemus, quod si poterunt concludere,
et obtinere nostram intentionem, cum Domino Johanne Aguto,
secundum formam sue commissionis, multum placebit nobis,
dummodo istud fiat subito et expedite, ita quod non perdamus
tempus in factis nostris; quando vero differentia esset in facto
termini, videlicet quod ille gentes non possent recedere ad ter-
minum contentum in sua commissione, sumus contenti ut propterea
606
APPENDIX.
1376.
non remaneat factum, quod habeant libertatem elongandi terminum
usque medium mensem Julii, abbreviando tamen ipsum si poterunt
suo posse. Facta vero experientia possibili, si viderent se duci per
verba, et quod non possent, ullo modo, obtinere nostram inten-
tionem secundum formam sue commissionis, tunc, quia non facit
pro nobis stare in verbis et perdere tempus, accepto commeatu a
domino Johanne Aguto et suis, recedant inde, et reducant se in
partibus illis in illo loco, ubi sibi videbitur, et cum dextro et
bono modo, non perdendo tempus, procurent recuperare ad nostrum
servitium majorem numerum lancearum quem proterunt, usque
lanceas v.c. et arcerios usque ccc., vel quam plures poterunt usque
dictum numerum de illis de compagna, impediendo se minus quam
poterunt cum Italicis, cum soldo ducatorum xx. pro lancea, sicut
damus aliis, et cum ducatis octo pro quolibet arcerio, sicut damus
Hungaris. Et ultra predictum pretium, vel ad modum compagne
vel provisionis, vel doni, vel alio utiliori modo, qui sibi videbitur, ita
quod alii non possent a nobis petere aliquid, habeant libertatem
dandi eis, ita quod veniant, a xxvii. in xxviii. ducatos pro lancea,
et arceriis, ita quod veniant, a duc. x. usque xii. pro quolibet, ut
melius poterunt. Et licet demus sibi libertatem magnam predictam,
pro non perdendo tempus, et ut non deficiat intentio nostra, tamen
non dubitamus quod suo posse avantazabunt nos, et facient cum
quam minori pretio poterunt. Et super omnia reducatur ad
memoriam ambaxatorum nostrorum, de celeri expeditione dictarum
gentium, ita quod recedant suo posse, usque dies octo mensis Julii
proximi, vel ad longius quando aliter fieri non posset usque
medium mensem Julii predictum; scribendo nobis de hora in
horam et de die in diem sine fallo quicquid fecerint et habuerint,
pro nostra informatione; et super omnia quod habeant bene menti,
de expeditione predictorum, quia omnis mora est valde nociva factis
nostris.
Cornario.
Sapientes.
June 23.
p. 16. Cons.
Ser Pantaleon
Barbo,
990. QUOD scribatur Ser Leonardo Dandulo et Ser Nicolao
Mauroceno, ambaxatoribus nostris, quod possendo firmare ad nostrum
servitium lanceas cc. et arcerios centum, sibi oblatos per illos
Ser Benedictus de compagna, firmet eos in bona gratia, et ultra hoc de presenti
Bragadin, procurent habere ad nostrum servitium alias ccc. lanceas, de bona
Storlado, Ser gente, ut melius poterunt; et in casu quo viderent non posse
Joannes Miani, habere illas cc. lanceas et centum arcerios, de illis de compagna,
Ser Joannes
•
Sap. accipiant, loco earum, de aliis bonis gentibus, ut sibi videbitur,
non transeundo numerum predictum; et de alia compagna vel
Ser Federicus gente accipienda non impediant se ullo modo vel ingenio. 43, 50,
Ser Michael
Mauroceno,
Cornario.
51, 52, 51, 43, 50, 51, 52, 51.
De non, 4. Non sinceri, 4, 12, 13, 14, 14, 13, 13, 14, 14, 13.
June 23.
991. CAPTA,
xxiii. Junii.
Quod scribatur Ser Leonardo Dandulo et Ser Nicolao Mauro-
ceno, Federicus ceno, ambaxatoribus nostris, quod recepto presenti mandato debeant
p. 16, tergo.
Micael Mauro-
de presenti et sine mora ire ad dominum Johannem Aguto, et
si usque ad tres dies tunc proximos, a die quo applicuerint ad
presentiam ejus, non poterunt obtinere et firmare compagnam ad
nostrum servitium, sicut eis commissum est, tunc pro non perdendo
APPENDIX.
607
1376.
Jacobus Mauro,
proc. Sap.
June 30.
p. 17, tergo.
July 8.
p. 18. Sap.
tempus debeant, quam citius et celerius esse poterit, firmare ad
nostrum servitium, et sine amissione temporis, usque lanceas
v.c. de melioribus et sufficientioribus gentibus quas poterunt habere
et reperire, et ducentos arcerios, per illum modum et sicut melius
et celerius facere poterunt, ad pretia eis scripta, et sicut sunt
ordinate informati per nos, habendo super omnia bene menti, de
veloci et subito recessu dictarum gentium, sicut plene speramus
de eis. 41, 46, 50, 56.
Quod scribatur ambaxatoribus nostris quod si non poterunt
firmare et obtinere compagnam ad nostrum servitium, ut eis
commissum est, tunc, pro non perdendo tempus, debeant firmare
ad nostrum servitium usque lanceas v. et arcerios ii.c de melio-
ribus quos habere poterunt, ad pretia eis scripta, et secundum
informationem quam habent a nobis. 50, 51, 44, 39.
De non, 18. Non sinceri, 6, 17, 18, 16.
992. CAPTA.
Quod scribatur ambaxatoribus nostris missis ad compagnam in
hac forma, videlicet: Recepimus literas vestras datas 27 mensis
Junii, continentes ordinate gesta per vos, et id quod habuistis
a domino Johanne Aguto, vestram solicitudinem commendantes.
Et quia super omnia est nobis cordi, expeditio agendorum nos-
trorum vobis commissorum, scribimus iterum et replicamus quod
in casu quo non potuissetis obtinere compagnam ad nostrum
servitium per modum vobis commissum, tunc sine mora sitis
soliciti et studiosi ad firmandum ad nostrum servitium expedire
usque lanceas v.c. et arcerios ii.c. de illis melioribus gentibus
quas poteritis obtinere, et tam de illis de compagna quam de extra
compagnam, ut vobis utilius et melius videbutur; declarando vobis
quod potestis accipere personam domini Johannis Aguto, cum dictis
gentibus, vel aliam famosam et notabilem personam de suis de suo
consilio, vel extra consilium suum, quando dominus Johannes Aguto
venire non posset; et potestis accipere de gentibus de compagna
et extra compagnam, ut dictum est, usque dictum numerum
lancearum v.c, et arceriorum ii.c, sicut vobis utilius et melius
apparebit, dum modo detis expeditionem celerem factis nostris.
Et detur intelligi ambaxatoribus nostris, quod teneant modum quod
dicte gentes recedant de partibus illis, ad longius, pro veniendo
ad nostrum servitium, usque medium mensis Julii proximi.
Non, 15; alii de parte.
993. CAPTA.
Quia est honor nostri dominii, quod nobilis vir Ser Leonardus
Dandulo, miles, ambaxator ad compagnam, redeat domum post quam
dedit principium factis nostris, et quod Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno
est plene informatus de factis. Vadit pars, quod scribatur dicto
Ser Leonardo, quod ad omne beneplacitum suum redeat Venecias,
et Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno remaneat, cum libertate, in totum,
sicut erant ambo. Et studeat et solicitet, de adimplendo celeriter
et expedite facta sibi commissa, et sine aliqua temporis amissione,
ita quod possit apud nos merito commendari, scribendo continue
de die in diem quicquid fecerit.
608
APPENDIX.
1376.
July 5.
p. 18, tergo.
Cons. Cap. Sap.
Sap.
Ser Jacobus
July 16.
p. 21, tergo.
994. CAPTA.
Quod respondeatur nobilibus viris Leonardo Dandulo, militi,
et Nicolao Mauroceno, nostris ambaxatoribus ad compagnam, quod
recepimus literas suas ultimas, datas Faventie, primo et secundo
Julii, continentes gesta per eos, suam solicitudinem commendantes.
Et quia nostri ambaxatores predicti scribunt quod nullo modo
credunt posse firmare, nec mittere gentes sibi commissas, ad
terminum eis commissum, scilicet ad medium mensis presentis,
et ipsi dicunt verum, omnibus consideratis; Vadit pars quod
fiat secundum consilium eorum, videlicet, quod relinquatur in
discretione eorum, dandi et statuendi eis illum breviorem et
minorem terminum, quem poterunt; quia non dubitamus quod
dabunt ipsum terminum quam minorem poterunt, pro bono agen-
dorum nostrorum.
995. CAPTA.
Mauro proc.
Quia est tempus plus modo quam umquam de essendo fulcitos,
Ser Phedericus ad sustinendum nostrum honorem, Vadit pars pro bono agen-
Cornaro.
dorum nostrorum, quod stemus fortes, ad id quod fuit captum, de
lanceis v.c. et arceriis ii.c. 52. De non, 0. Non sincere, 4.
Oct. 21.
p. 38.
Cum alias captum fuerit in isto Consilio, de accipiendo ad
nostrum servitium usque lanceas v.c. et arcerios ii.c, vadit pars pro
bono agendorum nostrorum, quod Dominus, Consiliarii, Capita, et
Sapientes habeant libertatem accipiendi, et accipi fiendi, usque
dictas quantitates, illam quantitatem vel numerum, qui eis vide-
bitur vel majori parti. 31.
996. CAPTA.
Cum nobilis vir Leonardus Dandulo, miles, dum fuit ad partes
Romandiole, simul cum Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, firmaverit ad
nostrum servitium lanceas iiii. xlv. et centum arcerios, ita quod
restarent ad numerum lancearum nostrarum lancee xv., quia
alie lancee xl, usque ad numerum de v.c sunt date in Venetiis;
Vadit pars, quia Ser Nicolaus Mauroceno stat extra cum magno
sinistro suo, quod scribatur sibi quod si firmavit illas xv. lanceas
que restant, redeat Venetias, et si firmasset aliquid plus usque ad
numerum de lanceis v., quia non habuisset illud mandatum
nostrum, det expeditionem facto et redeat Venetias.
997. CAPTA.
Quia Dominus Padue est noster (sic), colligatus noster, et conveniens
est ut participemus cum eo negotia ista, Vadit pars quod scribatur
sibi qualiter videmus quod dux Leopoldus attendit ad damnum
nostrum, et qualiter deliberavimus, cum Dei gratia, velle habere
ad nostrum servitium dominum Johannem Aguto, cum com-
pagna sua, et non habere respectum ad tempus hyemis, quia
firmando nunc eos, habebimus ipsos in tempore estatis, et qualiter
jam delegimus unum nostrum nobilem, occasione predicta, et non
dubitamus quod ipsum habebimus ad nostrum servitium, quia
bis vel ter, istis diebus preteritis, ipse dominus Johannes Aguto
nos fecit requiri et rogari de essendo ad servitium nostrum.
APPENDIX.
609
1376.
Oct. 21.
p. 38.
Cornario,
Sap.
Nov. 10.
p. 40, tergo.
Oct. 27.
p. 38, Cons.
Ser Petrus
999. CAPTA. 27 Octobris. Treugua cum ducibus Austrie.
Cum habeamus satis intentionem istius ambaxatoris Domini
Maurocenus, Regis Hungarie et Domini Padue, colligati nostri, Vadit pars quod
Ser Lucas Dominus, Consiliarii, Capita, et Sapientes habeant libertatem con-
Gradonico, cludendi, in ista treugua cum Ducibus Austrie, per illum meliorem
Tria Cap. de
xlta. modum qui eis, vel majori parti videbitur; non possendo con-
Ser Johannes cludere, cum minori tempore, eo quod dixit ambaxator domini
Ser Federicus Regis, sed cum majori, toto suo posse; tempus vero dictum per
ambaxatorem domini Regis est quod treugua duret, a modo, usque
Sanctum Georgium, de mense Aprilis proximi, et inde usque ad
unum annum; procurante Collegio nostro omnia avantagia que
poterit, pro bono nostro. 87.
Bembo,
De non, 24. Non sinceri, 8.
998. CAPTA
Et quia de gentibus Domini Padue, quas debet contribuere in
liga, et que pridie fuerunt ad campum, multi sunt infirmi et
impotentes, et mali in ordine cum equis suis, sicut ipse nobis
scripsit, placendo sue magnitudini, nobis utile videretur quod
ille gentes sue, quas debet contribuere, in liga, firmari deberent
in numero istius compagne, quia plus valerent lancee mille de
istis quam mille v. de aliis. Et quando istud sue magnificentie
non appareret, placet nobis, quod in hoc disponat ut sibi melius.
placet, quia illud quod dicimus est in omnem bonam partem et pro
solvendo debitum nostrum, quia noster colligatus est; dando intelligi
Domino Padue, quod in casu quo iste gentes essent necessarie sue
magnitudini, pro bono et conservatione status sui, secundum formam
lige, essent parate alacriter et libenter.
1531.
Jan. 19.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416,
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1000. CAPTA.
Quod scribatur Ser Nicolao Mauroceno, ambaxatori nostro ad
dominum Johannem Aguto, quod quia conclusimus in treugua
cum Ducibus Austrie, accepto comeatu, redeat Venetias, notifi-
cando domino Johanni Aguto de treugua facta per nos.
1001. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
5.
+38
Madame the Regent [Louise of Savoy], who was in a bad way
(che stava in mali termini), has rallied so much that the fever and
flux have subsided, and the entertainments and pageants (triumphi)
in course of preparation for the coronation and entry of the most
Serene Queen [Eleanor of Austria], will be put off, so long as
Madame's convalescence shall be delayed.
The relations between England and France are said to become
more and more intimate. daily, and the boundaries in dispute
between the two kingdoms are being fixed; and Dom. Giovanni
૨ ૨
610
APPENDIX.
1531.
Jan. 31.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416,
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Gioachino, who was ambassador in England, has come hither, to
return immediately. The cause of his coming will be heard.*
Paris, 19th January 1531.
Sebastian Justinian, Eques,
Jo. Ants. Venerio, et
Joannes Pisano, Procurator.
Despatched through the ambassador from Ferrara.
[Italian.]
1002. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Since their last of the 19th, applied for audience of the King,
who is so occupied in exercising himself for the approaching jousts,
at which he is to tilt (nelle quale la corre le sue lanze), and in
arranging other matters for the coronation and entry of the Queen,
that they have been unable to obtain it. Giustinian had already
announced that Giovanni Gioachino [Passano, Seigneur de Vaux] was
coming from England, it being said that he was on his way, to be
present at the fixing of the boundaries between the jurisdiction of
France and that of England. They now, however, understand that
the chief cause of his mission was because some time ago the
Cardinal de Grammont returned from Rome with news that the
Pope told him he had seen and heard the opinions of many
jurists (consultori) about the divorce case of England, affirming
that the dispensation for the marriage contract between the most
Serene Queen of England and the most Serene King was not
valid, so that his Holiness seemed inclined to consent to the
divorce or dissolution of that marriage; which intelligence King
Francis despatched to England by one of his gentlemen.
It subsequently came to pass that the Pope wrote certain briefs
to King Henry, in direct contradiction to the announcement made
to him by King Francis, prohibiting this dissolution and divorce ;
on which account King Henry complained of King Francis, and
sent the aforesaid Messer Giovanni Gioachino (who it is also said
wished to be sent for his own private interests) to announce in
company with Sir Francis Bryan, his ambassador resident in
France, the displeasure he felt from the news given him, as being
illusive (datali_come_illusoria), suspecting that the Pope, the
Emperor, and King Francis had an understanding together in
opposition to his will, using very offensive language (con parole
assai concitate); which King Francis regretting, he sent off to
Rome about this business, and also to England, apologizing and
declaring his innocence (et dechiarir la sua innocentia); and
* By a letter from Sir Francis Bryan, dated Paris, 20th January 1531, it appears that
Giovanni Gioachino was then known in England by the name of De Vaux, and by this
same letter we learn that he arrived in Paris on Saturday, the 14th January 1531. (State
Papers, vol. viii., part 5, continued, p. 275.)
APPENDIX.
611
1531.
Feb. 9.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Messer Giovanni Gioachino is still at the Court, and will soon depart
for England.
The ambassadors believe that his Majesty's excuse is legitimate,
and that King Henry will receive the defence of his innocence
(la defension della sua innocentia) as becoming.
Paris, 31st January 1531.
Despatched by way of Lyons.
[Italian.]
Sebastian Justinian, Eques.
Jo. Ants. Venerio, et
Joannes Pisano, Procurator.
1003. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
These Lords of the Council have been some days in close con-
sultation about the current reports concerning the affairs of the
divorce, to dispel the English King's suspicion that King Francis
had an understanding with the Pope to prevent it; and having
determined to favour King Henry's desire, they wrote very warm
letters to Rome, persuading the Pope to favour this divorce, giving
full account of this their resolve to his English Majesty, who is said
to be more closely allied than ever with King Francis, and to have
given him time to pay his debt at his convenience.
Some persons say that the Emperor has invested the Duke
Alexander de' Medici with the whole of Tuscany as a kingdom;
others that he has constituted him Duke and Prince of Pisa and
Vicar-General of Tuscany, but not King;* both which reports are
contradicted by the Papal Nuncio, whom they do not entirely
believe, as he would not admit what might seem to him unworthy
of the Pope.
A gentleman has arrived in Paris from the Duke of Albany [John
Stuart], having been sent express, and announces that the Pope is
inclined to marry his niece [Catherine de' Medici] to his most
Christian Majesty's third son, the Duke of Angoulême, promising
him Parma, Piacenza, Modena, Reggio, and other places; and were
the King to place trust in the Pope, whom he trusts but little,
this alliance would be concluded. The Nuncio denies it, ore rotundo,
saying that the Pope would never alienate anything from the
Church to gratify his private affection; but declares that the Duke
of Albany, who is burning for novelty and for such a result, made
this proposal to the Pope, and writes these conversations to the
King, though on the part of his Holiness no [such] arrangement
was, or ever will be, made.
It is asserted everywhere that the Emperor remains firm in his
determination, not in any way to modify the articles of [the Treaty
* In the Venetian Calendar, date 1530, September 5 (No. 610), it is shewn that the
Emperor's natural daughter, Margaret of Austria, was already affianced to Alexander de'
Medici.
Q Q 2
612
APPENDIX.
1531.
Feb. 14.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
of] Cambrai, which renders the French dissatisfied, and causes the
King to ally himself more closely with England.
Paris, 9th February 1531.
Despatched by way of Lyons.
[Italian.]
Sebastian Justinian, Eques.
Jo. Ants. Venerio, et
Joannes Pisano, Procurator.
1004. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
On the night of the 10th, the King returned to Paris from St.
Germain and from his usual hunting diversions. Next morning
they sent their secretaries to the Great Master, without whose
intervention no one any longer approaches his Majesty, to obtain
audience. He replied promptly that, for that day, it was impossible,
as the King had taken medicine, but that he would hear them on
the morrow, when the secretaries were to return, and that he would
appoint the hour. This they did, and he then appointed the next
day, as his Majesty had engaged himself to give audience to Mons.
de Praet,* who arrived in Paris from the Emperor on the 10th.
Next day early he sent to the house of one of the Ambassadors to
say that, towards the end of dinner, they were to be at the Court,
and that the King would willingly give them audience; and in
the meanwhile the secretaries having been sent to the Court, his
Excellency said to them, "The Lords Ambassadors will be together
at the appointed hour; gentlemen will be sent to accompany them.”
And four gentlemen having come accordingly, the three Ambassadors
went to the Court yesterday, the 13th, and were received most
graciously by the King, who, with a joyful countenance, doffing his
bonnet most courteously, and bidding them welcome again and
again, embraced them, so that it was impossible to kiss his hand.
His Majesty was standing in the Privy-Chamber (nella camera
privata), and although many Cardinals and great personages of the
Court were present, there was no display or ceremony; and on open-
ing their credentials and saying "they are in Latin," he read them
through silently, after which, as he showed that he was listening,
Pisani explained the embassy, congratulating him on his well-being,
on the so anxiously desired return of his sons,t and his own most
auspicious marriage. Having listened attentively, the King replied,
"I will speak French, but in such wise that you may all easily
understand me. Few words will suffice to let you know that the
Signory's friendship and mine are sincere, as we have been together
under fire. The Signory congratulates me on the return of my sons,
and on my prosperity, as if they were her own. This I believe, and
thank the State, as I am the Signory's good friend, and we have run
* Louis de Flandres, Seigneur de Praet, one of the wisest and most experienced ministers
in the Emperor's service. (See Foreign Calendar, 1555, October 8, p. 189.)
† The French Princes had been released from Spain in June 1530.
APPENDIX.
613
1531.
Feb. 17.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Venetian
Archives.
one and the same chance together, and they have known me to be
their good friend, as I am; and although I have sustained some
loss and expense for the Signory, as the Signory did for me, I am
their good friend." Thus repeating himself as aforesaid, he then
continued, "If when I had my sons in Spain, and was the Emperor's
enemy, it might be supposed I was the Signory's friend from neces-
sity; now that I have my sons in France, and that the Emperor is my
good friend, it will no longer be said that I am the Signory's friend
from necessity, but from love and good friendship, and as they have
already found me " (si come la mi ha provato). "When the Signory
shall make the test through commands about their own affairs, they
will know that I love them heartily; and whenever your interests.
have been discussed, the Ambassador who has resided with me
upwards of four years" (and here he turned towards me Sebastian
Giustinian) "perceived that I treated the Signory's affairs as those
of dear friends; and his successor" (turning towards me Venier),
"will know the like;" adding, "and although you had to wait some
days for audience, it was owing to these jousts and entertainments
of ours, and to my being indisposed from a cold;" it being evident
that he was still hoarse, and he coughed repeatedly.
After Giustinian had made suitable acknowledgment for the
King's speech, his Majesty drawing still nearer to the window with
us beside him, commenced hurriedly in Italian, making a sign of
secrecy, "This Mons. de Praet has come on a mission from the
Emperor and brings no news, but is here to do honour to these
entertainments of ours. He keeps his affairs so secret, that he does
not say a word; but the Emperor's agitation (l'agitation del'
imperator) proceeds from not knowing when and by what way to
return to Spain."
Paris, 14th February 1531.
[Italian.]
1005. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
According to the arrangement made, we went to the Court on the
Letter Book, day before yesterday, and found his Majesty at dinner, surrounded
by many great personages, for although this Court has always stately
company (è sempre solennemente accompagnata), it now, by reason
of the coming festivities, is rendered brilliant by the presence of
cardinals, dukes, princes, and barons without end, who courteously
made way for us, until we found ourselves near the table where his
Majesty was eating alone; and we stood in the circle with the
King's sons, who arrived on that day, four Cardinals, the Dukes of
Lorraine and Vendôme, and other princes, as also great personages
from Italy; and having immediately bowed to the King, his Majesty,
although in the act of eating, doffed his bonnet towards us.
The dinner being ended, he rose, and saying, "Come, Ambas-
sadors," withdrew to a window, where we made a statement of the
damages incurred by the magnificos our noblemen, narrating in
*"Et habiamo insieme corso comune fortuna."
614
APPENDIX.
1531.
detail each act of unheard-of cruelty, and how unfitting this and
other piratical outrages were, as perpetrated by his Majesty's subjects
against the citizens and subjects of your Serenity, whose love, esteem,
and observance for the King being reciprocated by his Majesty, it
was therefore fitting that his subjects should act with the same
friendship and benevolence; which, not having been the case with
these corsairs, it remains for the justice of his Majesty to avenge
this offence, lest it remain upon record that in the kingdom of France
famous ships (famosi legni) had been armed, and that they returned
home with plunder, taken solely from their friends-a victory
unworthy of their captains, and in direct opposition to the will of
his Majesty, whom we requested, for the avoidance of further loss
of time to refer all these cases to his Council, and have them
despatched summarily after this lapse of years.
The King replied in French, "Whatever the Signory asks of me,
I have at heart; and with regard to justice, I wish the same justice
to be rendered in France to the Signory's subjects as I wish to have
done to myself;" putting his hand to his breast; and he immediately
called the Cardinal Legate, Lord Chancellor [Antoine Duprat], who
was at hand, and told him to have the Lieutenant at Marseilles
written to in the strongest terms, to pass sentence without further
delay.
The ambassadors having thanked the King for this order, his
Majesty turned towards them with a smile on his face, indicating a
wish to amuse himself by conversing with them, as he did for a long
while in Italian, saying some jocose things; and, having part of
his right hand bandaged, he said, "I hurt myself yesterday when
practising with the spear; but the day after to-morrow I shall not
feel it." Took occasion hence to praise his Majesty's valour on this
occasion, he having borne himself so bravely that the accident can
only be attributed to his courage, as they said had been written by
them to the State, at which he seemed very pleased. And in the
course of a long and cheerful discourse about these jousts, his
Majesty said that in England it was customary, when the King
jousts, for Madame the Queen (Madama la Regina) to preside as
judge of how many strokes the King may make (de quanti colpi
debia far il Re), so when it seems fit to her she sends word that
the Kings are to joust no more (che li Re non giostri più).
From this his Majesty passed to many other topics, awaiting our
reply to various inquiries about women and jousts (circa donne et
giostre) with a most merry laugh (con dolcissimo riso); and then,
with a stern frown of surprise (un gran sopraciglio di meraviglia)
he said, "The King of England is in a bad way about this divorce
of his," and then mentioned what he had heard about the counsel's
opinions sent from Bologna, Padua, France, and other places, saying
that of 40 doctors of laws a majority maintains openly (largamente
tiene) that the Pope de jure divino could not grant the dispensation.
He next spoke about the danger of England, how that, were the
present King to die without an heir male, the populace and the
peasantry would all cut each other to pieces (quel populazzo et
villani si tagliariano tutti a pezzi), as they did some 50 years ago,
for wearing no armour they all fight to the death; nor do they obey
APPENDIX.
615
1531.
any one, as nobody either pays or leads them; nor do they then
acknowledge any superior, but act according to their own caprice
and insolence; and he continued, "It is very pitiable for a King to
say, What will become of my kingdom?" He alluded in the next
place to his own acquisition of the Duchy of Brittany when he had
two daughters who subsequently died, he at the time having no male
heirs; which Duchy, he said, yields 400,000 crowns revenue; and
one year it gave him 900,000; and he commended its site and
harbours, from which they might reach Spain and Flanders in a
moment; and said he chose to annex it to the realm of France,
although he was told to keep it for his daughters; and if he wished
well to the kingdom when without male heirs, and willed to deprive
his daughters [of Brittany], what must the King of England feel,
knowing that he can only make a mean marriage for his daughter
(non poter maridar sua figliola se non bassamente). He also added
The like occurred when I was the Emperor's prisoner, for they
demanded Burgundy of me. I would have suffered a thousand im-
prisonments rather than dismember the kingdom. At present,
thank God, I have sons to leave it to, and the King of England has
no son; it is a great sorrow, and concerns him greatly.
"*
He then went on to talk of his illness during the said imprisonment,
saying almost derisively (quasi irridendo), "The physicians told the
Emperor I was consumptive, and that it would be well to exchange
me for my sons. I was content that they should entertain that
opinion;" and he ended the story saying, "They ferried me across
the river, and to be in France sufficed me (i me tragetorno de
quà dal fiume e come fui in Franza mi bastò).”
This conversation about King Henry seemed to me, Sebastian, to
afford an opportunity for confuting what had been maliciously
reported in England about your Excellency's having canvassed
(procurato) against the divorce, and ordered me thus to do with King
Francis, and that I executed the commission accordingly. As it
would be disadvantageous for your Sublimity should such a false-
hood reach the ears of the English King, I determined that his
most Christian Majesty should attest the truth with his own lips,
telling him that he well knew that never about this matter against
the divorce had I spoken to him, nor ever showed him the com-
mission received from your Serenity, which never existed.
Thereupon his Majesty said that never had he heard me speak
against the divorce, nor was he aware of your Excellency's ever
having given me any commission about this matter; and this
his Majesty affirmed, and would affirm to the English ambassador
resident here, and to all those whom I might request him to assure
of the fact; so that should the English King hereafter make mention
of this your Excellency's opinion (di tal opinione di V. Exa), his
most Christian Majesty will always give the aforesaid certificate,
which, together with the letters written at my desire by the
magnifico the English ambassador, to those who slandered respecting
* "È grande dolor et interesse." In Venetian" interesse," besides other meanings,
signifies a matter in which one is interested. (See Boerio's Dictionary.)
616
APPENDIX.
1531.
March 15.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1
this matter, will suffice to justify your Excellency and me from such
a reproach.
Paris, 17th February 1531.
Sebastian Justinian, Eques.
Jo. Ants. Venerio, et
Joannes Pisano, Procurator.
Despatched by the courier Pellegrin.
[Italian.]
1006. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Late on the night of the 4th, a gentleman, on behalf of his most
Christian Majesty, requested them to be at St. Denis on the
following morning for the coronation of the Queen, and to accom-
pany her subsequently on her entry into Paris on the 9th; which
invitation they accepted with becoming respect. The most Serene
Queen arrived at about noon, being clad richly and pompously with
regard to her habit, pearls, and jewels, which sparkled all over her
(della qual tutta resplendeva). She was accompanied by the Dauphin
and the Duke of Orleans, who, on the right and left, assisted her to
support the mantle; and the Cardinals de Grammont and Triulzi, who
went from the Church to meet her at her palace, held up her arms;
the three Duchesses of Vendôme, Lorraine, and Nemours, bearing her
train, which was very long indeed.
Her Majesty was followed by the most Serene "Madame," the
King's mother, by her daughter the Queen of Navarre, by the sister
of the King of Navarre, and by the two daughters of his most
Christian Majesty, with other ladies, eleven in all, all wearing
coronets (tutte coronate), as they were all of the blood-royal; and
having been conducted to a richly decorated stage (palco) prepared
in front of the altar, she sat in the middle (nel mezo sedete) on a
small platform (un picol solio) on which was her chair (sedia) and
throne; so that she was seen sitting absolutely alone in her majesty,
though the Dauphin and the Duke of Orleans stood immediately
behind her the whole time with their hands on the chair.
The ceremony of the coronation was performed by giving her
Majesty the honours and insignia (li honori et insigne) usually
given to Queens, after which the mass was sung, the Cardinal de
Vendôme officiating with much solemnity, and the instruments and
music being endless. Four Cardinals were present, besides a great
plenty of the chief Bishops of the kingdom, and seven ambassadors
resident at the Court, as also many Princes and Barons, so that the
greatest part of the chief personages of France attended this
ceremony, at which the Lord Steward acted as master of the
ceremonies. His most Christian Majesty however was absent, nor
is he known to have been at St. Denis on that day.
As the entry into Paris was to have taken place on the 9th, they
in the meanwhile endeavoured to obtain audience of the most
3
APPENDIX.
617
1531.
Serene "Madame," to whom alone it remained for them to present
themselves, and she appointed it to take place immediately after
the entry; but from the 9th until now the weather has been so
stormy, and most unseasonable from wind, rain, and snow, which
still prevail, that it has not yet taken place, much to the regret
and detriment of Giustinian and Pisani, who are thus tied and
bound. Everything is ready, and the entry expected to take place
from day to day, whereupon they will take leave.
The Signory will have heard, through their ambassador in
England, of the novelty proposed by the King to the clergy (la
novità promossa da quel Serenissimo Re al clero), and the sum
stipulated, which was said to be about 600,000 ducats.* Subse-
quently, to the amazement and surprise of everybody, news reached
this Court that the English King, with the consent of the Prelates,
Lords, and Commons, has utterly renounced obedience to the Pope,
and been elected by them, unanimously, Primate and Superior of
that realm in spiritual matters (nelle cose ecclesiastice). It is
known for certain that his most Christian Majesty complained
greatly to the Papal Nuncio, of his Holiness having proceeded so
harshly (con tal rigidezza) in the affair of the divorce as to make
that kingdom rush headlong into this excess (che quel regno sia
trabucato in questo disordine); the Nuncio having also received
letters from the Pope, desiring him to let King Francis know that
his Holiness confirmed the briefs and prohibitions forbidding the
divorce, which has greatly irritated his most Christian Majesty,
who has been heard to speak angrily against the Pope, and in
favour of the most Serene English King.
Paris, 15th March 1531.
[Italian.]
1007. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
March 24.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Letter Book,
According to the wish of this whole Court and city, which were
weary of the cost, toil, and tediousness of waiting, there being at
length a fine day on the 16th, the most Serene Queen made her
Archives. public entry into this city with such display of riches and pomp
Venetian
on the part of the great personages and the upper orders, and such
a multitude of horses, and so infinite a crowd of people, that we
may say few such splendid and boundless pageants are witnessed
in one whole century. The Queen's immediate retinue, namely 24
hackneys with housings of gold brocade, and numerous litters and
carriages covered in like manner, and drawn by coursers with
housings of silk or velvet with a raised pile (sopra rizzo) down to
the ground, was little in comparison with so much other grand
and sumptuous pageantry as accompanied it, and which, to avoid
wearying your Serenity, we omit, but must say, with truth, that
*By the threat of the præmunire, the king obtained from Convocation 118,000l. in
January 1531. (See Froude, vol. i. p. 278, ed. 1856.)
618
APPENDIX.
1531.
April 3.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
+
the day was a very memorable one (la giornata esser stata
celeberrima). After entering the city, the Queen, having dis-
mounted at the Parliament house (palazzo del Parlamento), a most
stately banquet was given there, at which, besides sixteen who sat
at table with her Majesty, there supped at least 400 great personages
and noblemen of the kingdom and of the city. Amongst the 16
who supped at table with the Queen, was one ambassador from
each power, the invitations being given accordingly, so that of the
two ambassadors from the Emperor, one alone went, and of us
three, I, Pisani, had the place ceded me by my colleagues Venier
and Giustinian.
On the 22nd the Magnifico Dom. Giovanni Gioachino [de Vaux],
departed on his return to England on behalf of King Francis with
some presents, and to announce his good and most favourable inten-
tion (inclinatissima intentione) with regard to his English Majesty;
and, according to report, he suggests that he should refer the cause
of his divorce to the future Council, to which it is generally supposed
that his most Christian Majesty now consents, being, as aforesaid,
indignant with the Pope for his treatment of King Henry.
Paris, 24th March 1531.
[Italian.]
1008. SEBASTIAN GIUSTINIAN, Knight, GIOVANNI ANTONIO
VENIER, and GIOVANNI PISANI, Procurator, Venetian Am-
bassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
His most Christian Majesty is about to send the Cardinal de
Grammont (de Agramonte), or Mons. de Langes, to the Pope, on
account of the affairs of the most Serene King of England, to urge
the Pope, in his most Christian Majesty's name, to devise some
remedy for this harsh mode of treating the divorce, and not let
King Henry completely turn his back upon the Holy Roman Catholic
Church. His most Christian Majesty also sends this embassy in
order to let it appear that he is inclined towards the Council, at the
suit of the Emperor, but with limited orders about the site and the
conferences, which require much time; and in this manner King
Francis suits himself by introducing delay, as he is averse to the
Council, and simultaneously makes a show of satisfying the King
of England, who wishes the Pope every possible adversity, and the
Emperor, who insists on the Council. The inclination thus demon-
strated by the most Christian King was one of the requests made
by Mons. de Praet, who will depart after Easter, without any
settlement having been made hitherto, the Emperor's intention, as
expressly declared by him, being that the affairs of Italy are to
remain perfectly quiet; and touching the matrimonial alliances, he
said that the Emperor and the King of the Romans on their part
would not fail [to keep their promise ?], but that as the children
are now so young, the matter is premature.
Paris, 3rd April 1531.
[Italian.]
APPENDIX.
619
1009. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
1531.
April 15.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
On the 4th announced the departure of his colleagues.
The Cardinal de Grammont (de Agramonte), according to report, is
about to depart in haste for Rome, still about the affairs of England
(pur per le cose de Ingilterra), and Mons. de Praet stays on (persevera
Archives. ancora) at the Court, posts being despatched hence to the Emperor.
The most Serene "Madame" continues ill rather than indisposed
(persevera più presto amalata che indisposta), so that everybody is
tired of remaining longer in this city.
Paris, 15th April 1531.
[Italian.]
Venetian
Archives.
April 29.
1010. The SAME to the SAME.
Despatches,
France,
•
On the 26th, Cardinal de Grammont (de Agramonte) departed
Miscellany, for Rome, and it continues to be said that he is going for the affairs
No. 416. of England, whose King, moreover, urges this, most especially as he
Letter Book, places no trust in the offices of the Duke of Albany, whose stay
until now with the Pope on behalf of his most Christian Majesty
for the negotiation of the affairs of England has surprised many
persons, by reason of that most Serene King's suspicion of him.
Mons. de Praet has not yet been despatched, nor is anything
more known about him than was written in my last.
Poissi, 29th April 1531.
[Italian.]
May 8.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1011. The SAME to the SAME.
Went to the Court at St. Germain on the 4th, and talking with
the Great Master whilst the King was at dinner, he said that his
Majesty had advices from Constantinople by way of Venice
through his ambassador, and that Messer Zorzi Gritti * had de-
tained a packet of his eight or ten days; and that although he
supposed this had been done without any malice, yet was I to
write to your Sublimity that when similar letters arrive from
the quarters of King John (de verso il Re Zuane),† they may be
speedily given to the said ambassador. I said that as his most
Illustrious Lordship affirmed to its being so, I would not say
anything to the contrary; but assured him that were this the case
it could only be owing to mere negligence or forgetfulness on the
part of the person who brought the letters, but that I would write
as required by him. I then went to his Majesty, and communicated
to him the contents of the Signory's letters of the 7th April, about
affairs at Constantinople, earnestly requesting that no one might
know he had received the advices through your Serenity.
The King replied, "I have advices from Constantinople from
that envoy of King John, in whose name he once came to me, and
I treated him in such a manner that he is obliged to me, and writes
me the same news as are transmitted by the Signory, with this in
* Natural son of the reigning Doge, Andrea Gritti. His death is alluded to in State
Papers, vol. i. p. 615.
↑ John Zapolsky, titular king of Hungary.
620
APPENDIX.
1531.
tr
addition, that the Turk is still increasing his forces, and to his
usual troops has added 50,000 infantry with permanent pay,
which must proceed from Sultan Solyman's having become aware
that infantry are needed to oppose the Christian soldiery ;" and
the King repeated, "Be sure of what I tell you, that he pays
50,000 men more than usual; and he moreover informs me that
possibly this year the Turk will make some naval expedition, and
not with a powerful armada (grossa armada), but with 50 or 60
galleys, on board of which he will embark a certain amount of
cavalry, and he will ravage Puglia, going perhaps as far as Rome,
for according to this intelligencer of mine (costui), Sultan Solyman
always says 'to Rome! to Rome !' and he detests the Emperor, and
his title of Cæsar, he, the Turk, causing himself to be called Casar
(facendosi lui Turco appellar Cesare)." The King continued,
"I do not believe that he will go into Germany, because the
Emperor not going with an armed force against the Lutherans, the
said Lutherans will have no cause to favour the Turks, but would
rather defend Germany; so were Sultan Solyman to march against
such a mass of soldiery (tanta gente da guerra), he would forth-
with risk the loss of his entire kingdom, as well as the conquest of
Germany; so I am of opinion that he will prefer attacking Rome,
Sicily, or some other part of Italy;" the King repeating that
he [the Turk] might make some commencement this year. [And of
this his Majesty really seemed quite convinced, perhaps because the
Papal Nuncio here informed him lately, that his Holiness was
rather apprehensive about the present year, inquiring whether
in case of need King Francis would succour him with a certain
number of galleys, the Emperor having given orders for all those
towards Genoa to be in readiness for his defence. King Francis
replied, that should the case occur, they would consult about it; nor
did he give any further decision. But a variety of letters addressed
both to the Court and to private individuals from all quarters,
purport that for this year the Turk will make no stir, either by
Ïand or sea.]*
On the morning of the 5th, the Court at St. Cloud heard that
the above-mentioned Zorzi Gritti had arrived in Paris the pre-
ceding evening. This did not surprise the King, the Legate,
and the Great Master, as they knew he had come about the
10,000 crowns lent heretofore in Hungary by the Reverend
D. Alvise Gritti † to one Captain Rincon,t then ambassador from
King Francis to King John [Zapolsky], to whom Rincon gave
that sum in his most Christian Majesty's name, it having to be
repaid to the said Messer Zorzi; and years have elapsed without his
* Cipher between the brackets.
† Luigi Gritti, Bishop of Agria [Agram], natural son of the Doge, Andrea Gritti. (See
Andrea Morosini, vol. i. p. 334.) The death of Luigi Gritti is alluded to in State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 461.)
Antonio Rincon, a Spaniard in the service of Francis I. (See State Papers, vol. xi.
Index, and Andrea Morosini, vol. ii. pp. 94, 95, 127.) This is the earliest mention I have
met with of Antonio Rincon, whose assassination by the Spaniards in 1541 was announced
by Francis I. to Henry VIII. and other European powers. (See Père Daniel, vol. ix.
pp. 519-521, ed. Paris, 1755.)
!
APPENDIX.
621
1531.
May 16.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
being able to obtain it, although he has constantly had an agent
here for the purpose, and the money still circulates with interest
(et li danari girano tuttavia sopra cambij).
To me, this was already well known, but his coming and residing
here has caused surprise to the French, Italians, and others at this
Court, and given rise to various inventions, because few persons knew
about this his credit of 10,000 crowns; and coupling his appearance
here, with his recent departure from Constantinople, and journey
hither rectâ viâ, [some persons say that it is much to the repute.
of his most Christian Majesty to have so great a personage (un
tal homo) sent him by Sultan Solyman]. In reply to inquiries
made of me about this matter, I have stated expressly the
cause of his coming, which, having for object to recover a loan
of 10,000 crowns, would suffice to bring a gentleman not merely
from Venice but from India, so I believe that by this time the
fact is universally known; and I have also announced it to
the ambassadors with the Emperor and the King of England,
namely, Tiepolo and Falier, who will be on the watch to explain
the cause of this coming whenever the opportunity presents
itself.
I also sent my secretary to Signor Zorzi to tell him of the
complaint made by the Great Master, and that he should openly
proclaim the cause of his coming. He mentioned how the packet
had been detained, and that the ambassador at Venice, being
perfectly satisfied with the explanation, gave him letters about
this for the Great Master; and he also said that his coming
and the fact of its being caused by the 10,000 crowns, were
universally known, as also, that he was here for no other purpose,
which it will be easy to make public.
Poissi, 8th May 1531.
[Italian.]
1012. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the COUNCIL OF TEN.
On the 12th instant, after having written his public letters of the
23rd ult., D. Zorzi Gritti having already despatched his business
about the 10,000 crowns credit, after speaking with the Great
Master and the King, payment was assigned him within one year
at the utmost in instalments; nor until then nor now has he seen
said Dom. Zorzi, nor would he have interfered in a similar matter
without express commission from the Signory. Obeyed the
commands contained in their Excellencies' letters, nor will he omit
to tell them that this matter was known not only to the great
personages of the Court, but also to some Italian merchants, and
others who are there on other business; and besides hearing of
it at Venice on a certain occasion in the College, it was told him
at Lyons where the bill is in circulation, and here in Paris, that
* Both Zorzi and Luigi Gritti were in great favour with Solyman II., and although
illegitimate, their descent from the reigning Doge of Venice gave them a certain import-
ance, especially at the Porte; they having been born in Turkey when their father was a
merchant there. In cipher between the brackets.
622
APPENDIX.
1531.
May 19.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
the agent of the bill-brokers Michaeli et parenti negotiated it (la
manigiava). Captain Rincon, moreover, urged the court inces-
santly to keep faith (di francar la fede) and pay the money; but
the difficulty consisted in this, that the Papal Nuncio and the
Imperial and English ambassadors [De Praet and Sir Francis Bryan]
considered it certain that Gritti had come for some other purpose,
but were at length convinced it was on account of his credit, as is
now perfectly well known to everybody.
As written in the public letters [of the 21st April ?], the journey
to Rome of Cardinal de Grammont was owing to the affairs of
England; and moreover for the purpose of proposing fresh subsidies
to the Pope (di ragionar novi presidij al Pontefice) for the affairs
of Italy, although this Court does not expect his Holiness to have
any need for them (benchè questa Corte non aspetti de quella alcuna
occasione). Will also not omit telling them that this Cardinal de
Grammont is a man of audacious character, with the reputation of
being scandalous, and, as known to the ambassadors who went
home from this Court, especially Giustinian, whenever the Signory's
affairs are discussed, he is always heard to thwart them, and to
let drop some malignant remark; with regard to which the Papal
Nuncio said lately to him (Venier), "Grammont is gone to Rome,
nor will he fail to sow discord as usual; but know, Ambassador,
that his Holiness has always shown himself a good Italian."
Poissi, 16th May 1531.
Detained until the 17th.
P.S. D. Georgio Gritti has been to visit me, and said his business
had been despatched, as above written.
[Italian.]
1013. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Although the other ambassador, Sir Francis Bryan, is here, and
remains, a new one [Edward Foxe or Stephen Gardyner]* has come,
for the purpose, it is said, of attempting the things which have
been already tried and negotiated† [namely, to induce King Francis
to declare himself hostile to the Emperor, which, however, he will
not do; for as we told your Sublimity heretofore in the despatch
written when we were three ambassadors,‡ the most Christian King
will slide on (scorrerà), cajoling either party, knowing that both
sovereigns are by nature inimical to him, and being certain that,
were he to make war for the English King, it would not be for a Prince.
who either loves him or wishes him to gain glory ;]§ but these requests
will end with a demand for money on account of the debt due to
him from King Francis, whom he continues to dun (il qual li tien
cos
* In State Papers, vol. viii. pp. 321-323, there is a letter from Sir Francis Bryan and
Edwarde Foxe [king's almoner, archdeacon of Leicester], dated " Senlys, the last day of
September 1531;" but Foxe's first arrival in France on this mission is not mentioned in
that publication. The departure of Gardyner from France is recorded by Venier, date
22 July 1531. In the State Papers I do not find any mention of Gardyner in France in
the year 1531, but he may have been there from July till October in that year.
"Di tentar le cose già tentate et praticate."
The despatch has not been found.
Cipher within the brackets.
APPENDIX.
623
1531.
June 20.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
July 2.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
sollicitata), although a month has not yet elapsed since some 33,000
crowns were paid him on this score at Calais, and possibly within a
few days he will receive another instalment.
Poissi, 19th May 1531.
[Italian.]
1014. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambasaador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
By the letters of Cardinal de Grammont (Agramonte) from Rome,
it is merely heard that, having urged the Pope to repeal the prohi-
bition against the divorce of England, his Holiness remains firm
(persevera), choosing the case to be juridically decided by the "Rota;"
and Grammont, having canvassed the promotion to the Cardinalate of
the Archbishop of Toulouse, a very virtuous and exemplary prelate,
and of the blood royal, it seems that the Pope announced good
intentions; and the election is expected to take place, most
especially as his Holiness lately made two cardinals at the suit of
the Emperor; and it is said that the Right Reverend Grammont will
soon return to the [French] Court.
Poissi, 20th June 1531.
[Italian.]
1015. The SAME to the SAME.
Cardinal Grammont (Agramonte) has obtained from the Pope that
his most Christian Majesty ad vitam may confer all the benefices
of the kingdom, save four or five which are the chief benefices of the
religious orders (che sono capi de' ordini), a very great and important
concession, because it comprises not only the bishoprics, but priories
and abbacies without end, so that in like manner as canons or other
clerks (clerici) elected priors, provosts, and other abbots, so is his
Majesty to elect them all; a fact which causes much comment to be
made both by clergy and laity, most especially as it is apprehended
that many abbacies which have been reformed, and are in good
custody, may pass in commendam, and from many causes de-
teriorate.
It is said here that Grammont has obtained a certain prorogation
in favour of the English King, but persons of intelligence know that
nihil est, this being the time of the ordinary vacation.
Paris, 2nd July 1531.
[Italian.]
1016. The SAME to the SAME.
July 16.
Despatches,
France,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
The most noble Capello, the Signory's ambassador, on his way to
Miscellany, England, being near Melun, sent to Venier on the 13th instant to
know if in two days he could pay his respects to King Francis, and
take leave of him. Venier wrote back that, unless by some new
destiny (nisi per qualche nova sorte) the man who expected to
obtain audience in ten days-still less in two-would show too much
self-confidence, as his most Christian Majesty becomes daily more
and more averse to negotiate in person.
Melun, 16th July 1531.
[Italian.]
624
APPENDIX.
1531.
July 22.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Oct. 10.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1017. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Dr. Stephen [Gardyner], who was here on a mission from his
King,* departed lately on his way back to England. It has been
said that he announced the dissatisfaction of King Henry at the
offices performed at Rome by Cardinal de Grammont about the
divorce case. These secretaries and messengers from England arrive
very frequently, although Sir Francis Bryan, the ambassador in
ordinary, remains here constantly.
Melun, 22nd July 1531.
[Italian.]
Sept. 5.
1018. The SAME to the SAME.
Despatches,
France,
The Doge's courier, Gioan Villan, has arrived in Paris with letters
Miscellany, addressed to the State from the Signory's ambassadors in England,†
which will be under the present letters which Venier is sending by
said Zuane, who is paid.
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Paris, 5th September.
[Italian.]
1019. The SAME to the SAME.
Went to the English Ambassador [Sir Francis Bryan ?], having
heard that he had presented himself to the Royal Council, complain-
ing very loudly that King Francis had wished for an interview with
the Emperor utterly without the knowledge of the King of England.
When speaking about this matter, the ambassador told him that the
Council, in reply, declared King Francis would never hold such a
conference save with the express consent of King Henry (se prima
non havesse havuto il voler expresso del Re suo prefato d' Inghilterra).
Venier rejoined, " And thus, Lord Ambassador, nothing more will be
said about this business;" [to which he answered very angrily (con
molta ira), “No, devil take it, no (non, diavolo, non), but had
'Madame' died before the remonstrance made by me to the
Council, and had the negotiation been continued, King Francis
would perhaps have conferred with the Emperor, for the French are
injudicious."]§ But as of late the Queen and King's children have
remained at Compiegne towards Picardy, Mons. de Balanson (sic)
having also returned postwise to the King from the Emperor, a
report again circulated that it was for the purpose of renewing
negotiations for the interview; and everybody was inquisitive
to learn the cause of his coming. At length, nothing transpired
save that his mission was one of condolence with the King and
* As already mentioned there is no notice of this mission in the State Papers.
† Lodovico Falier and Carlo Capello. (See Venetian Calendar, 13 September 1531,
No. 683, pp. 289, 290.)
Louise of Savoy died at Senlys, 23rd September 1531. See State Papers, vol. viii.
p. 323, Letter from Bryan and Foxe to Benet. In L'Art de Verifier les Dates, p. 573,
ed. Paris, 1770, her death is said to have taken place at Grez in Gattinois, on the 22nd
September 1531.
The words bracketed in the draft were to be ciphered in the letter. "Ma se avanti che
io parlasse a questo consiglio, et che venisse il caso di Madama, quella trattation andava
de longo, forse che questo Re vedeva l' Imperator, perchè Francesi non hanno iudicio.”
APPENDIX.
625
1531.
Oct. 20.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
the Queens of France and Navarre [on the death of Louise of
Savoy], and such was the assurance given by the ministers here
(questi signori) in very strong language (efficacissime parole) to the
aforesaid English ambassador. The Imperial ambassador and Mons.
de Balanson (sic) said the same to me when I visited them;
nor did Balanson follow the Court more than ten days, and then
returned to Flanders.
Another ambassador (orator) arrived lately from England,* but
is to go back shortly; and these ambassadors extraordinary (oratori
extraordinarij) come, almost habitually, to solicit money.
Paris, 10th October 1531.
[Italian.]
1020. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
In his last of the 10th instant, said that the King was moving
from place to place in the neighbourhood of Paris, where the
ambassadors were awaiting the obsequies [of Louise of Savoy].
In the meanwhile his Majesty sent postwise to England, the
Reverend Bishop of Bayonne, his privy councillor and a man
of great wisdom, gravity, and authority. It is considered
certain that this mission has for object to apologise (far excusa-
tione) to the King of England, about all that has been said
touching the interview with the Emperor, most especially as the
English ambassadors have clamoured immoderately (rottamente
sparlato) about this matter, in the presence of everybody, and
complained bitterly (aspramente) to the Cardinal Legate [Chan-
cellor Duprat], to the Great Master, and to the King himself.
No other motive is assigned for this mission of Bayonne, whose
departure was followed by that of the English ambassador (amba-
sciator), who arrived at this Court lately [Edward Foxe?]; but
should there be any other cause, the Signory will hear it from
their ambassador in England.
Paris, 20th October 1531.
[Italian.]
Nov. 3.
1021. The SAME to the SAME.
Despatches,
France,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
The Bishop of Bayonne who was sent by his most Christian
Miscellany, Majesty to England, has not yet returned, but King Her y sent
hither, the other day, a clergyman, Dr. Taylor (el Dottor Teller),†
to reside here as his ambassador, in lieu of Sir Francis Bryan,
who, in like manner as he is a great personage, so has he been very
audacious (molto audace) at this Court of late.
Compiegne, 3rd November 1531.
[Italian.]
* Query Edward Foxe, from whom, as already mentioned, there is a letter in State
Papers (vol. viii. pp. 321-323), dated "Senlys, the last day of September 1531."
Tayler, John, LL.D., Archdeacon of Bucks, Master of the Rolls, June 1527-34,
died 1534. (See State Papers, vol. xi. Index, p. 642.) There is no mention in the
State Papers of his embassy to France in 1531.
5.
R R
626
APPENDIX.
1531.
Nov. 8.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1022. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The Bishop of Bayonne has returned from England, and is under-
stood to have brought back word that the King is in fact satisfied
with his most Christian Majesty, by reason of the valid excuses
and very earnest offices (vehementissimi offici) performed in his
name by the Bishop, with regard to the affairs of the Emperor.
[He also says that the English King continues making presents as
usual to his most Christian Majesty,* offering him a considerable
sum of ready money, that they may make war together on the
Emperor, provided King Francis bind himself to fight to the last.†
Secret messengers have arrived at the French Court from the
Duke of Saxony and other Princes of Germany, who offer troops
to King Francis, if he will pay them in part, and employ them
together with their Princes against the Emperor; but these matters
proceed without any resolve, as they neither decide in the affir-
mative, nor give an absolute refusal.] ‡
Compiegne, 8th November 1531.
[Italian.]
Nov. 29.
1023. The SAME to the SAME.
Despatches,
France,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
The King has been moving about from "Notre Dame de Liesse ”
Miscellany, (sic) [Senlys?] to his usual hunting places (alle sue consuete cazze)
on these borders, inspecting certain places which were destroyed
by the wars, and arranging for their repair; after which he went
to Guise, a place given by him heretofore to Mons. de Guise,
brother of the Duke and of the Cardinal of Lorraine; and in
this his " progress" (sua volta) he took with him the English
ainbassador, Sir Francis Bryan, who, although he has had a
successor appointed him, as already mentioned by me, has not
yet departed. It is said King Francis did this designedly (con
industria), that he might see and know for certain that his most
Christian Majesty was not treating or negotiating anything with
the Emperor. Thus there is an end of the suspicion of these
English ambassadors, who are now three in number at this Court.§
St. Quentin, 29th November 1531.
[Italian.]
1024. The SAME' to the SAME.
Dec. 28.
Despatches,
France,
On condoling in the Signory's name with the Queen of Navarre ||
Miscellany, on the death of "Madame," she said, "Ambassador, the Signory has
No. 416. in truth incurred a great loss, for Madame greatly loved and
Original
Letter Book,
honoured the Republic, and to the last (et hora) desired its welfare
Venetian and peace." Replied that the Doge thanked God that "Madame " had
Archives.
* "Che prefato Re Anglico perseveri nelli consueti motivi di far presenti a questo
Christianissimo Re."
+ "Per condursi insieme con lui alla guerra contro Cesare, dumodo che prefato
Christianissimo si obligi a voler veder il fine."
The bracketed paragraph in the draft was ciphered in the despatch.
§ I am unable to ascertain who the third ambassador was; there is no mention of him
in the State Papers.
|| Margaret, sister of Francis I.
APPENDIX.
627
1531.
left her own image in her daughter, both with regard to every virtue,
wisdom and integrity, and also by reason of the affection which
the Queen of Navarre bore his Excellency, whose late love, and
the observance of the State towards Madame, will now be trans-
ferred to her Majesty alone. Considered this compliment necessary,
as the Queen of Navarre is now in great repute at the French
Court; and they apparently communicate everything to her, as
they did to her late most Serene mother, after whose death, indeed,
when she purposed retiring with her consort to Navarre, King
Francis insisted on her remaining and following the Court; so that
great honour and respect are paid her.
On the 22nd, when at mass with the King, was asked by him if
he had any news from Constantinople. Replied that by his private
letters from Venice dated 2nd instant, with Turkish advices down
to the close of October, Sultan Solyman was well, and amusing
himself with pageants and entertainments, nor was anything said
about naval or military preparations. Was glad to say this,
because the King and the Court have received very frivolous and
offensive advices from Italy, by way of Ragusa, purporting that
Sultan Solyman had become apoplectic and insane; and about the
Magnifico Ibraim Bassa,* who was said to have been greatly outraged
by Sultan Solyman's sons. On hearing this, the King turned to the
Great Master and said, "Nothing true comes from Constantinople,
save by way of Venice;" and then to me, he added, "Write to the
Signory that the Emperor will go in vain to the Diet; and imme-
diately afterwards (et poi presto) to Italy and Spain."
The Abate de' Negri, who was sent hither postwise by the Pope,
arrived on the 20th instant, and presented himself with the Nuncio
Triulzi (who had not yet departed) to the King, delivering cre-
dentials, which purported amongst other things that his Holiness
wished his Majesty to induce Triulzi to remain with him as
Nuncio; and at the same time he, Negri, gave the brief to Triulzi
ordering him to remain, and that D. Sixto Zuchello, the new
Nuncio lately arrived, was to go back. The King urged Triulzi
accordingly, and being thus persuaded, and in virtue of the Pope's
mandate, he obeyed. This extraordinary proceeding has caused
great surprise, and Zuchello will return, having hitherto done
nothing either good or bad at this Court, having merely presented
his ambassadorial letters. Besides his other commissions Negri
suggested to King Francis that he should restrain (intertenir) the
King of England, who it seems, with this Queen (con questa Regina)
[Eleanor of Austria ?] is soliciting the despatch at Rome of the
divorce case; so his Holiness gives it to be understood that sentence
will be passed against the English King.†
[This novelty on the part of the Pope, who despatches a messen-
ger postwise to make one ambassador remain and to recall another,
without any known reason, creates suspicion and causes it to be said
* Ibrahim Pasha was a Venetian subject, having been originally a boatman at Parga,
where he was seized by corsairs and sold as a slave. It was to him that the Doge's ille-
gitimate son Luigi Gritti owed the influence enjoyed by him at the Porte. (See Alberi
Relazioni Venete, series 3, vol. iii. pp. 95, 96, 97, 103, 104.)
"Perhò che Sua Santità fa intender il iudicio dover venir contra esso Sereno Re
RR 2
1
628
APPENDIX.
1531.
1532.
Jan. 15.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
Venetian
Archives.
Jan. 26.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
that possibly the Pope is dissatisfied with the affairs of Modena*
since the Emperor's departure from Italy, and wishing to concede
some gratification to the King of England (intervenendo qualche
compiacentia del Re d' Ingilterra), will devise something new for
Italy with King Francis; which others deny, saying, on the con-
trary, that before the Emperor quitted Italy, he confirmed the
friendship with its Princes by a league between the Pope, him the
Emperor, your Serenity, and the Duke of Milan, for the defence
of common states against whomsoever (contra ciascaduno).]†
Abbeville, 28th December 1531.
[Italian.]
The Reverend Bishop of Winchester alias Dr. Stephen,‡ arrived
lately at this Court, on a mission from the most Serene King of
Letter Book, England, and having become a great personage (et per esser fatto
No. 416.
Original
gran personaggio), he is supposed to have been sent in acknowledg-
ment of the embassy performed by the Bishop of Bayonne on
behalf of his most Christian Majesty. He is not understood to
have come for any other cause, save that of urging King Francis to
write to Rome and exert himself (et se dimostri gagliarda) about the
divorce case. Dr. Benet (dottor Benedetto), the English King's
envoy (nuncio), is also here on his way to Rome postwise, and the
Bishop of Winchester will return to England.
Dieppe, 15th January 1532.
[Italian.]
1025. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
1026. The SAME to the SAME.
The Bishop of Winchester is still here, and although they say it is
for the purpose of confirming and strengthening the alliance between
King Francis and the most Serene English King, yet no such result
is visible; and here, at the Court, the Bishop says openly that his
King chooses that woman, but that he continues anxious about the
affair of the divorce.§
There arrived here lately an envoy from King John [Zapolsky],
by name Corsino, who subsequently crossed over to England.¶
Rouen, 26th January 1532.
[Italian.]
Anglico." In Sanuto's summary of this letter, as translated in vol. iv. Venetian Calendar,
p. 311, the words are " Sua Maestà dubita il juditio non vengi contra il Re." The ciphered
part of the despatch not having been read in the Senate, could not be transcribed in the
Diaries.
* On the 1st of April 1531, at Ghent, the Emperor published a decree authorising Don
Alfonso of Este to retain possession of Modena on payment of a certain census for
Ferrara. (See Frizzi, History of Ferrara, vol. iv. pp. 294, 295.)
† Cipher between the brackets.
The collation of Gardyner to the see of Winchester is recorded by Marin Sanuto,
date August 17, 1531. (See Venetian Calendar, vol. iv. p. 284.)
Ş "Et esso Reverendo de Vincestre dice apertamente in questa Corte, chè il Re suo vol
quella donna ma che perseveri anxio drieto a quella materia di divortio."
In State Papers (vol. vii. p. 599) mention is made of Andrea Corsini as having been
Envoy in England from King John in the year 1534, but I find no allusion to his having
been accredited to Henry VIII. in 1532.
APPENDIX.
629
1532.
May 3.
Despatches
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
May 20.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
June 10.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416,
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
·
1027. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
An ambassador from the most Serene King of England arrived
lately to reside with his most Christian Majesty, in lieu of the one
who came last November [Dr. Tayler], who is removed, solely
because he is very old, and unable to follow the Court.*
Constanza (sic), [Coutances ?], 3rd May 1532.
[Italian.]
1028. The SAME to the SAME.
On the 15th Mons. de Pomeraye, French ambassador in England,
arrived here post wise, having been sent back with a letter of
credence from King Henry. The English ambassador resident here
immediately accompanied him to the Court, where both one and
the other yet remain. Has been unable to ascertain the cause of
this mission, because the Court is at a distance of 40 Italian miles
from Rennes, and if not impossible, it is at least more than difficult
to negotiate or investigate anything about it, and although he
sometimes goes a little in advance; or sends as far as the Court, yet
as no one can remain there even for hours it is hard to get at the
truth. It is reported that this mission relates to the general affairs
of Christendom, the most Christian King having apparently said
that in case he goes against the Turks under the circumstances
mentioned in the foregoing letters, the most Serene English King
likewise would keep him company (la faria compagnia) with regard
to (cioè di) favour and troops; and it also concerns the affair of the
divorce, as also the writing of hortatory letters to the Pope.
Rennes, 20th May 1532.
[Italian.]
1029. The SAME to the SAME.
Mons. de Pomeraye has returned to England with money due
from his most Christian Majesty to the most Serene King of England,
to the amount of 100,000 crowns, on account of the usual pension,
(per causa et a bon conto della pension consueta).
Reners (sic) [Rennes ?], 10th June 1532.
[Italian.]
1030. The SAME to the SAME.
July 28.
Despatches,
France,
No. 416,
Original
Letter Book,
The English ambassador like the rest having received notice to
Miscellany, come to this city, requested permission (rechiese di voler) to follow
his most Christian Majesty into Lower Brittany, which was granted;
nor is it to be wondered at, for since my residence at this Court, I
Venetian have always found the English ambassadors more audacious (più
Archives.
audaci) and more respected than any of the others.
What his Majesty had determined to do after much diversity of
opinion, underwent a change at the commencement of the journey,
by reason of bad lodgings and suspicion of plague, so that he has
exceeded the distance of 30 leagues beyond this city, surveying the
* In vol. viii. State Papers, the first mention of Sir John Wallop's embassy to France
is dated 31st January 1533, but he probably succeeded Dr. Tayler in May 1532.
630
APPENDIX.
1532.
Aug. 9.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Venetian
Archives.
country from places better suited to his diversions, without however
curtailing the journey, as precisely at the expiration of one month,
namely, on the 4th of August, he purposes being in this town,
there to hold the States of the Duchy on the 8th. Believes also
that the recent death of the Viscount of Turenne, a member of the
Privy Council, in very great repute with all nations, as the most
prudent and upright councillor in his Majesty's service, dissuaded
further advance. Mons. de Lautrec, a lad eleven years old, (son of
the one who died at Naples,) is also dead; the only one [of the
family] now remaining is a child ten years old, being Mons. de
l'Escu, who will now be called Mons. de Lautrec, and his income
amounts to 30,000 crowns.
Vannes, 28th July 1532.
[Italian.]
1031. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
The news of this Court is that the King will omnino arm, though
there is no appearance of this for the present year, and such is the
belief of men of judgment. It is true that money is saved and
Letter Book, accumulated, and in such wise, that since last March, the most
Original
Christian King has not spent a penny (un soldo) of his ordinary
revenue, either on the Switzers or on England, nor in pensions, nor
anything else, all that he disbursed having been derived from
extraordinary sources, and he has diminished and delayed all
payments. The opinion about his arming has a certain foundation,
because sooner or later, in one way or the other he may be greatly
moved (alterato) by events in Germany and Hungary, in which
last province he expects the Lord Turk to winter this year. In that
case he anticipates great danger for Christendom; so his Majesty
said that next year he also will arm, with the belief that the
Christians will call and give him suitable place and terms (dandoli
loco et partito condecente), it seeming to him that he is to be
implored like a deity (come un dio). It is also said that his
Majesty's arming (lo armar di essa Maestà), will be in virtue of an
agreement and understanding with the King of England, to carry
out which, King Francis, after his return to Paris, will move
towards Picardy, where the final arrangement will be stipulated,
and possibly their Majesties will have an interview, or the King of
England will send some great personage for the purpose:
King is still expected to return to Paris in the course of September.
Vannes, 9th August 1532.
The
[Italian.]
Aug. 22.
1032. The SAME to the SAME.
Despatches,
France,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
On the 20th instant, his most Christian Majesty sent the Bishop
Miscellany, of Langes, brother of the Bishop of Bayonne, to the King of England,
Langes having lately returned from the Duke of Saxony and other
Princes of Germany. It is supposed that he has important matters
(grosse facende) to negotiate; so the rumour of the interview
between the two Kings gains ground, and the report of his most
Christian Majesty's arming next year by sea and land, increases
daily. His intention of going speedily to Paris continues in like
APPENDIX.
631
47
1532.
Aug. 30.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
Sept. 6.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
;
manner, though what road he may take subsequently is uncertain
for, as already mentioned by me, Picardy is talked of by reason of
the affairs of England, whilst others say Provence, and others
Burgundy; the Admiral, who is Governor of that Duchy, having
gone thither lately, and on his departure he said openly that he
expected the King there before Christmas.
Nantes, 22nd August 1532.
[Italian.]
1033. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
On the 26th the Imperial ambassador received letters from
Ratisbon, dated the 22nd instant, announcing that on the 6th, the
Turkish army, commanded by Sultan Solyman in person, was within
six leagues of Vienna. When his Lordship made this announcement
the King answered him, "I believe Vienna will defend itself, and
that the Turks will make their winter quarters in various places;"
and then after making a long discourse about Austria, Stiria,
Carinthia, and other provinces, he said in conclusion, "Should this
come to pass I will not fail to aid Christendom (non manchero
a Christiani), and with the assistance of the King of England, and
of the King of Scotland, who are my friends, I hope to be present
at the defence with a hundred thousand fighting men." [The
negotiations between his most Christian Majesty and the English
King are thus rendered clear, and it is asserted that they will
have an interview, or at least that on the most Christian King's
return towards Picardy (che tornato il Re Christmo, verso Picardia),
the Great Master will cross over to England, which for many reasons
is credited by judicious observers; and the French ministers (questi
signori Francesi) begin to be apprehensive about what may take
place between the Emperor and the Lord Turk, it seeming to them
a very perilous affair (cosa di gran pericolo)]* His Majesty will
depart to-day towards the Duchy of Anjou, and in two days will
be out of Brittany.
Nantes, 30th August 1532.
[Italian.]
1034. The SAME to the SAME.
Since his departure from Nantes on the 30th ult., the King has
been taking his pleasure in various ways as usual; and in the mean-
while, on the 4th, the Queen made her solemn entry into this city,
which is the capital of the Duchy of Anjou. His Majesty arrived
here on the evening of the 4th, and departed yesterday for a place
called "Le Vergier," where there is a most noble and highly
ornamented (ornatissimo) palace, where he said he should remain a
day or two at the utmost, and then continue his journey towards
Paris, without entering Tours (although great preparations had been
made for the Queen), as the plague increases there greatly. [I have
heard, for certain, that his most Christian Majesty and the English
King have settled to meet, and that preparations are already being
* Cipher between the brackets.
632
APPENDIX.
1532.
Oct. 31.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
made in Picardy by both sides, but they will not display any pomp,
and purpose despatching their business in five or six days from the
20th to the 30th of October; but on his Majesty's arrival in Paris.
he will immediately send the Great Master to Calais, where he will
find the Duke of Norfolk, sent by the King of England, that the two,
together, may so far advance the negotiation that the interview, and
the conclusion of the business between their Majesties, can be
despatched immediately; and although discourse about this matter
varies, what I write to your Serenity on the subject is assuredly
true.]*
Angers, 6th September 1532.
[Italian.]
1035. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER, Venetian Ambassador in
France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
Ritrovandosi tutti li
Oratori quì alli 18, scrissi
da Montrol che alli 17 il
Nontio Pontificio et orator
Cesareo concluseno questo
atto di farne star qui
apartati, e sia (con pocha
consideration, et per far
grande iniuria a li principi
de chi semo oratori, li quali
è sta fati venir a Montarol
e Bologna), e spender,
confinandone poi ea cadaum
altro è sta licito andar a
veder i congressi.
Abbeville, 31 October
1532.
[All the ambassadors being here [at Abbeville] on the 18th, as I
wrote from Montreuil on the 17th, considering the boundary which
had been assigned them, the Papal Nuncio and the Magnifico the
Imperial Ambassador præsertim, came to the conclusion that, by this
act, both his most Christian Majesty and the King of England had
comported themselves either inconsiderately, or for the purpose of
inflicting a great insult on the Princes of all the ambassadors. And
(Original Diaries, vol.
57, p. 105.)
By
|
Ritrovandosi alli 18 del presente tutti gl'
ambassatori a questa città (come scrissi alla
Sublimità Vra da Monteruol per l'ultime mie de
17 che dovevano esser) considerato il confin dato
a loro presertim il Revdo Nuncio Pontificio et
Magco. Orator Cesareo concluseno che in questo
atto ambe queste Mtà Christma. et Anglica se
erano mosse o con poca consideratione o per
far grande iniuria alli principi de tutti gli
Ambri et questo dicono non già per haverli fatti
andar fino a Monteruol et Bologna et spender et
disponer le cose loro come è solito farsi in
similibus confinandoli contra l'honor suo, et
prohibendo a loro quello che è stato licito a
cadauna sorte di gente, non solum di veder il
congresso, ma andar fino nelle camere dove
erano le proprie persone regie, ma si dogliono,
et dicono, che questo atto è demonstrativo de
alcuna trattatione contra li principi di prefati
Ambri in tempo che tra tutti essi sta la pace.
Poi appar esser fatto immediate contra le
promesse de essi Re li quali dicevano volersi
veder per proveder alle cose de Christiani in
eventum chel bisognasse. Io dico in questa
parte quello che odo da questi Sigri. Ambri. ma
la Serta. Vra. quanto alla portion sua iudicarà
lei con la solita propria sapienza.
Abbeville, 31 October 1532.
(Original Letter Book, Venetian Archives,
p. 20 tergo).
* In cipher between the brackets.
APPENDIX.
633
1532.
this they say, not indeed because they were made to go as far as
Montreuil and Boulogne, and to incur expense, and make their
arrangements as usual in similibus, and then to be confined con-
trary to their honour, and forbidden what has been lawful for every
sort of person [viz.], not only to see the congress, but to go even to
the chambers where the royalties themselves were; but what they
complain of and say is, that this act is demonstrative of some treaty
(trattatione) against the said ambassadors' Princes at a time when
they are all at peace together; and then, again, this seems to have
been done in direct opposition to the promises of the two Kings,
who said they wished for the interview in order to provide for the
affairs of Christendom in case of need. With regard to this matter,
I mention what I hear from these ambassadors, and with your usual
wisdom your Serenity will judge how far you are concerned in it.]*
(Continuation as in Vol. IV. Venetian Calendar, p. 361, "On the
11th instant," to p. 363, line 17, "which will be difficult.")
In addition to this, whether it be true, or that the French ministers
(questi signori) avail themselves of the report, it is said that the most
Serene English King having made the above-written Marchioness
[Anne Boleyn] cross the Channel with him, with the firm determina-
tion (certa opinion) of marrying her, with the intervention (con
intervento) of King Francis, his most Christian Majesty seems to
have modified this determination (tal opinione) at the conference,
so that it was not carried into effect; and, to say the truth, the
French and English believed it to be certain, and the said English
are very well pleased that the marriage did not take place.†
The magnifico Sir [Gregory] Casali arrived here lately postwise,
from Rome, where he was negotiating. (Continuation as in Vol. IV.
Venetian Calendar, to p. 364, line 5.)
Si dice questi Re hanno
convenuto che li Cardinali
insista che 'l Papa non con-
seguisca il vincolo con
Cesare; et facendo nova
intelligentia non voler più
che la expeditione di
Franza et Anglia vadino
a Roma, ma divider il suo
clero dalla Sede Romana.
Abbeville, 31 October
1532.
(Original Diaries,vol.57,
p. 105.)
[It is said that these two Kings have agreed that, should the
Cardinals [Tournon and Grammont] not succeed in persuading the
Non tacerò dirsi che questi Re hanno con-
venuto chè si li Revmi. Cardli. non consegui-
scono con il Pontce. li desiderij de loro Mta. cioè
di rimover quello da così stretto vinculo con
Cesare, ò s' el facesse qualche novo accordo in
Italia, in quelli casi non voler più che le expe-
dition di Franza et Anglia vadino a Roma, ma
divider il suo Clero in tutto dalla sede sua.
Item sono comune voce (sic) che il convento
di questi doi grandi Re, non sia stato se non
spese soverchie, feste et pompe, et non alcuno
effetto eguale alla espettatione.
Abbeville, 31 October 1532.
(Original Letter Book, Venetian Archives,
p. 20 tergo.)
* In cipher between the brackets.
"Et sono essi Englesi rimasti molto contenti che'l non sia seguito." These 12 words
are omitted in Sanuto's Original Diaries, vol. lvii. p. 105, verso, line 10; where the
paragraph ends with the words, "e cussì Francesi et Englesi lo crede," as translated in
vol. iv. Venetian Calendar, p. 363, line 23.
‡ In the Diaries, il Reydo" Casal." (See Venetian Calendar, vol. iv. p. 363.)
634
APPENDIX.
1532.
Dec. 5.
Despatches,
France,
Miscellany,
No. 416.
Original
Letter Book,
Venetian
Archives.
1551.
Oct. 17.
Parti Comuni,
Consiglio X.,
v. xx. p. 55.
Pope to comply with their Majesties' wishes, namely, to detach him
from so close an alliance with the Emperor, or should he make any
new agreement in Italy, in either case, they will no longer allow the
collation of the benefices of France and England to be referred to
Rome, but separate their clergy entirely from the Roman see. It is
also generally reported that the interview between these two great
Kings merely caused immoderate expense, entertainments, and
pageants, and no effect whatever equal to the expectation.]*
Abbeville, 31st October 1532.
[Italian.]
1036. GIOVANNI ANTONIO VENIER and MARIN GIUSTINIAN,
Venetian Ambassadors in France, to the DOGE and SENATE.
To-day, many prelates of the kingdom, with the Cardinal Legate
Chancellor and the Cardinal of Lorraine, assembled; and it is said
that in this congregation they spontaneously offered two-tenths to
his most Christian Majesty, much to the surprise of everybody that
this should be done at the present moment, when two Cardinalst
are on their way to his Holiness on the King's business.
The Duke of Richmond, son of the most Serene King of
England, who offered him for his Majesty's service, has come, and
resides at the court, living at very great expense, and very honourably
(et molto honoratamente).
Paris, 5th December 1532.
[Italian.]
1037. MOTION made in the COUNCIL OF TEN.
That at the request of the ambassador of the most Serene King of
England, license be given to the Cavalier Spinola, a Genoese, to
carry arms in Venice for one year, together with two servants who
are in his pay, and at his cost, he notifying their names at the office
of the night watch. §
Ayes, 12. Noes, 2. Neutrals, 0.
[Italian.]
* Cipher between the brackets.
† Cardinals Tournon and Grammont. (See Venetian Calendar, vol. iv. Nov. 22, 1532,
No. 830.)
Henry Fitzroy, natural son of Henry VIII.
§ By an entry in Foreign Calendar, date 12th September 1551 (p. 171), it appears that
"Captain Spinola " brought letters of favour from England, addressed to the ambassador
Peter Vannes. The historian Hume (vol. iii. p. 324) calls this soldier Battista Spinola.
I
4
GENERAL INDEX.
A.
Abano, the baths of, 904.
Abbeville, 942, 1035.
❤
""
letters dated at, 1024, 1035.
Abbots, in Parliament, p. 553.
Abondio, -,286 note.
"Abla Nova," 713.
Accolti, Benedetto degli. See Ravenna, Abp.
of.
Accounts, Old, office for, at Venice, 520, 615.
Adambri, Mons., 876.
See
Admiral, the Lord High, 342, p. 352.
Lisle, Lord; Howard of Effingham,
Lord.
Vice, the English, p. 549.
the French. See France, Admiral of.
Admiralty, the, p. 352.
.... Court, p. 352.
Adria, diocese of, 587.
Adrianople, 200, 471, 485.
Venetian Bailo at, 492, 519.
letter to the, 473.
*****
Africa. See Algiers; Tunis.
Agnella, Mattheo dell', letter from, 135; his
son, 135.
Agostini or Augustini, Alvise or Luigi, notary
of the Ducal Chancery, and Secretary
to the Venetian Ambassador in Eng-
land, 550, 551, 555, 650, 661, 670, 673,
700, p. 362, 791; letter to him, 701.
See also Venetian Secretary.
Agramonte, De. See Grammont, Cardinal de.
Agria [Agram], Bishop of, Luigi Gritti, 1011
note.
?
Agricola, preacher to the Duke of
Saxony, 74.
Agustini, Dom Augustino dei, 438.
Aigues Mortes, 246.
Albanova, Viscount di, 894.
Albany, Duke of, John Stuart, 24, 1003,
1010.
Albert, the Marquis (Albert Alcibiades of
Culmbach or Bareith), 828.
Albertino, Alvixe di, glass maker, 648.
Alcalde, the, at the Court of Brussels, 886.
Alcherio, Baldassare. See Altieri.
Aleppo, the Grand Signor at, 554,
Alexandria, galleys bound to, 1.
Algiers, the Emperor's expedition against, 98,
259, 275, 277 note.
Aliens, p. 357.
Aliprando,
Trent, 533.
Alms, p. 552.
brother to the Cardinal of
Alphonso, Gioan, 635.
Alps, the, 320, 321, 375.
Altieri (or Alcherio), Baldassare, secretary to
Sigismund Harvel, 282, 338, note, 394,
395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 401, 402, 410,
411, 417.
See also Harvel, secretary
to.
Alum works, 588.
Alva, Duke of, 626, 631, 941.
Amalfi. See Melphi.
Ambassador, seizure of a priest in the house
of an, p. 349.
Ambassadors from and to England :—
(1531-2): To France, p. 615, 1011, 1012,
1013, 1019, 1020, 1023, 1027, 1028,
1030. See Bryan, Foxe, Gardyner,
Taylor.
From France, Giovanni Gioachino di
Passano, Seigneur de Vaux, 1001,
1002, 1007.
From Venice, 1006, 1020; Falier and
Capello, 1018.
To Rome, 1025.
From King John of Hungary, Andrea
Corsini, 1026.
From France, Mons. de Pomeraye,
1028, 1029.
From France, the Bishop of Langes,
1032.
(1534): At Venice, 2, 38. See Casal.
(1535): From France, the Admiral, 33.
To Hungary, Prothonotary Casal, 47.
From France, Mons. de la Morette, 65.
At Rome, 71.
To France, Gardyner, Bryan, and
Wallop, 80, 83, 88.
(1536): From Ferdinand, King of the
Komans, Eustace Chapuys, 90.
636
GENERAL INDEX.
Ambassadors from and to England-cont.
(1537) To Rome, 134.
:
From France, 134.
In France, 144, p. 62.
From the Emperor (Chapuys?), 144.
In Flanders, p. 62.
:
(1540) With the Emperor, 219, 221,
222, 227, 228.
To the Duke of Cleves, Bishop of Bath,
221.
From the Emperor (resident and
special), 222.
From France, 226.
To the Emperor, Bishop Gardiner and
Richard Pate, 231, 234, 241, 257.
(1541): From Venice, 242. See Zam-
bon.
(1542): In France, 286.
At Venice, 298, 299, 308. See Harvel,
Sigismund.
(1544) to the Emperor (a secretary),
307.
With the Emperor, 314.
From the Emperor, 314.
(1545): To the Emperor, Bishop Gar-
diner, 362.
(1546): To Mantua and Venice, Lodovico
da l'Armi, 390, 441.
From the Emperor, 391.
To France, Lord Lisle, 408.
From France, the Admiral of France,
408.
To Venice, Harvel and Da l'Armi,
441.
From Venice, Sir Bernardo Navagero,
441, 446, 484.
(1547): From Venice, Domenico Bollani,
489, 504.
(1548): From Venice, Daniel Barbaro,
545, 550.
(1550): With the Emperor, 626.
To Venice, Peter Vannes, 679.
(1551): From Venice, Giacomo Soranzo,
693.
To France, 702.
From France, 714.
(1553): To the Emperor and France
(to negotiate peace between them),
742, 748, 751.
From Venice, Giovanni Michiel, 795,
796.
From the Emperor, 820 (p. 438).
From France, 831.
(1554): With the Emperor, the Bishop
of Norwich, and Sir John Masone (?),
849, 850, 855, 856.
From the Emperor, Count d'Egmont
and others (to conclude the marriage
of Philip and Mary), 846, 854, 855,
861, 865, 874, p. 560.
To the Emperor (special), 858.
Ambassadors from and to England-cont.
At Brussels, recalled, 874,
To Spain, Earl of Bedford and Viscount
Fitzwalter, 880, 918, 922.
From the Duke of Florence, the King
of Bohemia, the Duke of Ferrara,
and the King of the Romans, 886
(p. 502).
From King Philip, Don Pedro Davila,
Marquis de las Navas, 886, 892, 893.
See Davila.
From France, Noailles, 886, 893, 923,
p. 538, p. 563, 944, 967.
In France, 886, 891; Doctor Wotton,
893, 897, 924.
..
From Venice, Giovanni Michiel, 886,
893, 970, 971.
With the Emperor, Sir John Masone,
891, 893, 896, 944.
From the Emperor, 893, 923; Simon
Renard, 954, 955.
"
From the Kings of the Romans and
Bohemia, from Venice, Savoy,
Florence, and Ferrara, 923.
To the Emperor (from Philip and Mary),
Count Horn and an English gentle-
man, 928.
From the Emperor, Mons. d'Hibermon,
928.
From Ferrara, 928.
From Florence, 928, 944.
From the Duke of Savoy, 941.
From France (three), 944.
Ambleteuse, a French fortress, p. 358, 927.
Amboise, 24.
George d'. See Rouen, Archbishop
of.
Amiens, 360.
Ammunition, p. 357, p. 549.
Amont, Lieutenant of. See Renard, Simon.
Anabaptists, 26, p. 11 note, 61.
……………………., “King” of. See Leyden, John of.
Andelot, Monsr. d', 857.
Angels (English coins), 335.
Angers, letter dated at, 1034.
Angouleme, Duke of, son of Francis I. (after-
wards Duke of Orleans and Dauphin),
83, 98, 1003.
proposed marriage between Princess
Elizabeth and the, 39, 80.
Anjou, duchy of, 1033, 1034.
Annats, 54, 355.
Anne Boleyn. See Boleyn, Anne.
of Cleves. See Cleves, Anne of.
Annebault, French Cardinal, 599.
Annebaut (d'), Admiral of France, 327. See
France, Admiral of.
Annibale, Messer, 829.
Antichrist, one of Luther's sons would "by
rights" be, 74.
•
GENERAL INDEX.
637
Antivari, 151.
Antwerp, 126, 216, 229, 265, 312, 336, 371,
p. 354, p. 357, 713, 714, 855, 895, 901,
916, 931, 932, 941, 942, 944.
letter dated at, 221.
the mart of, 928.
troops being raised at, 919.
a Spanish ship at, 906.
Apostolic See, the, 766, 849, 850, 859, 862,
p. 479, 883, 925.
··,
proposed reconciliation of England
to the, 784, 785, p. 419, 825. See
Catholic Church.
Apprentices, p. 344.
Aquileia, the Patriarch of, Marco Grimani, 293.
Giovanni Querini (and his resig-
nation of the Patriarchate), p. 247 note,
667, 672, 674, 676, 682, 684, 691, 692.
*******
his nephews, 691 note.
....
..
...
>
Aragon, Ferdinand of. See Ferdinand.
Katharine of. See Katharine.
....
Arbalast-men, in the Venetian merchant
service, 894 note.
Archers, p. 350, p. 357, p. 548, p. 552.
Archipelago, the Turkish fleet in the, 185.
Architects, p. 358.
…………
Ardinghelli, Cardinal, 334, 335, 338.
Ardres, 400, p. 357, 942.
new fortifications at, 254.
....
··
Aremberg, Count d', 944.
Arlon, Governor of, 942.
Armagnac, Georges d', See Amboise, Car-
dinal of.
2
a fortress dependent on, 562.
>
Armour, suits of, 308.
Armoury halls, at Venice, 697. See Council
of Ten.
Arms, licenses to carry, in Venice, 214, 282,
284, 298, 299, 300, 301, 438, 542, 756,
758.
.."
...
and their agents, 682.
……………..
Daniel Barbaro. See Barbaro.
royal, in English churches, p. 348.
grant of, by Edward VI. to D. Bar-
baro, p. 362.
Army. See English army; Imperial army.
Arno, the river, 54 note.
Arran, Earl of, Duke of Châtelherault. See
Scotland, Governor of.
Arras, 919, 942, 944.
*"
***
Bishop of, Antoine Perrenot de
Granvelle, Imperial prime minister, 237,
238, 241, 314, 476, 490, 494, 497, 517,
631 note, 793, p. 419, p. 431, 825, 841,
842, 845, 850, 851, 854, p. 465, 858, 862,
p. 479, p. 480, 876, 877, 879, p. 492,
891, 893, 896, 906, 909, 914, 926, 931,
942, 944, 952, 954, 955, 962, 970.
letters to, 774, 940.
Arsenal, the Venetian, 78, 85, 210, 215, 260.
the Proveditors and Masters of,
>
..
……….
',
1 *******
720.
the English, stores for, p. 358.
cost of the, p. 553.
Arthur, Prince (son of Henry VII.), p. 258,
p. 346, 934.
Articles, the Six, relating [to the Sacraments,
by Henry VIII., p. 249, p. 251.
Artificers, p. 358.
Artillery, 66, p. 354, p. 549, p. 553.
Artois, 919, 935, p. 545.
Arundel, Earl of, Henry Fitz-Alan, Lord
Steward of England, and President of
the Privy Council, p. 547, p. 552,
p. 554, p. 559, p. 560.
Ashridge, Lady Elizabeth's house at, p. 538.
Asolo, Domenego of, 282.
Assen, letter dated at, p. 11.
Astrologers, 98.
Atlantic, the, p. 548.
Attorneys, State. See Venice.
Augmentations, Court of, p. 355.
Chancellor of the, p. 355.
Augsburg, 132, 398 note, 526, 534, 901, 923.
Diet of, 854, 861, 865, 893, 898.
a Gospeller at, 901.
Bishop of, 244.
•
....
...
•
•
.....
**9
Augustini. See Agostini.
Austria, 29, 246, 1033.
>
Cardinal of [Otho Truchses], 635,
752, 809, 810, 812, 819, p. 437, 821,
828, 829.
"
Archdukes of, negotiations between
Venice and Sir John Hawkwood against
the (A.D. 1376), 977 to 1000.
Ferdinand habited as an Archduke of,
""
70.
***
... "
Eleanor of.
ager of.
***
*****
his agent, 829.
letter to, 901.
*****
Joanna of. See Joanna.
Margaret of, Duchess of Parma. See
Margaret.
******
House of, 35.
See France, Queen Dow-
Maria of. See Hungary, Queen
Dowager of.
Avignon, Cardinal Pole residing at, 195 note.
tumult at, 208.
Avila, Don Luis d', 220. See Davila.
Avogaro, Count Camillo, 495, 500, 501, 512.
Azam Oglani, 554.
B.
Badajos, Bishop of, Francisco Navarrete, 901.
letters to, 531, 671, 732.
.. "" ******
Badoer, Piero, C. C. X., 207.
Ambassador at Constantinople,
""
428 note.
Baduario, Ser Federicus, 753.
638
GENERAL INDEX.
Baglione, Astorre, 586.
Hector, 588.
>
Redolfo Malatesta, 643.
Bagnacavalo, Tibertus de, 982.
Bagnarea, 273, 780.
•
Balanson (sic), Mons. de, 1019.
Bamberg, Bishop of, 244.
………
letters dated at, 671, 678, 680, 681,
732, 737.
>
the forces of the Bishops at, 751.
Banchieri, Ceuli, a merchant, 644.
Bankrupts (owing to the debasement of the
coinage), p. 357.
Baptism, p. 348.
Barbarigo, Augustino, Venetian Ambassador
in France, letters from, 963,964,967,968.
Giovanni, 513.
………….
Barbaro, Daniel, LL.D., Venetian Ambassador
to England, and Patriarch of Aquileia,
545, 550, 552, 553, 555, 558, 562, 565,
567, 598 note, 669, 676, 700, 701, 705.
letters to, 557, 568, 571, 580,
581, 593, 601, 625, 634, 647, 650, 651,
661, €63, 664, 667, 673, 677, 679, 686,
688.
··
……………… ………………, grant to, by Edward VI. of
part of his armorial bearings, p. 362.
his secretary. See Agostini.
……………………., report of his Legation in Eng-
…………… ""
land, 703 (pp. 338-362).
the Patriarchate of Aquileia to
be renounced in his favour, 667, 672,
674, 676, 682, 684 note, 691, 692, 700.
...
...
....
.......
to, 704.
..
……………
Ser Hermolaus, or Ermolao, C. C. X.,
847, 848, 899.
Francesco, C. C. X., 348.
Barbarossa, the Emperor's expedition against,
70, 111, 166, 246.
Barbo, Ser Pantaleon, $81, 990.
…………
……….
Barcelona, 50 note, 292.
……….. ""
Venetian Ambassador at, 292.
Bardolino, Bartolomeo, Knight of Bologna,
346, 353.
Barnard, Sir Francis, at the Imperial Court,
845. See Bernardo, Francesco.
"
to return to Venice, 693.
motion in the Senate for a grant
Barristers, English, p. 341.
Bashaws, the (of Turkey), 97, 103, 112, 133,
146, 285, 287, 306, 307, 311, 321, 324,
328, 332, 333, 341, 360, 428, 634.
Basle, death of Erasmus at, 222.
Bath, Bishop of, John Clerk, 219, 220, 221.
and Wells, Bishop of, p. 554.
Earl of, p. 554.
Battista, Giovanni, 353, 536.
Bavaria, 317.
... ....
the Dukes of, 14, 35, 42, 43, 69, 244,
251, 317.
"
',
Duke Lewis of, 244, 257, 267, 269, 317.
Duke William of, 317, 387.
House of, 257.
Bayonne, Bishop of, 1020, 1021, 1022, 1025,
1032.
Bayard, Mons., French Secretary, 362, 371.
Beacons, p. 353, p. 548.
Beaton, David, Cardinal of Scotland, 288.
letter from Pole to, 194.
··
Bederode, Mons. de, 919.
Bedford, Earl of, John Russell, Lord Privy
Seal, p. 352.
Beer, tax upon, in Germany, 919.
Belgian bands, 919.
towns, 919.
•
Ambassador to King Philip,
.... ..
874 note, 880 note, 922, p. 547, p. 554.
See Russell.
....
Belgrade, cession of, 74.
Bellai, Cardinal de, 208, 599.
Belluno, bishopric of, 249 note.
Bemba, the, 894.
Bembo, Cardinal, 409.
د.
……………..
··
note.
......
•
.,
....
....
Benedetto, Port, in Britanny, 894.
Benefices, 50, 54, 123, p. 355, 849, p. 556,
1035.
Benet, Dr., 1025.
Benevolence, a, imposed by Henry VIII., p.
358.
works of, 530.
*****
Ser Johannes, 999.
Messer Lorenzo, & Co., 895.
Bensio, Vicenzo, 374.
Bentivoglio, Marc' Antonio, 40 note, 48 note.
Bergamasque, the, 495.
Berghes, Marquis de, 936.
Berislao, Captain, a Dalmatian, 847.
Berslao.
letter to, 201.
the executors of his will, 530
See
Bernardino, Don, letters from Cardinal Pole
to, 948, 956.
Bernardo, Ser Benedetto, 507, 523.
.."
Francesco, 391, 415, 441, 469, 479,
480, 507, 509, 511, 525, 720.
>>
....
motion in the Senate concerning
pensions received by him from England
and France, 523.
his claims for compensation for
………………
expenses incurred in negotiating be-
tween England and France, 730, 731,
746, 902.
petition of, 731.
..., Maphio, 117, 188, 191, 303, 304, 413,
414, 415, 418, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424,
425, 426, 428, 429, 431, 432, 436, 437,
439, 440, 445, 449, 451, 456, 457, 461,
462, 464, 469 note, 509, 510, 515, 525.
...., Ser Nicolaus, 188.
Berslao, Giqcomo, Captain, 848. See Beri-
.....
slao.
Bertoldo, Don, chaplain of the church of St.
John at Rialto, 347.
GENERAL INDEX.
639
Berwick, p. 353, p. 354, p. 358.
………………………, governor of, p. 353.
Bethune, 944.
Bible, the, 26.
Bicoccha, La, 458.
Bill-men, p. 350.
Bishops, 222, p. 262, p. 347, p. 349, p. 419,
862, p. 553.
imprisoned by Henry VIII., 216.
letters of Queen Mary respecting the
appointment of, 849, 859.
proxies of, p. 488.
5
their demand for absolution from
schism, p. 495.
Blackness, p. 358.
Blacksmiths, p. 543.
Blois, 124, 329, 967.
……………, an English Ambassador at, 702.
******
the French King at, 702.
Bohemia, 82.
……………………., King of, 886.
Bokhler, the Emperor's councillor, 829.
Boldù, Monsignor, 564.
Boleyn, Anne, Queen, consort of Henry VIII.,
39, 54, 112, p. 346, 806, p. 534, p. 535,
p. 539, 1026, 1035.
··
"
99.
……………
*******
******
her brother beheaded, 103.
Bollani, Domenico, Venetian Ambassador to
England, 489, 493, 499, 504, 518, 521,
522, 557, 562, 565, 567, 572 note.
letter to, 524, 527, 528, 529, 551, 554,
558.
*****
.....
598.
beheaded, 103.
her father and brother arrested,
...
his secretary, 499.
"
commission to, 520.
a present from Edward VI. to,
>
………………………、 ………………, sage for the mainland, 720.
Ser Francesco, 489.
2
Bologna, 346, 348, 353, 586, 587, 588, 594,
1005.
the Pope's proposed journey to, 98.
"
………………………, commonalty of, 983.
the Rev. Legate of, 137, 586.
>
Cardinal of [the French Cardinal of
Boulogne], 627.
the municipal library at, 514 note.
Politi of, 353.
******
Bolognese, a, 346, 353.
Antonio, 346, 353.
....
Bondimerius, Alexander, C. C. X., 667.
Bonfio, Dean, 564.
Boniface, the English Saint, 901.
Bonifacio, Bernardo da. See San Bonifacio.
Bonifazio, of Verona, his painting of the
Slaughter of the Innocents, 458 note,
514 note.
Bon Raspa, Zuan, courier, 642.
Books, 279, 901.
Books prepared and printed at the Diet of
Ratisbon, 264.
Cardinal Pole's. See Pole.
Catholic, composed by Queen Mary,
p. 546.
MTMINUS
... C
Bora, Catharine de, wife of Luther, 74.
Borgia, Cæsar, 594.
Roderic, son of the Duke of Gandia,
Nuncio in France, 131 note.
•
>
Bortolomeo, Messer, 956.
Boston, port of, p. 357.
Bouillon, Duke de, 889.
Boulogne, 313, 314 note, 320, 324, 325, 327,
329, 333, 349, 357, 373, 375, 377, 406,
534, p. 353, 927, 1035.
the siege of, 312 note, 321, 361, 565,
566, 589, p. 358, p. 359.
fortifications of, 526.
the French army marching on, 576.
""
harbour or port of, 579, 583, 589.
succoured by the English, 583.
fortresses taken by the French near,
584.
****
··
"
English and French Commissioners
sent to, 624, 649.
…………………***
restitution of, to Henry II., on payment
of 400,000 crowns, 654, 658, 659, 665,
p. 343.
…………………**
Henry II. superintending the repairs
of the city of, 675.
……………………..
………………….., Upper and Lower, p. 358.
Henry VIII.'s expenses in battering,
taking and keeping, p. 358.
Cardinal of, at Rome, 599, 610, 611,
612, 627, 629.
……………. ...
**
Boulognebourg, 565, p. 358.
Boundaries (of the English Pale in France),
disputes touching, 1001, 1002.
Bourbon, Cardinal, 599, 610, 618, 627, 635.
Bouvines, taken by the French, 919.
Bovolona, letter dated at, 158.
Brabant, 78, 260, 914, 932, 935.
importation (into Venice) of wools
from, 210, 215.
""
Bragadin, Ser Benedictus, 990.
Jacomo, C. C. X., 348.
Lorenzo, 136.
',
"
1
Braia, 689.
letters from, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83,
84, 88, 92, 98, 99, 105, 106, 110, 113,
115, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132.
Brandenburg, Duke of, 246.
House of, 246.
commission to, 71.
."
Marquis of, Joachim, Elector, son of,
41, 42.
Albert, 254, 751, 752, 874, 886,
887, 936.
··
י
... ""
George, 254, 257, 259.
Brandon, Eleanor, 539 note.
Bravi, Italian, sent to England, 343.
Brensetour, 539 note.
>
640
GENERAL INDEX.
Brenta, the, 220, 500.
Brescia, 486, 684.
1
1
Venetian Governors of, 486, 488, 500.
letter from the, 512.
…………. *******
letters to the, 308, 376,
487, 495, 501.
the "chamber" of, 487.
Captain of, 512.
Father Don Mattheo of, 689.
bishopric of, to be given to Alvise de
Prioli, 696.
.....
,
****
***
Brescian territory, the, 754.
··
',
Brest, 894.
Breton corsairs, p. 352.
Breviary, the, 50.
Brewing, the process of, in England, p. 542.
Bridgwater, the Port of, p. 357.
See Papal briefs.
Briefs.
Brion, Seigneur de, Philippe Chabot, Admiral
of France, 24, 25, 33, 34, 57, 92.
France, Admiral of.
See
Brissac, Monsieur de, French General, 965.
Bristol, p. 353.
Port of, p. 357.
………………….
Britanny, 556, 713, 900, 1033.
coast of, 874.
Port Benedetto in, 894.
………, troops raised in, 897.
Duchy of, 1005, 1030.
Lower, 1030.
………….
***
……………..
Briz, Laurentius, filius Domini Johannis, one
of Sir John Hawkwood's English com-
pany in Italy, 983.
Bruges, 221, 881.
letters dated at, 218, 219, 220.
Brunswick, Duke of, 41, 42, 251, 828, 886,
890.
vacant benefices in the, 587.
Brussels, 132, 144, 150, 566, 751, p. 392, 790,
797, p. 431, p. 438, 825, 839, 849, 850,
861, 862, 865, p. 479, p. 481, 872, p.
493, 907, 930, 945, 965, 968.
"
letters dated at, 216, 225, 226, 227,
228, 229, 356, 626, 631, 632, 639, 850,
851, 854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 876, 877,
878, 880, 884, 885, 886, 888, 890, 891,
892, 894, 896, 898, 904, 905, 906, 908,
909, 910, 914, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923,
925, 926, 928, 931, 932, 935, 936, 937,
938, 939, 940, 941, 942, 944, 949, 952,
954, 955, 956, 957, 958, 959, 960, 962.
?
the residence of the Queen Dowager
of Hungary at, 155 note.
Legate at. See Dandino, Gieronimo.
Venetian Ambassador at. See Da-
mula.
•,
•S
the Emperor about to hold a diet at,
742.
>
a person sent by Queen Mary to, 789.
...
cathedral of, 850.
Court of. See Imperial Court.
Bryan, Sir Francis, English Ambassador in
France, 80, 1002, 1012, 1013, 1017,
1019, 1021, 1023. See also Ambassa-
dors.
Bua, Count Curio, or Mercurio, 345, 348, 356,
365.
Bucchia, Hieronymo, of Cataro, arrest of, 317.
his writings, 318.
•
Bucer, 237, 250 note.
his influence in England, p. 346.
Bucks, Archdeacon of. See Taylor, Dr. John.
Buda, 48, 265, 268, 269, 270.
Buren, Mons. de, 312, 544.
Order of the Fleece given to,
....
.."
…………………….
Burgos, Cardinal Pole's pension out of the sce
of, 681.
..
··
··
227.
******
Cardinal Archbishop of, Juan Alvarez
de Toledo, 565, 602, 609, 616, 617,
621, 626, 627, 629, 631, 633, 636, 639,
652, 684, p. 469, 908, 939.
letter from Cardinal Pole to,
relations of, 944.
Burgundian nobleman, a, 943.
Burgundy, 936, 1005, 1032.
272.
..
...
•
Butter, p. 542.
Bya, Signor Baldisara, 456.
•••
Cabot, Sebastian, in England, 711.
Cadiz, the Gut of, galleons at, 323.
"
House of, p. 547.
Governor of the Duchy of, 1032.
Calais, 57, 60, 231, 296, 307, 311, 312, 315,
324, 325, 349, 362, 371,373, 393, p. 353,
p. 354, p. 357, p. 358, p. 398 note,
p. 458, p. 469, 927, 928, 931, p. 543,
p. 545, 1013, 1034.
C.
forms to be used in the churches in,
',
p. 347.
defence of, p. 357.
…….., expenses for, p. 357.
Lord Deputy of, 245. See Lisle, Vis-
count.
fortifications near, 245, 583.
the Pas de, 375.
..., governor of, Lord Cobham, son of,
340.
Calavrese, Annibal, 412.
GENERAL INDEX.
641
Cambrai, 150, 153, 321, 825, p. 481.
……………………., congress of, 80.
1.9
..
"
>
Cambridge, p. 347.
letters dated at, 143, 144, 145, 147.
treaty of, 1003.
Bishop of, p. 62, 144.
....
Camerino, 635.
……………**
•
•
university of, p. 345.
·· ,
cause of the Duke of Urbino respect-
ing, 32.
the Pope's attack upon, 35 note, 55,
59.
"
Campagna, 588.
Campana, Battista, Captain, 445, 449, 461,
462, 475, 498, 516.
Campeggio, Cardinal, 241, p. 534.
Canal, the "Bailo," 162.
Giacomo, 31.
Girolamo da, Venetian proveditor,
>
1 note.
··
his archdeacon, p. 62.
Canal Nuovo, or Sta. Maria di Gavello, Pole's
abbacy of (in the Polesine), 586, 587,
590, 592, 681 note.
Canaregio, 356.
Candia, 1, 183, p. 542.
.., government of, 165, 168, 205.
··
………………………, voyage of the Turkish fleet to, 185.
Venetian governors of, 200.
Canca, government of, 165.
Cannon balls stamped with the lily, 66.
Canterbury, Archbishop of, Thomas Cranmer,
p. 347, p. 348, p. 554.
see of, Pole urged to accept the, 960.
Capaccio, see of, given to Verallo, 586.
Capello, Carlo, Venetian ambassador in Eng-
land, 2, 10, 12, 14, 31, 242, 1016, 1018
note.
... ""
letters to, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11,
15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 28.
...
•
*******
note touching a horse belonging
to, 54 note.
the marriage of his daughter,
54.
………………………, ………………, report on England by, 54.
,
9
his secretary, left by him in
England, 242.
a gold chain given to, 53.
""
******
•3•
5.
Giovanni, Venetian ambassador in
France, 964.
*******
letters from, 880, 881, 889, 897,
900, 907, 916, 927, 943, 963.
Philippo, 735, 736.
Piero, 734, 735, 736.
Sylvan, 736.
Capilupo, Camillo, Mantuan envoy to the
Emperor, 385.
****
******
letters from, 381, 382, 383, 387.
letter to, 377.
Capizucchi, —,
195 note.
Capo d'Istria, 735.
Bishop of. See Vergerio.
Capodiferro, Gieronimo.
Cardinal of.
Capranica, 230 note.
...
Captain-General, Venetian, 10, 16, 184, 186,
187, 189, 190, 192. See Urbino, Duke
of.
…………
Capua, Isabella of, consort of Don Ferrante
Gonzaga, 456 note.
...
>
Cardinal of, Nicholas Schomberg,
55, 74 note.
Prior of, Leone Strozzi, 526, p. 351.
Caraffa, Gianpietro, Cardinal Archbishop of
Chieti, 128 note. See Chieti.
.. >
see of Naples given to, 586.
Cardinal of Naples, p. 380.
letters dated at, 272, 273.
Cardinal, the senior, 611, 630, 642, 652.
Legates. See Papal Legates.
Cardinals, 30, 71, 75, 76, 77, 79, 89, 208, 588,
596, 597, 606, 612, 613, 618, 655, 684,
692, 737, p. 386, 1004, 1014.
,
...
College of, 194, 591, 627, p. 323, 732,
p. 381. See Sacred College.
………….., congregations of, 132, 586, 587, 588,
591, 594, 599, 620, 621, 627, 691, 737
note.
See St. George,
...
Carew, Sir Peter, 854, p. 560, 941, 944.
Carinthia, 1033.
Carlisle, p. 353, p. 358.
"
...
Bishop of, p. 554.
Carlos, Don, Prince Philip's son, p. 561.
Carnival, the, 35.
Carpentras, 195 note, 208.
·· "}
....
creations of, 55, 59, 131.
Venetian, 637.
letters dated at, 201, 206.
Bishop of, Sadoleto, 128.
Carpi, Cardinal of, Rodolfo Pio, 630.
letters to, 143, 827.
Carrickfergus, p. 357.
··
....
Casal, Prothonotary, English ambassador in
Venice, 2, 3, 22, 23, 24, 38, 40, 43, 47,
48, 87, 158.
Sir Gregory, 3, 1035.
Casale, 385.
Casola, town of, 965.
Casseler, Iseppo, a glass maker, 648.
Castel-Goffredo, 376, 377, 385, 388, 466 note.
letter dated at, 378.
****
Castelnovo, the cession of, 74.
Castel-Zuffré, 412.
Castello, D. Antonio, 495.
Castille, borders of, 886.
Castro, the cession of, 636.
Duke of. See Farnese, Horatio.
Cataro. See Cattaro.
s s
642
GENERAL INDEX.
Catholic Church, the, 130, 131, 132, p. 58,
150, 194, 199, 254, 257, 273, 279, 369,
p. 224, 539, 570, p. 241 note, p. 246,
p. 258, p. 259, p. 260, p. 263, p. 285
note, 604, p. 320, p. 322, p. 346, 732,
752, p. 380, p. 381, p. 382, p. 385,
p. 386, p. 387, 767, 768, 771, p. 391,
p. 392, 774, 776, 777, 779, 780, 781,
782, 784, 785, 786, 790, 792, 797, 802,
805, 806, 807, 811, 813, 821, 823, 836,
849, p. 465, 859, 882, p. 490, 883, 884,
901, 917, p. 549, p. 555, p. 556, p. 557,
p. 559, 946, 947, 948, 955, 959, 966,
970, 974, 1003, 1008. See Church.
…………………… ………………, proposed restoration of England
to the obedience of the, 823, 836, 882,
p. 496, p. 556, p. 579, p. 580, 955, 957,
960, 962, 968, 969, 971, 973, 976.
..
4.
………….
the sacraments of the, p. 408.
See Sacraments.
……………….
and lettered men of England, 849.
Catholics, the, 42, 43, 63, 82, 116, p. 63, 223,
225, 236, 237, 238, 244, 248, 251, 254,
257, 261, 263, 265, p. 408, p. 430.
religion, 35, 130, 259, p. 533, 947, 972.
fifteen articles by the commons
of Devon and Cornwall, requiring the
restoration of the, pp. 265, 266, notes.
•
………….
Cato the Censer, 150.
Cattaro, 151, 176, 177, 200.
……, governor of, 203, 204.
Cavallaro, Giovan Mattheo, 5.
Mattheo, letter from, 5.
Cavalli, Marino, Venetian ambassador in
France, letter from, 327.
**
Venetian ambassador with
Charles V., letters from, 626, 631, 632,
639.
>
Doctors, 238, 250, 254, 258.
Princes, 244, 257.
Cavalry, 13, 541, p. 350, p. 351, p. 548, 955.
Cecil, William, Secretary to the Protector
Somerset, 575.
Ceneda, Bishop of, Don Michele della Torre,
Papal Nuncio in France, letters to,
560, 563.
the see of, 563 note.
Ceneta, 977.
Census, a, made at Brussels, of all men able to
carry arms, 919.
Cereto, castle of, 635.
...
Cervini, Marcello, Cardinal of Santa Croce,
Grand Penitentiary, 565, 586, p. 273
note, 599, 600, 602, 603, 616, 617, 626,
627, 637, 640, 642, 685.
"
letter from, 386.
',
letters to, 273, 280, 769.
Cesaruol, Jacomo, 347.
Chabot, Philippe. See Brion.
Chains, gold, 54, 933, 935.
Chaloner, Sir Thomas, 748 note.
***
......
Chamberlain, the Lord High, of England.
See Oxford, Earl of.
Vice, of England, p. 552.
Champagne, 312.
Chancellor, Lord, of England. See Gardiner,
Wriothesley.
Chancery, Court of, p. 341.
Ducal (at Venicc), 58.
> ··· •,
the notaries of the, 504, 550.
Channel, the English, 254, 294, 306, 309, 312,
p. 253, p. 350, p. 354, p. 357, p. 393,
790, 894, 920, p. 545, p. 557, 941,
1035.
•
******
Chantries, p. 355.
Chapels, free, p. 355.
Chapuys, Eustace, Imperial Ambassador in
England, 90, 144. See Ambassadors.
Charles V., Emperor of Germany, 4, 13, p. 10,
24, 25, 32, 34, 35, 36, 41, 42, 45, 50,
59, 62, 63, 65, 80, 81, 83, 84, 92, 93,
98, 113, 115, 119, 120, 122, 132, 144,
150 note, 159, 160, 164, 170, 199, 219,
220, 221, 222, 225, 227, 229, 231, 233,
234, 237, 238, 240, 241, 244, 245, 246,
247, 248, 250, 251, 252, 254, 257, 258,
259, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267,
269, 270, 271, 274, 275, 276, 277, 286,
294, 297, 302, 306, 307, 312, 314, 316,
317, 318, 320, 321, 324, 327, 332, 333,
336, 343, 357, 362, 371, 373, 377, 381,
382, 383, 384, 385, 387, 412, 448, 453,
454, 456, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 464,
466, 468, 470, 472 note, 474, 476, 477,
486, 490, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 506,
517, 526, 543, 544, 565, 573, 575, 579,
583, 586, 588, 599, p. 285, 622, 626,
627, 631, 632, 633, 635, 636, 637, 639,
640, 642, 685, 690, p. 359, p. 372, 742,
748, 751, 752, p. 386, 767, 768, 770,
773, 774, 779, 782, p. 408, 786, 793,
802, 803, 805, p. 421, 813, 820, 821,
828, 829, 830, 839, 841, 842, 843, 845,
846, 850, 851, 854, 855, 856, 857, 861,
864, 867, 870, 871, 876, 877, 879, 880,
881, 882, 884, 886, 887, 888, 889, 890,
891, 897, 898, 905, 906, 907, 909, 914,
916, 917, 918, 919, 921, 924, 925, 926,
928, 931, 932, p. 534, p. 547, p. 560,
p. 561, 935, 941, 942, 943, 944, 945,
952, 953, 954, 955, 957, 960, 961, 962,
963, 965, 966, 967, 968, 969, 970, 976,
1002, 1003, 1004, 1008, 1009, 1011,
1013, 1014, 1019, 1020, 1022, 1023,
1024, 1033, 1035.
>
letters to, 681, 771, 819, 823, 832,
938, 947.
his commissioners in France, 24.
...
a French galley boat captured by, 70.
""
See Bar-
his passage to Africa, 66.
barossa; Tunis; Algiers.
proposals made by, at Gaeta and
Rimini, 98.
his fleet, 254, 292.
proceeding with his army in Flanders
against the Duke of Cleves, 297.
………
"
....
•
..
fortresses beyond the, p. 358.
*****
...., peace between France and, 320, 321,
p. 158.
GENERAL INDEX.
643
Charles V., Emperor of Germany—cont.
...
***
..
>
the ships and goods of his subjects,
seized by the English, to be released,
328.
......
………………….., account by Cardinal Pole of the Em-
peror's relations with Henry VIII.,
pp. 256 to 260.
See Ka-
his daughter, 332. (See Joanna of
Austria.)
purposes to make war against the
Lutherans, 404, 407.
………………………, treaty between England and, 583.
...
••
a Spanish doctor of laws sent by, to
Rome, 565.
··
••
his aunt's divorce, p. 256.
tharine.
>
··
…….
*****
relations of England and France with,
p. 361.
"information" for, by Cardinal Pole,
772.
the death of his mother, 861.
his will, 892.
letters touching his influence on the
election of a new Pope, 600, 607, 609,
613, 616, 617, 620, 621.
>
••
...jewels presented by Queen Mary to,
935.
>
his relations with the King of France,
737, 742, 748, 781 note, 792, 797, 798,
799, 800, 802, 803, 804, p. 422, 806,
816, p. 435, 823, 825, 830, 850, 851,
855, p. 464, 858, 861, 865, 871, 872,
875, 877, 879, 882, 884, 888, 889, 891,
893, 906, 914, 917, p. 579, 969.
""
the war between the King of France
and, p. 358, 914, 919, 920, 921, 924,
925, 926, 928, p. 561, p. 562, 935, 936,
941, 942, 944. See Flanders.
articles of peace between the King of
France and, 942.
armies of. See Imperial army.
his Court.
See Imperial Court.
,
Venetian ambassadors with, 371, 397,
399, 490, 491, 842.
letters to, 24, 164, 170,
391, 841, 843, 845, 866, 970.
.... "
the secretary of the, 845,
976.
·
""
· 3
*******
four, 277 note.
Legates to.
See Papal Legates.
Nuncios with. See Papal Nuncios.
Chatillon, Mons. de, French Cardinal, 562,
579, 599, p. 477.
Châtelhérault, Duke of. See Arran, Earl of.
Chaux, Mons. de la [Jean Poupet], 941.
Cherso and Ossero, the captain of the islands
of, 510.
Chester, p. 353.
…………… ""
port of, p. 357.
Cheviot Hills, the, p. 354.
Chiari, Baptista, a glass maker, 648.
Chichester, Bishop of, p. 554.
•
Chieti, Cardinal Archbishop of, Gianpietro
Caraffa, 128 note, 132, 586, 594, 603,
604, 605, 607, 618, 619, 622, 627, 628,
629, 630, 635, 652, 662 note, 668 note.
See Caraffa.
see of, given to Maffei, 586.
Chizzola, Dr., 867, 875 note, 877, p. 487.
Chronicle, a printed English, p. 255.
Church ceremonies, p. 347.
•
••
...
..
chalices, 914.
goods, p. 358, p. 550.
property, 42, 70, 80, p. 355, p. 488,
893, 925, 931, p. 549, p. 550, p. 557,
p. 559, p. 580, 954, 955, 957, 960, 962,
975.
..
revenues, 35, p. 347.
reformation of the, 652, 732, 832 note,
p. 372.
the question of obedience to the. See
Catholic Church.
*****
...
Cibo, Cardinal, 602, 606, 619, 620 note, 621,
623, 632, 637, 652.
.
his nephew, 637.
""
Cifuentes, Count, Imperial Ambassador at
Rome, 98, 144. See Imperial Ambas-
sador.
Cipher, letter about writing in, 661.
Cità Nova, the castle of, 87.
Cività [Cività-vecchia ?], 586, 588.
Civitella, 572.
do
**
…….
Clarence, Duke of, son of the, p. 257.
Clergy, the, 42, 163, 656, 1006.
Clerk, John. See Bath, Bishop of.
letters dated at, 561, 563, 564, 570,
695.
the castle of, belonging to the Monks
of St. Paul, 563.
••
... •"
Cleves, Anne of, p. 346, p. 357, p. 542, p. 553.
repudiation of, 221, 222, 224.
Cleves and Juliers, Duke of, p. 11 note, 220,
221, 850.
letter of the, 26.
………………, ………………, daughters of the, 74.
the Bishop of Bath sent to
... •
the, 221.
.......
ambassadors from the, to
the Emperor, 221.
Charles V. proceeding
with his army against the, 297.
... "
Clifford, Lady Margaret, daughter of Eleanor
Countess of Cumberland, mentioned in
Henry VIII.'s will, p. 535, p. 539.
Clinton, Lord, K.G., p. 547.
...
Cloths, English, 85, 139, p. 344, p. 543.
deceitful," cut by the Vene-
tian State proveditors, 741.
of silk, 40.
white, 85.
"
""
....
Coal found and used in the north of England,
p. 543.
Cobham, Lord, Governor of Calais, son of,
William, at Venice, 298, 299, 300, 301,
340.
Lord, K.G., p. 547.
S s 2
644
GENERAL INDEX.
"
Cocleo (Cochlæus), Don Giovanni, his work
on Saint worship, 343.
Code, the Imperial, 54.
Coins, German, 74.
Coinage, the, p. 357.
U >
College, the, of Venice, 394, 440, 441, 462,
486, 499, 513, 552, 658, 679, 698, 699,
824, 835, 840, 841, 903, 950, 973,
1012.
College Hall at Venice, 434 note, 480.
College, the Sacred, 505, 586, 587 note.
Cardinals, College of.
Colleges, p. 355.
Cologne, 236.
....
debasement of the, by Henry VIII.
and Edward VI. p. 551.
in Ireland, p. 357.
לי
*****
***
Colonna faction, 586, 588.
.....
850.
...
***
...
••
Archbishop of, p. 11 note, p. 347,
of.
Ascanio, Lord, 250, 257, 690.
""
letter from Pole to, 694.
……………….
his sister, the Marchioness of
Pescara, Vittoria Colonna, 694.
•
***
letter from the, 26.
....
...
...
See
his attacks on Rome, 247 note.
Vittoria, daughter of Lord Ascanio
Colonna, moneys left in Cardinal Pole's
hands for, by the Marchioness of
Pescara, 694.
Fabritio, son of Ascanio, 690.
Vittoria. See Pescara, Marchioness
Comedies, p. 347.
Commanders-in-chief, English, want of, p. 549.
Commendone, Gio. Francesco, Papal agent,
784, p. 408, 786, 789, 790, 793, 797,
804, p. 430, 835, p. 557.
Commissioners, English and French, 534, 535.
murder of certain, in England, p. 262.
Common lands, usurpation of the, 567, p. 359.
See Pasturage.
Common Pleas, Court of, p. 340.
Commons, House of, its protest against Queen
Mary's marriage, and the Queen's reply,
p. 560.
Communion, the, 223, p. 348, p. 556.
Como, Bishop of, 591.
Compiègne, 889, 1019.
the King of France at, 579.
letters dated at, 880, 881, 924, 927,
943, 1021, 1022.
Comptroller (of Queen Mary's household), Sir
Robert Rochester, p. 552.
Conclave, the (for the election of a Pope,
1549), 595, 596, 600, 602, 606, 611,
612, 616, 617, 618, 621, 627, 638, 671,
901.
newsletters from the, 604, 605, 606,
607, 608, 609, 610, 612, 614, 619, 620,
622, 623, 628, 636, 638.
th
........., an order for the expulsion of some
Conclavists from the, 638.
Concordia, Dominico dalla, 385.
Confederacy, proposed, between England and
France, 88.
Conference between the agents of the Kings of
England and France, 57, 60, 64.
Conferences between the Protestants and
Catholics at Worms and Ratisbon, 229,
250, 253, 254, 255, 258, 261, 267.
Confession, 234, 255.
Confirmation, p. 348.
Confiscated estates, p. 358, p. 549.
Congregations (of cardinals). See Cardinals.
Consistory, the, at Rome, 68, 76, 79, 83, 131,
407, 652, 662, 670, 692, p. 373, p. 546.
Constantinople, 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16,
18, 25, 28, 33, 37, 39, 44, 46, 49, 56,
58, 67, 72, 86, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 100,
101, 104, 109, 111, 148, 169, 171, 175,
177, 178, 182, 392, 403, 416, 435, 442,
447, 450, 482, 524, 527, 529, 554, 569,
571, 580, 593, 634, 895, 1011, 1024.
Venetian Bailiff at, 25, 73, 551, 721,
945.
•
……………
...
•
•
letters to the, 13, 19, 20, 21, 33,
•5
****S
39, 57, 60, 97, 103, 112, 120, 133, 279,
285, 287, 290, 292, 294, 302, 306, 307,
371, 373, 375, 393, 404, 406, 407, 408,
526, 534, 535, 538, 540, 541, 544, 547,
548, 556, 566, 576, 584, 589, 624, 645,
649, 653, 659, 665, 702, 710, 716, 739,
742, 748, 751, 760, 770, 788, 830, 839,
846, 861, 874, 887, 915, 930, 961, 965,
972.
***
Venetian ambassador at, letters to the,
324, 325, 341, 342, 349, 357, 360, 361,
362.
English news destined for, 865.
Constanza [Coutances ?], letter dated at,
Venetian Bailo and ambassador at,
letters to the, 146, 309, 311, 313, 315,
321, 675.
•9
1027.
"Contarina" and "Regazzona," the (ships),
323.
Contarini, Alvise, C.C.X., 348, 430, 667.
Daniel, 894.
……….
•9
···
··
,
letters to, 61, 62.
... .... ""
Venetian ambassador with the
Emperor Charles V., letters from, 213,
216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223,
224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231, 232,
233, 234, 236, 437, 238, 240, 241, 243,
244, 245, 246, 248, 250, 251, 252, 253,
254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 261, 262, 263,
264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271,
274, 275, 276, 277.
Francesco, Venetian ambassador with
the King of the Romans, letters from,
27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47,
48, 50, 51, 55, 59, 63, 66, 69, 70, 74,
82, 87, 90, 93.
Gasparus (Contarenus), C. C.X., 6.
Gasparo, Cardinal, 55, 196, 235.
Papal Legate in Germany, 238,
241, 244, 245, 246, 254, 257, 267, 270,
p. 382.
***
>
GENERAL INDEX.
645
Contarini-cont.
·· •
………………
••
letters to, 140, 141, 150, 153,
155, 156, 158, 206, 239, 247, 249.
Lorenzo, Venetian Ambassador with
Charles V., letter from, 506.
Marco Antonio, commission to, 134.
…………., Pietro, 587, 814.
letter to, 833,
his brothers, 833.
... ……………….
....
Tommaso, Gasparo's brother, 158.
……………………, Thomas, Ser, C.C.X., 847, 848, 866.
Contraband goods, p. 549.
Contribution, a, levied by Henry VIII., p. 358.
Convention, made in 1542, between England
and the Emperor, 914.
between England and France, 944.
Convocation, p. 343, p. 391.
Conza, Archbishop of, p. 379 note. See Muz-
zarelli, Girolamo.
….., ......, Papal Nuncio with the Emperor,
letter from Pole to the, 773. See Papal
Nuncios.
Cordova, Don Juan de, 941.
......
...
..."
Don Luis de, envoy from King Philip
to Venice, 950, 951.
****
Corfu, 151, 184, 186, 190, 192.
the siege of, 159, 160.
Venetian governors of, 198.
government of, 200.
the channel of, 706.
"
""
Cork, p. 357.
Cornaro, Andrea, Cardinal, 564, 629, 637
note, 638.
*****
……………
letter to, 780.
*******
the legation of Viterbo con-
ferred on, 670.
Archbishop, 606, 629.
letter from, 611.
Ser Federicus, 990, 999.
See Corner.
Cornelio, Ser Joannes, 950.
Corner (or Cornaro), Ser Marc' Antonio, 734,
735, 736.
·· " *****
""
',
……………)
Ser Nicolo, 736.
Ser Vicenzo, 734, 735, 736.
.....
Cornwall, the Commons of, p. 265, p. 266.
the headland of, p. 353.
""
Duchy of, p. 356.
"
insurrection in, p. 468, 861, p. 560, 941.
lead and tin mines in, p. 543.
Corona, Antonio, 22.
Coronation, Philip and Mary's. See Philip and
Mary.
Corsairs, p. 553.
Corsica, French Cardinals at, 596.
Corsini, Andrea, King John of Hungary's
ambassador, 47 note, 48, 1026.
Cortese, Cardinal, the executorship of, 536,
537.
Gregorio, abbot of San Giorgio Mag-
giore, 116, 128.
Cortona, Bishop of, 886.
Corunna, 880, 886, 906, 915, 920.
…………………, port of, 919.
Coucy, 889.
castle of, 907.
..
Council, reported intention of Henry VIII. to
convoke a, p. 62.
..
******
Council, Lords of the, 323, 484, 557, 687, 700,
701, 708, 711, 715, 716, 741, p. 402,
783, p. 431, 860, 867, 923, p. 549,
p. 562, p. 563, 962, 973, 1003. See
Privy Council.
.....
*******
………
the General, 4, 29, 42, 43, 50, 59, 63,
70, 97, 114, 116, 128, p. 57, 144, 147,
246, 267, 577, 651, 685, p. 346, 853.
See
854, p. 470, 867, 1007, 1008.
Trent.
President of the. See Arundel, Earl of.
of the realm, the ancient, p. 246.
of Edward VI., p. 533, p. 536.
·· •,
Council of Ten, of Venice, 2, 14, 22, 23, 31, 117,
191, 214,282, 284, 286 note, 289, 298,
299, 301, 303, 304, 310, 319, 330, 337,
339, 340, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 350,
351, 352, 353, 363, 364, 365, 366, 368,
370, 376, 380, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398,
399, 401, 410, 411, 413, 414, 415, 421,
422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429,
431, 432, 433, 434, 436, 438, 440, 441,
444, 445, 449, 451, 467, 475, 484, 493,
498, 499, 502, 504, 507, 508, 509, 510,
511, 514, 515, 516, 525, 530 note, 532,
546, 550, 553, 555, 574, 578, 598, 648,
669, 673, 676, 682, 695, 697, 699, 705,
758, 783, 791, 795, 840, 842, 863, 864,
873, 899.
•S
letters from the, 418, 419, 420, 845,
869, 870.
letters to the, 218, 1012.
Chiefs of the, 188, 289, 310, 317,
344, 347, 353, 365, 366, 410, 425, 426,
466, 508 note, 574, 578, 733, 734, 736,
749, 750, 756, 840, 864, 899, 903.
letters from the, 3, 6, 23, 207,
"""
300, 337, 338, 348, 355, 368, 370, 376,
398, 406, 407, 430, 439, 440, 446, 448,
457, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 473,
479, 481, 486, 487, 488, 490, 491, 494,
495, 496, 497, 500, 501, 503, 522, 667,
672, 673, 674, 682, 687, 705, 711, 835,
837, 841, 842, 847, 848, 866.
****
•
"
...
letters to the, 286, 288, 314,
""
327, 334, 335, 339, 356, 412, 452, 455,
456, 458, 459, 468, 469, 470, 476, 477,
506, 512, 517, 542, 637, 684, 789, 790,
857.
.....
•
******
the chamber of the, 440.
....
……….., petition from the Muranese glass
makers in London to the, 648.
the captains of the, 344, 348, 356.
the armoury halls of the, 532, 697,
733, 749.
an edict of the, about glass makers,
>
648.
cashier of the, 753.
treasurer of the. See Treasurer.
646
GENERAL INDEX.
釁
​Council, the Grand, of Venice, 511, 686, 783.
Council of Twelve (of the Venetian merchants
in London), 52.
Councillors, Henry VIII.'s, 143.
Couriers, 31, 863, 873, 918, 923, 924, 954,
957.
Court, the English. See English.
Courtenay, Edward, Marquis of Exeter and
Earl of Devon, 837, 881, p. 538, p. 539,
p. 554, p. 559.
letter from Pole to, 806.
.....
……………………… ………………, description of, p. 539.
•
his father. See Exeter, Marquis
of.
Coutances. See Constanza.
Coventry and Lichfield, Bishop of, p. 554.
Cowbridge (near Calais), 254 note.
Cranmer, Thomas. See Canterbury, Arch-
bishop of.
Crema, 459.
Cremona, 466 note, 640 note.
……………………)
See of, conferred on Sfondrato, 586.
Crescentio, Jacomo, 611.
Marcello, Cardinal, 618, 656, 691,
692.
Criminal Code, the English, p. 340.
Crispo, or Visco, Cardinal, Tiberio Crispo,
(brother of Costanza Farnese), 619,
620, 621, 623, 635.
Cromwell, Thomas, Lord, Secretary of State
and Lord Privy Seal, 54, 116, 132,
161, 164, 211, 212, 217, 219, 220, 222,
240, p. 346, p. 550.
******
beheaded, 224.
Crown, pleas of the, p. 340.
Cueva, Bartholomeo de la, Cardinal, 642.
Culmbach. Sce Albert, Marquis.
Cumberland, Earl of, IIenry Clifford, p. 539,
p. 554.
Countess of, Eleanor, her daughter.
See Clifford, Lady Margaret.
Cupis, Giandomenico de. See Trani, Cardi-
nal of.
Curates, 859.
Curtprenich, a German colonel in the pay of
England, p. 548.
Customs, 52, p. 356, p. 549.
Cyprus, Governor of, Moro, 643.
D.
Da l'Armi, Lodovico, an Italian colonel in the
service of Henry VIII., and his Ambas-
sador at Mantua and Venice, 334, 335,
337, 338, 339, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347,
348, 350, 351, 352, 353, 355, 356, 363,
364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 370, 372, 376,
377, 381, 383, 385, 388, 390, 413 note,
Da l'Armi, Lodovico-cont.
……………..
……………. >
D'Anet, the seat of Madame de Valentinois,
967.
…………………… ·
421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 427, 429, 431,
432, 433, 434, 439, 440, 441, 443, 446,
451, 452, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460,
461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468,
470, 474, 475, 476, 477, 486, 487, 488,
490, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 500,
501, 502, 503, 506, 507 note, 508, 510,
512, 513, 516, 517.
Dalmatia, 179, 181.
Damosto, Messer Beneto, 54.
Damula, Marc' Antonio, Venetian Ambassador
with Charles V., 789, p. 557.
letters from, 378, 384.
beheaded at Venice for the assassina-
tion of Ser Maphio Bernardo, 514.
his armorial bearings, 514 note.
……………
Dandino, Gieronimo, Papal Secretary at Rome,
567, 666; Cardinal Bishop of Imola,
and Legate to Charles V., 767 note,
p. 393, 779, p. 408, 789, 790, 793, 799,
804, 810, 811, 812, p. 434, 850, p. 468,
p. 480, p. 557.
.......
letters from, 857, 886, 888, 890,
• ... D >
891, 892, 896, 898, 904, 905, 906, 908,
909, 910, 914, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923,
925, 926, 931, 932, 935, 936, 941, 942,
944.
*****
letter to, 768, 786, 816.
Dandolo, Antonio, C.C.X., 735, 736.
Matteo, Venetian Ambassador in
Rome, 158, 448, 563 note, 565, 604,
605, 607, 608, 609, 612, 614, 616, 619,
620, 622, 628, 636.
• ...
letters from, 562, 567, 572, 573,
577, 579, 582, 583, 585, 586, 587, 588,
592, 594, 595, 596, 597, 599, 600, 602,
603, 606, 610, 613, 618, 621, 627, 629,
630, 633, 635, 637, 638, 640, 641, 642,
643, 644, 646, 652, 654, 655, 656, 657,
660, 662, 666, 670, 684, 685, 690, 691,
696.
• >
letters to, 568, 590, 672, 759,
682, 692, 705.
, ......, news-letters from the Conclave
enclosed in the despatches of. See
Conclave.
******
his secretary, 592, 641.
Rome, Venetian Ambassador at.
Sec
Dandulo, Ser Leonardus, 986, 989, 990, 991,
993, 994, 996.
Darcy, Lord, K.G., p. 547.
Datario, the, 670; the Pope's intention to re-
form it, 652.
Davila, Don Luis, 886. See Avila.
Don Pedro, Marquis de las Navas,
Ambassador from King Philip to Queen
Mary, 886 note, 895, 896, 898, 904.
See Ambassadors.
Deeds, burnt, relating to monasteries, p. 550.
Defender of the Faith, the title of, 917, 925,
p. 532, p. 546, 946.
Delft, 222.
GENERAL INDEX.
647
Delz, Hanibal, Count, a Sienese, 346, 353.
Deni [Denny ?], John, an Englishman, 282.
Denmark, 246, p. 540, p. 542.
King of, 325.
**
Christine of. See Lorraine, Duchess
of.
Derby, Earl of, Lord of the Isle of Man, K.G.,
p. 354, p. 539 note, p. 547, p. 554.
Derbyshire, iron mines in, p. 543.
Devon, Earl of. See Courtenay.
*9
Devonshire, the Commons of, p. 265, p. 266.
the risings in, p. 457, 854.
Diamond, present of a, to Queen Mary, 904.
Diego, Don. See Mendoza.
Dieppe, 920.
letter dated at, 1025.
………………………, governor of, 831.
Diet, the (A.D. 1531), 1024.
Diets.
See Augsburg, Brussels, Ratisbon,
Worms.
Dijon, 313.
***
..
1
Diligam (or Dillingan), monastery of, near
Brussels, 850 note.
.... *******
letters dated at the, p. 494, 883,
917, 946, 947.
Dillingen, p. 418 note, 819, 850, p. 463, 872,
p. 488, p. 491, 901, 906, 955, 957.
letters dated at, 808, 809, 810, 811,
812, 813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 818, 820,
821, 822, 823, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829,
832, 834, 836.
university of, 832 note.
******
Dinant, 919.
Dispensations granted to friars to renounce
holy orders, 29.
Divorce of Henry VIII. and Katharine of
Aragon, 45, 99, p. 243, p. 534, p. 558
(A.D. 1531-2), 1002, 1003, 1005, 1006,
1007, 1008, 1014, 1015, 1017, 1024,
1025, 1026, 1028.
Divorces, p. 556.
Doctors of Laws, opinions of, touching Julius
II.'s dispensation, 1005.
Doge, the, of Venice, 53, 136, 356, 365, 395,
396, 399, 402, 466, 479, 480, 510, 530
note, 567, p. 349, p. 359, p. 362, 833,
899, 1024.
>
.9 ……………
159.
***
..
""
...
Andrea Gritti, 71, 88.
*****
•
****
..
Pietro Lando, 316.
……………**
letters from, 53, 64, 107, 108,
letters from, 296, 322.
Francesco Donado, 429, 469 note, 483,
520, 522, 557.
letter to, 136.
the arms of, 511 note.
****
*****
letters from, 367, 483, 484, 693.
Marc' Antonio Trevisan, letters to,
754, 834.
•9
Francesco Venier, letter from, 912.
letter to, 908.
Dolce, 277.
Dolfin, Alvise, a grocer of Venice, 615.
Dominicans, the, 615 note.
order of, p. 380.
Donado, Francesco. See Doge.
Donato, Ser Aloysius, C.C.X., 847, 848.
Donavert, Protestant forces at, 376 note.
Doria, Prince, commander of the Imperial
fleet, 292, 619, 620, 637, 919.
Dorset, Marquis of, p. 251.
Dort, 222.
Dourlens, 944.
>
Dover, 312, 349, p. 353, 894, p. 545.
castle of, p. 353.
………………………
………………………, port of, p. 357, p. 358.
Dress of the English, description of the, p. 544.
Dressino, Christiano, Vicentine, 384.
Dublin, p. 357, p. 546.
"
I
Dudley, Sir Andrew, 742 note.
Guildford, p. 536.
………………………, ………………, beheaded, 865.
....
"
the Viceroy's court at, p. 546.
"
John, (successively) Viscount Lisle,
Earl of Warwick, and Duke of North-
umberland, 585, p. 352, p. 360, 626,
p. 393, p. 457, p. 535, p. 536, p. 549,
p. 550, p. 559, p. 563.
·· ',
his relations with Princess
Mary, p. 537.
his execution, 788, p. 538.
...
..
Dumbarton, p. 360, p. 361.
Dundee (? Dondino), castle of, taken by the
Scots, 534.
Dunkirk, 923.
Duodo, Jacomo, C.C.X., 487, 488, 513.
Duprat, Antoine, Cardinal Legate and Lord
Chancellor of France, 1005, 1020. See
France, Lord Chancellor of.
Durante, Cardinal, 587.
Durham, Bishop of, 116, p. 554.
··
E.
Ecclesiastics deprived of their revenues, p. 553.
Eckius, John, 238, 250 note, 254, 257.
Edict Steps, the, at St. Mark's and Rialto, 380,
413, 415, 425, 431, 436, 445, 578.
Edinburgh, English troops in, 309.
the gulf of, p. 361.
>
""
Edward II., King of England, p. 545.
Edward III., p. 545, p. 547.
the sons of, p. 541.
*****
number of parishes in the reign of,
p. 347.
Edward IV., p. 257, p. 541.
648
GENERAL INDEX.
Edward VI., 472, 473, 480, 481, 482, 484,
493, 518, 520, 521, 523, 526, 528, 531,
534, 556, 557, 566, 567, p. 241 note,
p. 245, p. 246, p. 247, p. 250, p. 254,
p. 255, p. 256, p. 262, p. 263, p. 264,
585, 589, 598, 679, 687, 692, 697, 698,
699, 700, 701, 702, p. 346, p. 347, 704,
707, 708, 711, 715, 730, 741, 742, 748,
764, p. 392, 847, 902, p. 533, p. 535,
p. 537, p. 538, p. 539, p. 540, p. 542,
p. 546, p. 550, p. 551, p. 555, p. 559,
p. 563, 936.
letters to, 483, 693.
•
..
•
....
the guardians of, 472, 480, 482, 520,
p. 339, 774, p. 420.
•
affianced to the young Queen of Scot-
land, 357, p. 562.
commissioners of, at Boulogne, 534.
fresh agreements between Charles V.
and, 566.
and King of France bent on war, 581.
.., a present from, to Domenego Bollani,
598.
...
*9
•
………………….., peace concluded between Henry II.
and, 655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 660, 664,
665, 675, 683, p. 343, 707; the treaty
to be observed with Queen Mary, 886.
glass makers in the pay of, 648.
the glass manufactory of, 669.
his coronation, p. 338, p. 359.
....
proposed embassy from Venice to,
480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 489, 493. See
Ambassadors.
..
commissioners appointed to adjust
disputes between Henry II. and, 624.
his negotiations with the French
King about Boulogne, &c., 626, 645,
649, 654, 658.
character of, p. 339.
his revenue, p. 355,
death of, 759, 760.
religion in the time of, 854.
knighted the Venetian ambassador
Soranzo, and gave him his royal badge,
933.
•"
•
•,
...
……………
an account of the reign of, p. 535,
p. 536, p. 537.
his illness, p. 536.
his will, p. 536.
,
Egmont, Count d', 854, 855, 936.
Elections, Parliamentary, p. 342.
Elizabeth, Princess, daughter of Henry VIII.,
39, 80, p. 346, p. 357, 854, 881, 886,
p. 535, p. 536, p, 538, p. 542, p. 553.
charges against, p. 538.
………………………, ………………, personal description of, p. 539.
...
...
****** ………
See Henry VIII., daughter of.
Ely, Bishop of, p. 554, 949.
Emo, Bernardo, C.C.X., 207.
Empire, the Bishops Electors of the, 63.
Electors of the, 157. See Germany,
Electors of; Imperial Electors.
Empress, the, 251.
Enclosures, Commission of, p. 251 note.
..."
Enghien, Mons. d', death of, 375.
Engine, a wonderful, 220.
Engineers, p. 358.
England, 2, 10, 24, 25 note, 31, 32, 34, 45,
54, 60, 64, 65, 68, 75, 78, 83, 84, 85,
107, 108, 112, 114, 116, 121, 126, 129,
130, 132, 136, p. 57, 144, 147, 150, 153,
154, 156, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213,
217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 234, 240, 245,
258, 260, 267, 283, 285, 287, 290, 291,
309, 310, 311, 315, 321, 329, 333, 357,
375, 377, 381, 382, 383, 384, 387, 400,
453, 469, 470, 473, 479, 481, 483, 497,
505, 521, 522, 526, 534, 540, 541, 544,
547, 556, 557, 562, 565, 570, 572, 573,
p. 242, p. 258, 576, 584, 589, 599, 645,
649, 650, 653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 672,
676, 682, 684, 700, 703, 715, 716, 766,
767, 768, 769, 770, 771, p. 391, 773,
774, p. 395, 776, p. 399, 778, 779, 780,
781, 782, 783, 784, 785, 786, 789, 790,
792, 797, 798, 802, 804, 805, 806, 807,
809, 810, 811, 813, 816, 820, 823, 824,
825, 826, 827, 830, 832, 833, 835, 836,
837, 862, p. 481, 872, 877, 882, 891,
897, 900, 901, 905, 906, 907, 910, 911,
914, 915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 923, 925,
926, 928, 929, 930, 931, 934, 935, 936,
937, 938, 944, 945, 946, 947, 948, 955,
957, 958, 959, 960, 962, 964, 965, 966,
968, 969, 970, 971, 972, 974, 976, 1002,
1003, 1007, 1009, 1010, 1012, 1016,
1017, 1020, 1021, 1022, 1026, 1029,
1031, 1032, 1033, 1035.
..
...
•
A
...
*****
*** .......
···
Venetian embassy to, 31, 686, 698,
700, 701, 753, 795, 796, 863, 864, 873.
Secretary to the, 40. See Am-
bassadors.
"" report on, by Carlo Capello, 54.
kingdom of, "offered " by the Em-
peror to Francis I., 84.
Venetian Secretary in, 148, 151, 242.
•
******
……….
a newsletter from, 312.
""
…………, troops to be raised for, in Italy, 377,
388.
Government of, p. 245, 661, p. 338.
exhorted by Pole to return to
the Catholic religion, 567.
the succession to the Crown of, p. 338.
....
, Report by Daniel Barbaro of his
Legation in, 703.
petitions and complaints of the people
of, p. 343.
*****}
..., fugitive apostates from France, Italy,
and Germany in, p. 349.
ر
the "rose" of, p. 362 note.
9
Bernardo's claims upon the Crown of,
746, 902.
,
claimants to the Crown of, on Edw.
VI.'s death, 760.
letters about the restoration of "the
religion" in, 850, 851, 854, 856, 858,
859, 865, 882, 883, p. 499, 888, p. 578,
847. See Catholic Church.
>
the lion of, 933 note.
Report by Giacomo Soranzo on, 934.
description of, p. 541.
GENERAL INDEX.
649
England-cont.
…………………….
………………
··
……………..
...
A
··
...
………
English, the, 80, 245, 254, 325, 327, 328, 565,
526, p. 345, 842, 901, 942, 1005, 1035.
Admiral, 342.
·
...
………….
לי
Protector of. See Somerset, Duke of.
and France, peace negotiated between,
331, 332, 333, 336, 362, 371, 373, 393,
400, 404, 405, 406, 407, 731, 901.
.
………………
war between, 327, 328, 329,
331, 341, 342, 373, 562, 576.
negotiations between, 391. See
also Edward VI.
....
*** ""
relations between, p. 562, 1001.
and Scotland, an agreement nego-
tiated between, 357.
*******
war between, 534, 535, 538,
540, 541, 544, 556, 562, 565, 576, 579,
584, p. 361.
agents, 404.
archers. See Archers.
army, 54, 306, 307, 311, 312, 313,
315, 316, 320, 324, 373, 393, p. 349,
p. 350, p. 549.
....
………….., weapons of the, p. 548.
English troops.
…………….
at Calais, 296.
in Scotland, 331.
Sce
company of soldiers in Italy, A.D.
1376, under Sir John Hawkwood, 977
to 1000.
Chronicle," the printed," p. 255.
cloths. See Cloths.
Commissioners, 568.
in France, 645, 649.
Court, the, 242, 474, 482, 493, 520,
557, 700, 701, p. 357, 867, 895, 919,
925, p. 544, 955, 958.
………………”
officials of the, p. 357.
fleet. See Fleet.
…………….
gentlemen, 340, 542.
...... at Venice, 532.
with the Bishop of Ceneda, 563.
Government. See England, Govern-
ment of.
loan contractors, 289.
manufactures, motion in the Venetian
Senate concerning duties on, 139.
militia. See Militia.
ministry, the, 355, 379.
news, destined for Constantinople,
865.
...
scholars, 116.
tongue, the, p. 347.
troops, 288, 290, 291, 294, 302, 307,
309, 541, 544, 547, p. 457, 854, 886,
p. 546, p. 548. See English army.
vessels, 375, 579. See Ships.
captured by the French, 359,
739.
wool. See Wools.
events, 95.
..-bred hobby, 135.
Englishman, a certain, at Liege, 150.
William, an, at Treviso, 430.
Englishmen, p. 481, 877, p. 489, p. 491.
<<
··
and women, description of, p. 544.
Epernon, Cardinal d', 927.
Erasmus, 222.
………………………
"
··
Erasso, "the secretary," p. 581.
Erizzo, Francesco, the Rev. M. Don, a scholar
of, 615.
··
Marco Antonio, Ser, son of Ser Fran-
cesco, 436, 444, 510, 511.
………………….., Lodovico, son of Ser Francesco, 437
note, 509, 511.
• ………………
ten, a match for twenty French-
men," 80.
•
""
Escu, Mons de l', 1030.
Estampes, Madame d', 327.
Este, Don Alfonso of, p. 628 note.
···
beheaded, 514.
*******
family, the, 511.
Estenai (Stenay?), 321.
Eurialo, Messer, 591.
Exchange, bills of, 941.
Exchequer, Court of, p. 341, p. 355.
·
Don Francesco da, brother to the
Duke of Ferrara, 222, 302, 412.
his secretary, 412.
******
Ippolito da. See Ferrara, Cardinal of.
………………………, revenues of the, p. 341, p. 549.
…………………, the, exhausted, p. 563.
Exeter, Bishop of, p. 554.
Barons of the, p. 341.
the Chief Baron of, p. 344.
officials, p. 355.
See Courtenay.
... …………………
Gertrude, Marchioness of, 206 note.
Exiles, English, harboured by the King of
France, p. 563.
Extradition of outlaws (treaty for, between
Venice and Milan), 476.
Marquis of, beheaded, 206 note, 806,
p. 539.
F.
Faber, John, Bishop of Vienna, 29, 35, 259.
Faenza, 994.
Falconeto, Hironimo, 845.
Falier, Lodovico, Venetian Ambassador in
England, 1011, 1018 note.
Falmouth harbour, 312.
Famagosta, city of, 510.
………………, Captain of the, 510.
C
Fano, Bishop of, Cosimo Gerio, letter to, 138.
D. Carlo da, 155.
………………………g
Fanoda, Bishop of, letter from Pole to the, 543.
650
GENERAL INDEX.
Fanz, Sigismondo, Monsignor, letter to, 385.
Farnese, Alessandro, Cardinal, 137, 206, 247,
249, 353, 407, 469, 479, 563, 564, 565,
583, 585, 586, 587, 588, 591, 594 note,
596, 599, 600, 602, 603, 606, 612, 614,
618, 621, 623, 626, 627, 629, 630, 631,
635, 636, 642, 666, 798, 825.
………….
...
.."
....
………………………….., letters to, 142, 570, 616,
617, 761, 782, 802.
""
………………………、 ………………, consignment of Parma to, 594.
his consort. See Margaret of
...
Alessandro, Prince of Parma, 587 note.
Horatio (Orazio), Duke of Castro,
565, 612, 636.
•
an oath administered to, as pre-
fect of the city of Rome, 588.
death of, 761, 762, 802.
Austria.
Pietro Alvise, Signor, 132.
........., Ranuccio. See Sant' Angelo, Cardinal.
family, 565, 586, 599, 621, 761.
Farnesians, the, 630.
…………….
Ottavio, Duke of Parma, 275, 565,
585, 586, 591, p. 285 note, 614, 635,
636, 642, 646.
Fasts, 50.
Fealty, p. 347.
Feltre, Bishop of, 238.
Felz, D. Leonardo, 27.
•
Ferdinand of Aragon, p. 351, p. 353.
……………………..
··
Ferdinand, King of the Romans, 27, 29, 35,
36, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 50, 51, 55, 59,
61, 62, 63, 66, 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 87,
89, 90, 93, 157, 164, 225, 265, 266, 267,
268, 269, 271, 307, 316, 828, 847, 848,
886, 893, 1008.
said to have instigated Henry VII.
to put the Earl of Warwick to death,
p. 257.
**
•
******
letter to, 26.
letter about the great affection existing
between Charles V. and, 36.
."
the.
?
his consort.
***
See Romans, Queen of
his sons, 27, 36, 90.
his daughters, 27, 90, 649.
Ambassador from, at Rome, 134.
his forces, 265 note, 270.
success of the Turkish army in
Hungary against, 297.
Venetian ambassador with, 182, 321,
399, 494.
See Contarini, Francesco.
letter to the, 848.
his ambassador in England, 90, 886,
p. 502, 923.
>
Knight of the Garter, p. 547.
""
Feria, Count de, 941.
Fernando, Prince Don [qu. Ferrante Gonzaga],
387.
Ferrara, 158, 387, 388, p. 628 note.
…………………***
………….
...
Cardinal of [Ippolito d'Este], 388,
588, 596, 602, 636, 643.
at Venice, 655.
to France, 1001.
…………… ?
to the Emperor and to
King Philip, in England (Count Rodrigo
Montecuccolo), 857, 928.
Marquis of (A.D. 1376), 979.
Alexander of, 346.
Piero da, 347.
Fiefs, England parcelled into, 54.
Fiesco, 637.
Figueroa, Regent. See Naples.
Fiordibello. See Pole, Cardinal, his secretary.
First Fruits and Tenths, Court of, p. 355,
p. 550.
Fish, 35, 41, p. 355, p. 542.
Fisher, John, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal,
54, 68, p. 58 note, 194 note, p. 224 note.
Fitzgerald, Lord Thomas, 150 note.
Gerald. See Kildare, Earl of.
Fitzroy, Henry. See Richmond, Duke of.
Fitzwalter, Viscount Thomas, 874 note, 880
note, 922, 935.
Duke of, 270, 388, 412, 586, 655, 886,
895.
ambassador from the, at Rome,
.....
565, 586.
·· ,. **
..
....
,
……………
"
Flaminio, Marc' Antonio, 563.
Flanders, 78, 80, 82, 144, p. 62, 254, 257, 258,
259, 260, 287, 294, 296, 302, 320, 321,
359, 517, 534, 544, p. 253, 620, p. 361,
748, 767, 768, 779, p. 408, 800, 801,
802, 804, 825, 865, 886, 890, 891, 905,
914, 919. 923, 924, 932, p. 542, 935,
1005, 1019,
…………………...
•
.......
galleys (i.e. the galleys trafficking
between Venice and Flanders and Eng-
land), 17, 52, 78.
., English ambassador in, 150.
importation into Venice of wools from,
210, 215.
...
··
...
··
*******
... "
the French army on the borders of,
296.
"
"
……………………., money voted by the States of, 942.
merchants in, p. 551, p. 553.
the eldest son of Philip and Mary
to have the states of, p. 561.
See Low Countries.
mail, the, stopped at Velletri, 586.
glass makers in, 648.
the war in (1554), 906, 907, 914, 919,
920, 921, 924, 926, 928, 936, 941.
war proclaimed in (1550), 654.
Charles V. arming in, 846.
Flandres, Louis de. See Praet, Mons. de.
Fleece, Order of the. See Golden Fleece.
Fleet, the English, 325, 336, 349, 357, 360,
393, 541, p. 351, p. 549.
Turkish. See Turkish.
……………………., Venetian, 16.
Flemings, the, 79, 654.
Flemish corsairs, p. 352.
ships, 312, 325.
Florence, 587, p. 534.
鹰
​...
··
•
•
.."
• •
•
·· • 2
...
...
…………………….
··· •
…….
......
Venetian embassy to, 54.
ambassador from, to Venice, 392.
to the Emperor, 517.
Cardinal Bourbon at, 618.
Duke of, 270, 629, 690, 886, 915, 927,
944, 965.
****
Florentine, a, 48, 346.
•
sels, 931.
castle, a, taken, 915.
exiles, treaty concerning, 92.
territory, the, 915.
Florentines, the, 353, 621.
in Rome, 599.
Fodringham Castle, p. 539 note.
Fontainebleau, p. 477, 876, p. 495.
letters dated at, 871, 872.
··
.....
*******
"
Di
the King of France at, 710.
Foreigners, treatment of, in England, p. 544.
pensions to, p. 553. See Strangers.
*****
Fortresses, p. 352, p. 357.
...3
·· ... >
......
I
at Leghorn, 599.
ambassador from the, at Brus-
GENERAL INDEX.
""
chamberlain of the, 931.
forces of the, 965.
on the coast of England, p. 358.
English, beyond the Channel, p. 358,
P. 549.
Scotch, p. 360.
in England, Ireland, and beyond seas,
the cost of, p. 553.
Forty, the criminal court of the (at Venice),
117.
the civil court of the, 188, 191, 741.
the Chiefs of, 188.
Foscari, Ser Philippus, 933.
"Foscarina," the (ship), 323.
Foscarini, Ser Alvise, C.C.X., 899.
……………………., Sebastiano, C.C.X., 207.
Fossombrone, 678 note.
……….
Foxe, Edward, English Ambassador in France,
1013, 1019, 1020.
Frago, Pedro, p. 319, 732.
France, 13, 21, 32, 34, 45, 64, 80, 92, 98, 113,
115, 118, 119, 121, 132, 140, 142 note,
p. 57, 144, p. 62, 219, 286 note, 302, 307,
309, 311, 313, 321, 325, 327, 329, 335,
357, 371, 373, 377, 381, 400, 431 note,
526, 534, 535, 538, 540, 541, 544, 562,
565, 566, p. 248, p. 260, p. 261, 576,
582, 584, 589, 624, 635, 637, 645, 649,
653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 665, 690, 702,
p. 359, p. 360, p. 361, 710, 739, 742,
748, 797, 798, 825, 839, 854, 855, 858,
861, 871, 886, 891, 896, 931, p. 540,
p. 542, p. 545, p. 562, 936, 941, 944,
968, 969, 1002, 1004, 1005, 1006,
1007.
Philip, King of [1303], p. 545.
Charles VI., King of, his daughter
Katharine, p. 545.
France-cont.
··
... •
…………………..
…………..
..
…….
...
……………
Francis I., King of, 4, 13, 14, 19, 20,
24, 25, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39, 57, 60, 65,
66, 80, 81, 83, 84, 88, 89, 92, 98, 105,
110, 113, 115, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122,
124, 127, 129, 132, 133, p. 57, 144, 147,
219, 244, 245, 246, 254, 286, 294, 296,
302, 313, 314, 321, 323, 324, 328, 329,
332, 333, 335, 336, 339, 359, 362, 371,
373, 377, 382, 388, 404, 405, 406, 408,
412, 413, 431 note, 441, 493 note,
p. 248, 624, 731, p. 479, 877, 1002,
1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008,
1010, 1011, 1012, 1013, 1015, 1016,
1019, 1020, 1021, 1022, 1023, 1024,
1025, 1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, 1030,
1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1036.
letters to, 199, 235, 322, 386.
the sons of, 39, 83, 1004, 1005.
the kingdom of England offered
to, by Charles V., 84.
··
··
......
....
..., great offers made by Henry
VIII. to, 84.
the armies of, 106. See French
>
....
army.
......, peace between Charles V. and,
320, 321, p. 158 note.
powerful preparations by, for
the recovery of Boulogne, 375.
......, money to be paid by, to the
King of England, 624.
ر
...
……………
sends one of his secretaries to
Charles V., 332,
>
651
the daughters of, 1005, 1006.
>
his household troops, 20.
Henry II., King of, 493, 526, 534,
535, 538, 540, 541, 547, 548, 560, 565,
566, 576, 579, 584, 588, 596, 599, 620,
621, 624, 629, 630, 633, 636, 637, 645,
654, 658, 665, 675, 683, 690, p. 361,
707, 708, 710, 713, 714, p. 372, 742,
751, 760, 761, 766, 770, 779, 781, 782,
p. 408, 798, 800, 801, 802, 803, p. 422,
806, 825, 830, 831, 837, 839, 850, 854,
855, p. 465, p. 468, p. 470, 870, 871
872, 874, 877, 879, 880, 882, 886, 887,
888, 889, 891, 893, 894, 897, 907, 914,
915, 917, p. 538, p. 540, p. 547, p. 562,
p. 563, 936, 942, 943, 944, 963, 965,
967, 968.
•S
letters to, 799, 969.
pension received from, by F.
Bernardo, 523.
•" ....
566.
...
…………………, ………………, a son born to, 556.
....
>
the commissioners of, 534.
his stately entry into Paris,
fortresses taken by, 583.
....
his negotiations with England
touching Boulogne, &c. See Edward VI.
at Blois, 702.
…, ………………, arming his troops, 846.
………………, report of an agreement between
......
the Switzers and, 566.
his relations with the Emperor.
See Charles V.
652
France-cont.
•
··
………………………
...
*****)
...
··
…………….
Dauphin of, 121, 296, 323, 327, p.
361, 907, p. 540, 1006. See Orleans,
Duke of.
Charles, son of Charles VI., p.
Dauphiness of. See Medici, Catharine
de.
borders of, 13.
churches in, conferred in Consistory at
Rome, 76.
....., report of, by the Venetian Ambas-
sador, 80.
war proclaimed by England against,
573.
··
...
… ་་
King of, the title of, assumed by the
King of England, 80.
Queen of, Eleanor of Austria, 24, 219,
707, p. 458, 935, 963, 1001, 1007,
1009, 1019, 1024, 1034.
her coronation, 566, 1006.
her daughter, 907.
Queen Dowager of. See Suffolk,
Duchess of.
""
•
...
,י
***
fugitive apostates from, in England,
p. 349.
•
••• •
545.
*****
د.
•
****
******
the relations of England and the
Emperor with, p. 361.
the claims of Francesco Bernardo
upon the crown of, 730.
,
Cardinal Pole requested by the French
to pass through, on his way to England,
p. 393.
>
………………
preparations in Flanders for a cam-
paign against, 886.
talk of withdrawing the obedience of,
from the Roman See, 942.
treaty with, confirmed by Queen Mary,
963.
,
the claim of English Kings to the
crown of, p. 545.
benefices of, 1035.
Admiral of, 24, 323, 327, 359, 362,
371, 393, 408, 448, 714, 831, 936,
1032. See Annebaut; Brion.
Constable of, Anne de Montmorency,
548, 707, 713, 714, 798, 831, p. 478,
p. 480, p. 547, 871, 880, 881, 897, 936,
963, 968.
>
*******
letter to, 800.
Council of (the royal), 1019.
Court of. See French Court.
Lord Chancellor of, 362, 371, 1036.
See Duprat.
GENERAL INDEX.
Vice-Chancellor of, 322.
Great Master or Lord Steward of, 24,
"
1004, 1006, 1011, 1012, 1020, 1024,
1033, 1034.
ambassadors from, at Bruges, 219.
↑
··
·· ..
·
sadors.
..
241, 371.
.. ·
at Calais, 393.
at Constantinople, 413,659.
>
to England.
See Ambas-
..."
****
to the Emperor, 227, 234,
France, ambassadors from-cont.
…………
………….
... ··
··
………
……………
..
at Luxemburg, 236.
at Rome, 71, p. 57, 122,
124, 199, 588, 596, 597, 600, 611, 641,
782, 941, 942.
…………………..g
......
…………♥
………….
******
...
…………
....
655, 658, 1011.
****
•
.... ·
•
to King John Zapolsky,
Rincon, 1011, 1012.
ambassadors resident at the Court of,
O
1006.
Venetian ambassadors to, 20, 25, 33,
>
286, 294, 313, 320, 360, 362, 375, 391,
393, 405, 406, 493, 645, 655, 659, 675,
831.
letter from the, 1001.
letters to the, 65, 323, 359,
683, 707, 713, 831. See Capello, Gio-
vanni; Giustinian (Francesco, Marin,
Sebastian).
………….
to Venice, 286, 323, 589,
secretary from, at Venice, 392, 405.
and Charles V., the peace between,
S04. See Charles V.
the war between, 823. See
Flanders.
…………… "
and England, negotiations between,
about Boulogne. See Edward VI.
the relations between, p. 562.
and Scotland, the friendship between,
p. 359.
Francesco, the Cardinal of Carpi's envoy to
Pole, p. 57.
Francesco, Giovanni. See Stella.
Franceschi, Giovanni Francesco de, Venetian
Secretary in Ergland, 695, 698, 699,
p. 564.
"
.....
English Ambassadors to. See Am-
bassadors.
Frankfort, city of, 398 note.
treaty of, 238.
ambassador from King John Zapolsky
to, Corsino, 1026.
.......
Frankish wools, p. 543.
Frangipani, Cardinal, 262.
Franzino, agent of Don Ferrante Gonzaga,
886.
Fregoso, Cesare, 428, 431 note, 456.
French, the, 80, 88, 98, 110, 245, 254, 286, 287,
382, 565, 589, 657, p. 350, p. 351, p.
360, p. 361, 742, 751, p. 431, 842, p.
465, p. 468, 909, 914, 920, p. 545, 936,
942, 965, 1003, 1011, 1019, 1035.
agents, 83, 329, 377, 382, 385, 404,
413, 842.
armada, destined for Scotland, 539.
army, 106, 294, 313, 320, 321, 321,
325, 357, 361, 373, 393, 897, 907, 919,
943, 944.
Cardinals, 596, 597, 599, 600, 607,
614, 618, 619, 621, 630, 631, 633, 636,
643.
... >
at Rome, oppose the bull against
England, 79.
cavalry, 302.
GENERAL INDEX.
653
French-cont.
...
…….
……..
··
•
....
commissioners (and English), at Bou-
logne, 645, 649.
crown, the, 80.
fleet, 322, 323, 336, 349, 357, 359,
360, 393, 540, 541, 547, p. 359, 713,
714, 895, 941.
court, the, 25, 83, 88, 124, 127, 129,
133, 219, 226, 391, 408, 448, 493, 579,
583, 585, 802, 825, 869, p. 477, p. 479,
872, 876, 879, 880, 887, 897, 924, 963,
964, 967, 968, 1002, 1004, 1005, 1007,
1009, 1011, 1012, 1014, 1019, 1020,
1021, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025, 1026,
1027, 1028, 1030, 1031, 1036.
forces, 307, 914.
fortresses, 312.
galleys, 70, 526, 1011.
in Zealand, 579.
……………….
•
gentleman, a, at Venice, 733.
government, the, 897, 900.
harbours, 831.
horse, 942.
infantry, 874.
ministers, 413, 1033, 1035.
ships, 312, 329, 336, 375, 831, 886,
894, 896, 900, 920.
spy, a, 894.
troops, 333, 375, 534, 535, 538, 541,
544, 548, 584, 839, 846, 887, 898, 906,
915.
• .. …………….
in Scotland, 653.
wars (i.e. between England and
France), p. 358.
embassy at Venice, 286 note.
Frenchmen, 855.
Friars, 35, 42, 70, 936.
brought from Spain to England by
King Philip, p. 580,
Friesland, p. 10, 312.
Friul, Daniel de, 347.
Friuli, the, 179.
Fuggers, the, 932.
Fustemberg, Count Frederick de, 269.
G.
Gaeta, proposals made by Charles V. at, 98.
Galeotus, Dominus, 983.
Galicia, the coast of, 886, 898.
Galleons, English, p. 548.
Galleys, not used by the English, p. 351,
p. 548.
Venetian. See Venetian.
……………………**
Gambara, Rev. de, Bishop of Tortona, 22, 23.
Gamboa, Don Hernando de, 886.
Gandia, Duke of, his son, Roderic Borgia, 131
note.
Garda, the Lake of (and its Island), 752, 761,
762, 784, p. 409, 786, 797, 798, 804.
letters dated at, 787, 792, 793,
……………………19 ……………….
802.
Gardiner, Stephen, Bishop of Winchester,
Lord Chancellor, 80, 219, 231, 232,
233, 234, 244, 257, 267, 362, 472 note,
p. 262 note, p. 341, p. 342, p. 349, 777,
p. 430, a. 431, 818, 860, 881, p. 488,
886, 895, 923, p. 538, p. 547, p. 554,
p. 555, p. 558, p. 559, p. 560, p. 563,
973, 976, 1013, 1017, 1025, 1026.
letter to, 777.
his imprisonment, p. 262.
an account of, p. 558.
>
.....
··
...
··
Garter, the habits of the, 45.
...
>
...
··
***
a commission to the Knights of the,
•
to hold a chapter for the re-establish-
ment of the Order, p. 431.
""
....
...
………….
the, presented to Philip of Spain on
landing, 923.
Gascon infantry, 313, 919, 963.
Gascony, insurrection in, 548.
Gastaldo, Giovanni Battista, 919.
Gates, Sir John, beheaded, 788.
Gaul, Cisalpine, 249.
Gavello. See Canalnuovo.
Genoa, 34, 270, 292, 637, 1011.
the festival of the, 923. See St.
George.
Order of the, account thereof, p. 547.
the Prelate of the, Bishop of Win-
chester, p. 547.
………………………
French Cardinals on the "Riviera
of, 597.
Genoese, a, 733.
Cardinal, a, 620.
Gentili, Benedetto, 163.
Gentlemen, in Queen Mary's service, p. 552.
Gerardo, Doctor [a minister of Charles V.],
944.
Gerio, Cosimo, Bishop of Fano, letter to, 138.
German bishops and lords, 30.
captains, two, engaged by IIenry VIII.,
312.
horse, 626.
infantry, 93, 742, 965.
troops.
ships fitted out at, by King Francis,
329.
-
""
language, the, 27.
merchants, 935.
soldiers in Italy (14th century), 987.
towns, 13.
troops, subsidised by England, p. 358,
p. 548.
war, the, 533.
See Imperial
654
GENERAL INDEX.
Germans, the, 36, 412, 685, 854, 901.
the Landgrave of Hesse offers to bring
20,000 into Italy against the Pope, 42.
High and Low, companies of, 919.
Germany, 13, 14, p. 10, 29 30, 32, 35, 42, 59,
62, 70, 82, 83, 132, p. 62, 218, 233,
246, 266, 296, 321, 448, 459, p. 251,
685, p. 372, p. 391, 806, 854, 893, 901,
942, p. 580, 1011, 1031.
..
...
•
··
……………..
Electors of, ambassadors of the, at the
Diet of Ratisbon, 257. See Empire,
Electors of the.
****
........
..
….., prelates of, 266.
Primate of, the Cardinal of Mentz,
246.
>
Princes of, 4, 29, 62, 222, 238, 246,
257, 259, 261, 262, 263, 265, 266, 270,
399, p. 392, 774, 854, 861, 865, 942,
1022, 1032.
ambassadors from, at Calais,
Protestant princes of, 401, 402, 411.
Protestants of, 412. See Protestants.
...
....
371.
Geronimo, Messer, 537.
... "
•
free towns of, 29, 42.
states of, 238.
fugitive"apostates" from, in Eng-
land, p. 349.
Ghent, the insurrection at, 221.
letters dated at, 213, 217.
Giberti, Giovanni Matteo. See Verona, Bishop
of.
Giovanni Giacomo, Messer, 809, 812.
Giovanni Gioachino, Dom. See Vaux.
Giuri, Cardinal, 599, 610.
.......
Giustinian, Francesco, Venetian ambassador in
France, 548.
... · ....
>
' ,
• "
9
•
Leonardo. See Justinian.
""
Marin, 80, 238, 243, 244, 245.
…………… 9
letter from, 1036.
Nicolò, 13 note. See Justinian.
Sebastian, Venetian ambassador in
France, 80, 1012.
letters from, 1001, 1002,
1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008.
Glass makers, Venetian, in England and else-
where, 574, 578, 648, 649.
Gloucester, Bishop of, p. 554.
Golden Fleece, Order of the, 227, 231, p. 547.
Goldsmiths' work, 931.
Goldwell, Thomas, Pole's servant, p. 398 note.
Goletta, the capture of, 70.
Gonzaga, Alessandro, Signor, 302.
Alvise, or Luigi, Signor, of Castel
Zuffre, invited to become General of
Henry VIII.'s Italian troops, 343, 377,
381, 383, 387, 388, 412, 466 note.
letters to, 448, 478, 658.
T
Venetian ambassador in France,
..
• "
Ercole, Cardinal and Regent of Man-
tua, 196, 270, 326, 372 note, 377, 602,
631 note, 640, 642, 936.
letters from, 377, 385.
Gonzaga-cont.
•
•
•
family, the, 390.
Gospelling and Gospellers, 901.
Gracioxo, alias Disperato, a glass maker, 648.
Gradonico, Ser Lucas, 999.
Grain, 207, p. 354, p. 542.
•
...
Grammont, Cardinal de, 1002, 1006, 1008,
1009, 1010, 1012, 1014, 1015, 1017,
1035, 1036 note.
Granada, Archbishop of, 543.
•
.. ··
د.
""
7
44
letters to, 196, 378, 381, 382,
.... >
383, 384, 387, 388, 530, 559, 804, 822.
Don Ferrante, Governor of Milan,
385, 387 note, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460,
461, 462, 463, 465, 468, 470, 474, 477,
486, 487, 488, 490, 494, 495, 496, 497,
506, 586, 631 note, 876, 886, 919, 941,
944.
Isabella of Capua, his consort,
his daughter, 690.
Francesco. See Mantua, Duke of.
·
.... "
456 note.
Granvelle, Nichole Perrenot, Seigneur de, Im-
perial prime minister, 222, 229, 233,
257, 314, 377, 381, 382, 383, 387, 391,
461, 517. His son Antoine; see Arras,
Bishop of.
Gravelines, 928, 931.
Greece, 65.
Greenwich, 312.
Gresham, Thomas, merchant, 941 note.
Grey, Lady Jane, 760, p. 393, p. 457, 865,
p. 535, p. 536, p. 537, p. 539, p. 540,
p. 559.
his agents at Rome, 543.
""
Cardinal Pole's pension from the See
of, 681 note.
*****
her sisters, "the Ladies Grey,"
mentioned in Henry VIII.'s will, p. 539.
Griffith [Griffetto], Captain, 560.
Grimani, Marco, Patriarch of Aquileia, sent by
the Pope to Scotland, 293.
Grimano, Ser Hieronimus, C.C.X., 866.
Grisons, the, 887, 915.
....
ambassadors from the, in France, 589.
Grist and contracts, taxes on, at Rome, 588.
Gritti, Alvise, Bishop of Agria [Agram],
1011.
•
>
Andrea. See Doge.
Zorzi, natural son of Doge Andrea
Gritti, 1011, 1012.
Groningen, p. 10.
Gropper, John, 250 note.
Gualteruzzi, Carlɔ, 530.
letter to, 808.
………. >
Goro, son of Carlo, 808.
Guastalla, castle of, in the Mantuan territory,
459.
Guasto, Marquis del, Governor of Milan,
death of, 375.
Guelders, Duke of, 80.
Guides, 863.
GENERAL INDEX.
655
}
Guildhall, p. 561, 854.
Guisnes, 400, p. 357, p. 545.
infantry conveyed from, to Boulogne,
579.
...
Guisa, Mons. Della. See Guise.
Guise, town of, 302, 1023.
...
Mons. de, 24, p. 477, p. 540, 1023.
Cardinal de, 599, 621, 630, 636, 642,
643.
9
""
Charles de. See Lorraine, Cardinal of.
Marie de. See Scotland, Queen Dow-
ager of.
>
Guzman, Don Martin, Chamberlain to Ferdi-
nand, King of the Romans, 36,
Haddington, 579.
...)
fortress of, 541.
French and Scotch troops at, 544.
surrender of, to the French, 582, 589.
*****
Hague, the, letters dated at, 222, 223, 224.
Haguenau, treaty of, 238.
Hainault, 935.
H.
Count of, 246.
..."
Hamburgh, p. 548.
Hampton, 52, 323, 886, 923.
……………………., port of, 357, p. 357, 929. See South-
ampton.
Hampton Court, 585.
Hanse Towns, the, 886.
Harquebuses, 308.
Harquebusiers, 495, p. 350, p. 357, p. 548.
Harvel, Sigismund, alias Edmund, English
Ambassador to Venice, 40 note, 282,
291, 295, p. 136 note, 338 note, 343,
348, 355, 356, 363, 365, 367, 370, 392,
416, 431 note, 432 note, 438, 439, 440,
441, 443, 462, 480, 482, 483, 484, 507
note, 528, 542, 581, 593.
his servants, 214.
.. ......
a motion made in the Senate
to exempt him from taxation, 354.
…………. *"
an official note of communica-
tions between the Venetian Government
and, 466.
•
an account of the funeral of, 614.
Hastings, Sir Edward, Master of the Horse,
brother of the Earl of Huntingdon, 962.
Havre de Grace, 323, 357.
Hawkwood, Sir John, English Condottiere in
Italy, negotiations of the Signory of
Venice with (A.D. 1376), 977 to 1000.
……………………., Thomas, son of Sir John, 983.
Heidelberg, 937.
··
Henry III., King of England, p. 356, p. 548.
Henry V., King of England, p. 545.
Henry VI., King of England, p. 255, p. 545.
Henry VII., King of England, 54, p. 541.
account given by Cardinal Pole of the
King's repentance of the injustice done
to the Earl of Warwick, p. 246, p. 247;
which injustice was done at the insti-
gation of Ferdinand of Aragon, p. 257.
Henry, Prince, son of Henry VII., his marriage
with Katharine of Aragon, p. 258.
Henry II., King of England, his conquest of
Ireland, p. 545.
Henry VIII., King of England, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7,
8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 24, 25, 31, 33, 34, 37, 38, 38,
40 note, 43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 57, 58,
60, 71, 72, 73, 80, 81, 83, 84, 86, 88,
89, 90, 92, 98, 99, 100, 103, 106, 108,
109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118,
120, 122, 124, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132,
133, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 157, 160,
161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170,
171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178,
179, 181, 185, 187, 199, 200, 203, 204,
207, 211, 212, 214, 216, 217, 219, 220,
221, 222, 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, 240,
242, 245, 254, 257, 267, 272, 273, 281,
282, 285, 286, 291, 295, 298, 302, 306,
307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316,
317, 319, 320, 324, 328, 329, 331, 333,
334, 335, 338, 343, 348, 354, 355, 356,
361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 368, 370, 371,
376, 377, 378, 379, 384, 390, 403, 404,
405, 406, 412, 431 note, 432 note, 438,
439, 440, 441, 443, 446, 452, 455, 458,
459, 461, 462, 464, 465, 466, 468, 469,
472, 473, 474, 477, 479, 480, 482, 483,
484, 505 note, 520, p. 224, 567, p. 248,
p. 264, 624, p. 342, p. 355, p. 357,
p. 358, 731, p. 380, p. 385, p. 387,
p. 392, p. 400, 847, 854, p. 490, p. 498,
901, p. 534, p. 536, p. 539, p. 549,
p. 550, p. 551, p. 553, p. 558, p. 560,
975, 1002, 1003, 1005, 1006, 1007,
1008, 1010, 1013, 1015, 1017, 1019,
1020, 1021, 1022, 1024, 1025, 1026,
1028, 1029, 1031, 1032, 1034, 1035,
1036.
*
•
•
………………….
letter from, 372.
letters to, 107, 159, 367, 389.
sentence pronounced against, by the
Pope, 13.
his proposed interview with Francis I.,
13.
………….. a gold chain given by, to Carlo Capello,
53.
………………
*******
his character, 54.
>
makes great offers to Francis I., 84.
the bull against, 68, 75, 76, 77, 79, 83,
99, 125.
>
causes Queen Anne Boleyn, her
brother, and four of his most confi-
dential servants to be beheaded, 103.
his marriage with Jane Seymour, 107,
♪
109.
',
close negotiations between him and
Francis I., 118.
his natural son, death of, 118.
***
656
GENERAL INDEX.
Henry VIII., King of England—cont.
•
…………………
4.
..
……………
......., peace between Francis I. and, 324,
325, 441, 469, 535.
sends a gentleman of his chamber to
Da l'Armi with a commission, 335.
Italian troops in the pay of, 343.
Da l'Armi.
See
., requests Francis I. to seize Cardinal
Pole and send him to England, p. 57.
a report of the Lord Deputy wounding,
216.
•
....
interview proposed between Charles V.
and, 306.
****
……………
the Emperor to adjust disputes between
Francis I. and, 321; advised by the
Emperor to place Boulogne in his
hands, 333.
****
preparing a large number of troops
for Picardy, 375.
death of, 453.
announcement to the Signory of the
death of, 480.
news of a fresh agreement between
Charles V. and, 373.
…………………… >
…………….
,
"
••
account by Cardinal Pole of the
justice done by, in his first Parliament,
to the Countess of Salisbury, p. 246,
p. 247.
•5
remarks by Pole on the injustices
perpetrated by, p. 249, p. 250, p. 255,
p. 263.
sent certain learned men to confer
with Pole, p. 253.
relations of Charles V. with, p. 256,
p. 259, p. 260.
the excommunication of, p. 263.
>
his will, p. 339, p. 535.
……. >
""
………………………, moneys levied by, p. 358.
د.
…….
the executors of, 472 note.
marriages of, p. 346.
his successes, p. 351.
his expenditure, p. 358.
******
account of the money which passed
into the hands of, p. 359.
"the rabid enemy of the Roman
Church," p. 382.
an account of the repudiation of
Katharine of Aragon by, p. 533. See
Divorce.
proposed Venetian Ambassadors to,
242, 441, 446, 462, 480.
*******
daughter of, proposed marriage of, to
a Frenchman, 216; to the Emperor, 287.
IIerat, city and province of, conquered by
Charles V., 34.
Hereford, Bishop of, p. 554.
Heresies, in the matter of the Trinity, p. 251.
Heretics, 849, 854, p. 466, 910.
Hermes, Monsignor, 385.
Herring fishery, the, 895.
Hertford, the Earl of, Protector of England,
375, 472, 473, 480, 482, 520, 528,
p. 547, p. 554.
letter from the Doge of Venice
to the, on death of Henry VIII., 484.
***
Hertford, the Earl of. See Somerset, Duke of.
Hesdin, fortress of, 321, 761 note, 968.
New, 965.
Hesse, Landgrave of, 35, 41, 42, 61, 66, 244,
245, 246, 263, 376 note, 398 note, 412,
448 note.
...
•
Hessians, the army of the, 361.
Hibermon, Mons. d', ambassador from Charles V.
to Philip and Mary, 928.
Hides, 358, p. 543, p. 546.
Highwaymen, English, 928.
Hilliard, Dr., the Pope's penitentiary, 560,
570.
Hoby, John, 282.
•
Sir Philip, 748 note, 904.
*******
Holgate, Robert. See York, Archbishop of
Holland, p. 10, 932, 935.
the Courts of, 222.
""
a gentlewoman of, 26.
...
.. ...
1
C
Holy Island, p. 353.
Holy Land, Henry III.'s proposed expedition
to the, p. 356, p. 549.
IIooper, Bishop, condemnation of, p. 349.
Horbes, Monsr. de, gentleman of the Emperor's
chamber, 857.
Horn, Count, sent by King Philip (from
England) to the Emperor, 928, 936.
Horses, 102, p. 357, p. 548.
•
Hospitals, p. 355.
Household, the Royal, expenses of, p. 357,
p. 552, p. 553.
…………
Howard, Katharine, Queen of Henry VIII.,
221, 222, p. 346, p. 385.
,
Charles, the Duke of Norfolk's nephew,
in Venice, 284.
, י
··
……………., Henry VIII. raises infantry in
the territory of the, 361.
..
··
Hungarian language, the, 27.
effigy of the, 42.
his wife, 221.
A
………………………
•
Hungarians, the, 265.
of Effingham, Lord, William, Lord
High Admiral, 922, p. 549; Chamber-
lain of the Household, p. 552.
Hungary, 35, 40 note, 225, 263, 266, 269,
1011, 1031.
999.
soldiers in Italy, 989.
......
ambassadors at Vienna, 59.
ambassador at Venice, A.D. 1376,
,
"
48, 1011, 1026.
the Papal Nuncio in.
See Rorario.
King John (Zapolsky) of, 42, 43, 45,
• .... ·
an ambassador of, arrested at
Vienna, 47.
$14. •"
his Queen widow, Elizabeth,
265 note, 270.
Queen Dowager of. See Maria
of Austria.
Anne of. See Romans, Queen of the.
......
IIunting, 36, p. 544.
IIuntingdon, Earl of, Francis Hastings, p. 457,
854, 962.
GENERAL INDEX.
657
•
Ibrahim, Bashaw, 1024; letter to, 34.
Imola, Cardinal Bishop of See Dandino,
Gieronimo.
Hieronimo da, doctor of philosophy,
……………..
......
………………………
Imperial ambassador at Abbeville, 1035.
to France, 83, 1007, 1011, 1019,
..
……….
………………
826.
………………
………..
...
………….
1033.
****
I.
at Venice, 14, 392, 497, 840, 841,
843, 860. See Vargas.
at Rome, 71, 75, 89, 98, 134,
144, 942. See Cifuentes.
…………..
agents (in England), 842.
army, the, 106, 294, 296, 297, 302,
306, 307, 312, 313, 320, 915, 919, 923,
935, 936, 945, 965.
…………….
under St. Dizier, letter dated
from the, 314.
…………..
artillery, 942.
camp, the, 919, 925, 926, 931, 942.
letters dated at the, 412.
cavalry, 302, 905.
Court, the, 213, 257, 314, 356, 373,
407, 458, 459, 494, 497, 517, 534, 565,
566, 567, 596 note, 616, 617, 623, 626,
767, 768, 784, 793, p. 422, 806, 809,
811, 812, 816, p. 436, 821, 828, 836,
845, 850, 851, p. 464, 869, p. 489, 886,
887, 904, p. 557, 936, 970.
......, an ambassador from Ferrara at
the, 857. See Ferrara.
..
…………**
under Wittenberg, letters dated
at, 506, 517.
cardinals at Rome, 617, 618. See also
Imperialists.
……………
Papal Nuncio at the, 966. See
Papal Nuncios.
dominions, the, 80.
Electors, the, 742. See Empire, Elec-
tors of the; Germany, Electors of.
family, the, p. 258.
government, the, 855.
infantry, 742, 905. See German in-
fantry.
ministers, p. 469, 944.
pioneers, 942.
ships, 854, 861.
troops, 115, 294, 312, 544, 839, 854,
886, 887, 890, 905, 906, 914, 916, 968.
besieging Terouenne, 751.
……………
Imperialists, 24, 565, 586, 594 note, 600, 623,
629, 630, 631, 636, 642, 690, p. 438,
854, p. 464, p. 468, p. 492, 889, 893,
919, p. 560, 944.
Inchkeith, island of, p. 361.
India, 1011.
Indulgence, plenary, 59.
Infantry, English, p. 351, p. 548, p. 553.
Infidels, the, 228, p. 372. See Turks.
Inspruck, 274, 517.
………………………S
letters dated at, 90, 93, 274.
Insurgents, in England, 132, 143, p. 358.
Insurrections. See Rebellions.
Interdict, the Papal (of trade with England),
68.
Ireland, 150, 234, p. 353, p. 357, p. 548.
churches in, p. 347.
....
··
>
....
cost of the defence of, p. 357, p. 358.
garrisons of, p. 357.
the mint in, p. 357.
the viceroy and officers of, p. 357, p.
546.
.....
•
………, an account of, p. 545.
rebellions in, p. 546.
Prior of, Sir Oswald Massingberd,
Irish, the, p. 545.
•
>
539.
…………….
Irish Channel, the, p. 353.
Iron mines in Derbyshire, p. 543.
Isabel of France, consort of King Edward II.,
p. 545.
Isepo, of Trent, 445, 449, 461, 462, 475, 498,
516.
cavalry, p. 546.
infantry, p. 546.
Iseppo, a Vicentine, servant to Thomas Staf-
ford, 750.
Islands subject to England, p. 347.
Istria, 981. See Capo d'Istria.
Italian ambassadors with Charles V., 908.
bravi sent to England, 343.
mercenaries, Henry VIII.'s dealings
with, p. 135 note, 343.
merchants, 1012.
potentates, 321, 412.
soldiers (in the 14th century), 987,
989.
troops (ie., French troops returned
from Italy), 547.
Italians, the, 35, 1011.
Italy, 2, 30, 32, 42, 50, 55, 80, 83, 87, 132,
159, 179, 246, 257, 259, 269, 270, 292,
335, 343, 372, 375, 384, 476, 548, 637,
646, 655, 742, p. 393, p. 395, 846, 854,
891, 895, 901, 923, 931, p. 543, 955,
963, 1005, 1008, 1011, 1012, 1024,
1035.
>
the Pope purposes waging war in, 35.
Lutherans numerous in the cities of,
>
35.
>
French troops on the way to, 313.
French lieutenant in, 375.
the syndics of, p. 343.
>
fugitive apostates from, in England,
p. 349.
Ivica, 419.
5.
T T
658
GENERAL INDEX.
}
01
Janissaries, 554.
Jerusalem, kingdom of, renounced by Charles
V. in favour of his son Philip, 924, 925.
Jewels, p. 358, p. 359, 915, p. 533, 935.
presented to Queen Mary, 898, 904.
Jews, 208.
living as Christians, 229.
Venetian, merchandise belonging to,
seized at sea by the Prior of Lombardy,
572, 586, 588.
•
""
J.
Joanna of Austria, daughter of Charles V.,
Princess of Portugal and Governess of
Spain, 880, 886, 904.
Jousts in France on the Queen's coronation
(A.D. 1531), 1002, 1004, 1005.
..
.., account by Francis I. of a custom of
Henry VIII. with respect to, 1005.
Juan, a Spaniard, servant to Thomas Stafford,
750.
Jubilee, publication of the (in 1554), p. 458,
p. 481.
Julian, a Spanish captain, 919.
Juliers. See Cleves and Juliers.
Jury, the mode of trial by, p. 340, p. 557.
Justification, the doctrine of, 901.
Justinian, code of the Emperor, p. 26 note.
Leonardus, C.C.X., 6.
>
..., Nicolo, C.C.X., 672, 673. See Gius-
tinian.
K.
Katharine of Aragon, 13, 54, 80, 99, 105, 226,
p. 243, p. 256, p. 257, p. 258, 823,
p. 490, p. 534, p. 558, 1002, 1005.
•,
***
an account of the repudiation
of, p. 533.
death of, 90, 93. See Divorce.
........., repeal by Queen Mary of the acts
concerning the divorce of, p. 538.
Kells, archdeacon of, Charles Reynolds, 150
note
Kent, the rebellion in (of Sir T. Wyatt),
p. 457, 854, 861, 865, p. 539, p. 560,
p. 563.
Kerseys, 139, p. 357, p. 543.
Khoffeldt, 26.
Kildare, Earl of, Gerald Fitzgerald, 196, 539.
King's Bench, the Court of, p. 339.
chief justice of the, p. 339.
Kingston, port of, p. 357.
…………………***
Kiupperdollinckh, lieutenant of John of Ley-
den, 26.
La Fère, 889.
Læsæ Majestatis, the crime of, 936.
Lancaster, duchy of, p. 356, p. 549.
Duke of, p. 541.
……………PING 2
Lancastrian family, the, p. 541.
Landgrave, the. See Hesse, Landgrave of.
Lando, Doge Pietro, 316.
...
letters from, 296, 322.
Landrecy, 302.
taken by the French, 296.
Land's End, the, 894.
Langes, Bishop of ("Mons. de "), sent by
Francis I. to the Pope about Henry
VIII.'s divorce, 1008.
1.
L.
Lansquenets, 105.
Laon, letter dated at, 907.
Laredo, 895.
Lasso, Don Pedro, ambassador from Ferdinand
King of the Romans to Philip and
Mary, 886.
Lauder (Lanfort), p. 353.
Lautrec, Mons. de, 1031.
Lavaur, Bishop of (Episcopus Vaurensis), 235.
letter to, 279.
·· ……………….
………………………, (Lavaor), Mons. de, 219.
Law Courts, the English, p. 339.
...
sent to Henry VIII., 1032.
"
going to Germany, 83.
Law suits, numerous, in the Court of Augmen-
tations, p. 355.
Laws, English, 54, p. 339, p. 557.
La Warr, Lord, K.G., 547.
Laybach, Bishop of, 70.
Le Vergier (in France), 1034.
Lead found in England, p. 354, p. 356, p. 543.
Leagues:-
...
between the Emperor and Venice, 98.
between the Emperor, the Pope, and
Venice against the Turks, 159, 172.
between Henry VIII. and Charles V.,
292, 294, 296, 297.
*******
between the Emperor and the Pope
against the Protestants, 377 note, 407.
between England and France, 391.
between Henry VIII., Francis I.,
Venice, and the Protestants against the
Emperor, 412.
defensive, between Francis I. and
Venice, 448.
GENERAL INDEX.
659
Leagues-cont.
··
………….
See Treaty.
Leather, English, 358.
Irish, p. 357.
.......
"belli Germanici fœdus," 454.
between the King of France and the
Switzers, 589.
between the Pope and the Emperor,
1024.
10 "
Legates. See Papal Legates.
Leghorn, 419.
"
.....
Leicestershire, p. 457.
Leith, p. 361.
Lelio (or Lilio), 409.
Lent, how observed, 35, p. 347.
Lerici, 275.
Levant, the, 139, 166, 197, 254.
Levrieri, wife of, D. Cecilia, 188, 191.
Leyden, John of, p. 10, 26, 61, 62.
David of, p. 10.
>
Lido, church of St. Nicholas at, 346.
Liege, 144, 158, p. 253, p. 436, p. 438, 886,
914, 919.
****
··
letters dated at, 149, 150, 153, 155,
156.
the territory of, 63.
>
Cardinal Pole's departure from, p. 393.
Bishop of, Erardo della Marck, p. 62,
149, 150, 153, 155, 156.
letters to, 144, 145, 163.
Lieutenants, Lords, of English counties, p. 350.
Lilio (or Lelio), 409.
Ligni, 313.
Lincoln, Bishop of, 893, p. 554.
Lindisfarne, the holy island of, p. 353.
Linen, p. 357.
Lisbon, 880.
French Cardinals at, 596, 599.
the Duke of Florence at, 599.
"
……………..
....
...
Lisle (in Flanders), 919.
Lisle, Viscount, Arthur Plantagenet, Lord
Deputy of Calais, 216, 217. See Calais,
Lord Deputy of.
Lord, Dudley, Admiral of England,
Commissioner for England at Calais,
393; ambassador to Francis I., 408.
See Admiral, Lord High.
London, 3, 126, 312, 316, 325, 567, 573, 589,
p. 344, p. 346, 713, 714, 770, 831, p.
457, 854, 855, 861, 865, 881, 886, 893,
896, 897, 907, 922, p. 534, p. 537, p.
538, p. 541, p. 547, p. 551, p. 559, p.
561, p. 563, 935, 936, 945, 965, 972.
Literature in England, p. 544.
Lizard, Cape, 894.
Llandaff, Bishop of, p. 554.
Loan, a, from the city of London, 312.
Loans raised by English sovereigns in Flanders,
p. 551, 941. See Merchants.
Lodi, 466 note.
Lombardy, Prior of, goods belonging to Ve-
netian Jews plundered at sea by the,
572, 586.
Lonato, the archpresbytership of, 787, 831.
……………………
………………………
►
……., the proveditors of, 557.
the Republic's consul in, 207.
………………………, a loan from the city of, 312.
>
··
..
··
>
letters dated at, 4, 135, 286, 288, 452,
455, 789, 790, 894, 895, 918, 966, 969,
975.
·
....
…………1
the Council of Twelve in (of the Ve-
netian merchants), 52.
factory, the (i.e. the Venetian), 52,
211, 520.
…………, port of, p. 357.
*****
...
....
insurrections in, 579, 581, 626.
petition from the Muranese glass-
makers in, 648.
Queen Mary's arrival in, 783.
the municipal government of, p. 344.
sheriffs of, p. 344.
>
foreigners disarmed in, 855.
description of, p. 543.
Bridge, p. 543.
>
....
>
registers of Venetian consuls in, 520.
Lord Mayor of, p. 544.
*****
""
Londoners, the, p. 345, p. 392, p. 430, 855,
895, p. 561.
Longo, Francesco, C.C.X., 494, 497, 500,
>
501.
Longuy, Claude de, p. 284 note. See Giuri,
Cardinal.
……………….
mode of election of the, p. 344.
......
Lorges, Mons. de, French commander in Scot-
land, 342, 375.
jurisdiction of the, p. 345.
,
Bishop of, p. 554.
Tower of. See Tower.
Lorraine, Duke of, 14, 314, 321, p. 477, 1005.
Duchess of [Christine of Denmark],
p. 458, 935, 1006.
***
"
Cardinal of [Charles de Guise, Arch-
bishop of Rheims], 98, 599, 610, 611,
630, 781, 782, 798, 802, 825, p. 479,
p. 480, 967, 1023, 1036.
Loredano, Pietro, C.C.X., 734.
Louise of Savoy, 1009, 1024.
Louvain, 825, 919.
Cardinal Pole at, 850.
Low Countries, the, 79, 246, 320, 321, 855,
p. 468, p. 490, 928, p. 560, 935, p. 578.
the Bishops of the, p. 458.
Governess of the. See Maria, Queen.
See Flanders.
Lucchese, the, 944.
merchants at Antwerp, 944.
40.
Luden, Jo. (signature of the Archbishop of
Lund), 61.
Ludovici, Daniel, a Venetian secretary, 1, 257.
Lund, Archbishop of, letters from, 61, 62.
TT 2
660
GENERAL INDEX.
Luther, Martin, p. 10, 30, 59, 74, 82, 221,
p. 546.
··
……………. " ******
Lutheran creed, the, 13.
heresies, 97, 146.
sect, 41, 74.
...
··
strong measures adopted against
the, by the King of France, 32.
Lutheranism, the preaching of, 220.
....
·
Lutherans, the, 29, 35, 50, 55, 59, 82, 128,
132, 218, 244, 250, 254, 257, 268, 811,
1011.
*1.3
• ·9
IIenry VIII. said to have made an
agreement with the, 335.
league between the Pope and the
Emperor against the, 407.
in Italy, 35.
Luxemburg, 234, 307, 935, 942.
letter dated at, 236.
Duke of, 74.
•
""
Lyons, 99, 125, 129, 131, p. 62, 963, 1012.
letter dated at, 141.
Macasuola,
Madrucci, Cristoforo. See Trent, Cardinal of.
Maestricht, 222. See Mastricht.
Maffei, Cardinal, 565, 586.
"
……………
letter to, 737.
Magdeburg, See of, 752.
****
benefices in the Church of, 829.
Magliana, La (at Rome), 585.
Maguzzano, 804.
letters of Cardinal Pole dated at the
monastery of, 752, 754, 761, 762, 763,
764, 765, 766, 767, 768, 769, 771, 772,
773, 774, 776, 777, 778, 780, 781, 782.
""
his two sons, 74.
his wife, Catharine Bora, 74.
33
Main Land, Sage for the, 54.
…………………***
Venetian governors on the, 451.
Marriages, celebrated or proposed :—
1235
>>
Between Princess Elizabeth and Mons.
در
در
""
M.
""
>>
672.
""
""
Majorca, galleys of, 323.
Malmsies, Venetian ships laden with, 322,
323, 713, 714.
Malvasia, 167, 286 note, 428.
Man, Isle of, description of the, p. 354.
Mancino, Francesco, 345, 353.
Manfron, Signor Zuan Paulo, 456.
Mantua, 97, 146, 147, 196, 277 note, 326, 383,
384, 387, 586, 649, 936.
··
·
....
letters dated at, 377, 385, 389.
duchy of, 377.
the government of, 377.
Duke of, 146, 377, 378, 381, 384, 390,
"
p. 469.
....
……………
···
letters to the, 5, 135, 372.
letter from the, 389.
death of the, 649.
>
Duchess of, 381, 382, 390; Regent,
936.
··
.....
"
""
1
Cardinal and Regent of. See Gon-
zaga, Ercole.
..,Regents of (the Cardinal and Duchess),
936.
Marcello, Andreas, C.C.X., 6.
Marck, Erardo della. See Liege, Bishop of.
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma
(natural daughter of Charles V.), 565,
585, 587, 627, 636, 1003 note.
Marco, Don. See Mattheo.
Margaret, Queen, sister of IIenry VIII.,
P. 540.
Margate, 323, 895.
Maria of Austria, Queen Dowager of Hungary,
Governess of the Low Countries, 79,
99, 126, 144, 145, 257, 287, 316, 534,
p. 458, 854, 857, 858, 876, 889, 919,
935, 943.
her court, p. 62, 155.
Mariano, Angelo, at Verona, 337.
Marienburg, 914, 943.
Marino,
614.
Maritime rights, 359.
Marriage, form of, in England, p. 348.
d'Angouleme, son of Francis I., 39, 80.
the sons and daughters of Henry VIII. and Francis I., 60, 64.
Princess Mary and the Duke of Orleans, 105, 127.
the daughter of Henry VIII. and “
ઃઃ a Frenchman," 216.
the daughter of Henry VIII. and Charles V., 287.
Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour, 107, 108, 109.
Henry VIII. and Katharine Howard, 221, 222.
Henry VIII. and Katharine Parr, 295.
Prince Edward and Mary Queen of Scotland, 357.
Edward VI. and the daughter of the King of France, 541, 707, 708, 710,
760.
Queen Mary and Philip of Spain, p. 437, 837, 839, 843, 844, 845, 851, 852,
854, 855, 856, 861, 854, 865, 867, p. 481, 874, 875, 877, 880, 881, 888, 893,
904, 912, 917, 923, 924, 928, 930, p. 538, p. 539, p. 559, p. 560, p. 563, 937,
938, 940, 944, 946, 954, 966; articles of the marriage, p. 470, 891, 919,
923, p. 561; the French try to impede it, 842; four ambassadors sent by
the Emperor to negotiate it, 846; its conclusion, 853.
GENERAL INDEX.
661
Marriages, celebrated or proposed-cont.
Between the King of Scotland and Madame Madeleine, daughter of Francis I., 124,
127, 129, 133.
29
•"
309
در
""
""
..
29
در
39
""
>>
در
""
the Duke of Cleves and Juliers and the Countess Palatine, 213.
the son of the Duke of Lorraine and the Duchess of Milan, 258.
Octavian Farnese and Margaret of Austria, 275 note.
the son of the Duke of Savoy and the daughter of the Princess of Navarre,
320.
the Duke of Orleans and the daughter of Charles V., or the daughter of the
King of the Romans, 320, 321, 332.
""
Francis I. [and Eleanor of Austria], 1004.
Marriages, the sale of, p. 356.
Marseilles, 541.
the Dauphin and Mary Queen of Scots, p. 361.
the Duke of Mantua and the daughter of Ferdinand, 649.
Don Garcia de Toledo (son of the Viceroy of Naples), and Vittoria Colonna,
the lieutenant at, 1005.
Marsilio, Signor, the Emperor's equerry, 412.
Martelosso, Jeronimo, in Murano, letter to,
343.
Martial law, p. 351.
Martin, an Englishman, at Venice, 298.
Martinengo, Dom Hieronimo, 495, 500, 501,
694.
Princess Elizabeth and Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, son of the King of the
Romans, 881.
Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley, p. 536.
Catharine de' Medici and the Duke of Angouleme, 1003.
………….
512.
Count Pietro, 501.
Marviglier, Mons. de, French ambassador in
Venice, 683.
Mary, Princess (daughter of Henry VIII.),
and subsequently Queen of England,
54, 83, 90, 316, 568, p. 346, p. 357,
760, 765, 770, 771, p. 391, 774, p. 399,
p. 401, 779, 783, p. 407, p. 408, 786,
788, 789, 790, 792, 804, 806, 809, 811,
813, 816, 818, p. 438, 822, 823, 824,
832, 843, 844, 846, 847, 851, 853, 854,
855, 856, 858, 861, 862, 863, 865, 867,
868, p. 481, 872, 874, 881, 882, 883,
886, 887, 888, 889, 891, 892, 893, 895,
896, 897, 898, 902, 903, 904, 912, 914,
915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 921, 922, 923,
925, 928, 929, 931, p. 533, p. 534,
p. 535, p. 537, p. 539, p. 541, p. 542,
p. 551, p. 563, 935, 936, 937, 938, 941,
942, 944, 945, 946, 947, 948, p. 580,
954, 955, 957, 959, 960, 962, 964, 965,
966, 967, 970, 971, 972, 973, 976, 1005.
>
Queen, letters from, 807, 849, 859,
949, 953.
letters to, 766, 776, 805, 836,
939, 958.
..
...
her succession to the crown of
England, 764.
>
………… ""
her demand for absolution from
the Pope, 797.
...
her chaplains imprisoned in the
time of Edward VI., p. 420.
coronation of, 807, p. 430, 813,
823, 830, 854, p. 563.
the costs thereof, p. 553.
*******
Mary, Princess-cont.
………….
..
··
•
•
•
•
•
..
tion, p. 431.
………. >
•.
………………………. ………………, presents to, 931.
………………., ……………., grant by, to the Venetian am-
bassador Soranzo, 933.
…………. "
Pope, p. 488.
Cardinal Pole's conduct and
opinions with respect to her marriage,
p. 488.
•
p. 545.
oath taken by, at her corona-
her ministers, p. 431.
her autograph letter to
……………
her proceedings on Edward
VI.'s death, p. 537.
…… ………………, proclamation of, p. 538.
• .... ""
her relations with Princess
Elizabeth, p. 538.
her title as Queen of France,
··
personal description of, p. 532.
her relations with Henry VIII.
and Edward VI., p. 533, p. 534, p. 535,
p. 536.
……………….
p. 546.
………………
""
the
.....
…………..
ok
her guard, p. 552.
>
her expenditure, p. 553.
…………… ………………, secret interview between, and a
Papal agent, p. 557.
and Courtenay, p. 559.
.....
her marriage. See Marriages.
Masone, Sir John, English ambassador with
the Emperor at Brussels, 482, 484, 85ü
note, p. 469 note, 874 note, p. 869, 891,
893, 914, 923, 936, 941, 944, 962.
Mass, the, p. 349, p. 533, p. 556.
Massingberd, Sir Oswald, prior of Ireland,
539.
as Queen of Ireland, p.545.
as Defendress of the Faith,
Thomas, 539 note.
Mastricht, two German captains from, 312.
Mattheo (or Marco), Father Don, of Brescia,
689.
Matthew, John, a baker of Harlem, 26 note.
662
GENERAL INDEX.
Mauricio, Philippo, 323.
Mauro, Ser Jacobus, 981, 991.
Mauroceno, Franciscus, C.C.X., 367, 368, 370.
Ser Michael, 981, 990.
Ser Nicolaus, 977, 978, 980, 982, 987,
989, 990, 991, 993, 994, 996, 1000.
Maurocenus, Petrus, C.C.X., 672, 673, 866,
999.
Maximilian, Emperor, 27, 690.
Maxwell, Lord, Scotch commander, account
of his defeat by the English, 288, 291.
Mechlin, 942.
··
Mecklenburg, Duke of, 74.
Medici, Catharine de', Dauphiness, 323, 640
note, p. 477, 1003.
Gianangelo de', Archbishop of Ragusa,
•
•
.,
Medina de Campo, fair of, 941.
Medon, Cardinal, 618.
Bre
Meghen, Count of, 944.
Megi, Count Lunardo di, 421, 422.
Melancthon, 74, 238, 245, 250 note.
…
9
549.
...
Melphi (Amalfi ?), Prince of, 373, 375.
Melun, 406, 645, p. 477, 1016.
...
letters dated at, 327, 1016, 1018.
Men-at-arms, p. 548.
Mendoza, Don Diego, Imperial ambassador at
Rome, 277, 548, 565, 567, 573, 586,
588, 596, 599, 626, 631 note, 637, 640,
641, 642, 643, 690.
Don Francisco de, 935, 936.
***
Don Juan de, 819, 820, 821, 823, 825,
p. 466, p. 468.
Mentz, Cardinal, Archbishop of, 246, 850.
Merchandise, Venetian, in England, 68.
English, 78 note.
*******
Merchant galleys, 281.
Merchants, 99, 922, 944.
..
**19
denies being the author of a pamphlet
published in his name, 245.
Duke Alexander de', 1003.
,
....
•
time allowed to the, in the Bull of
Interdict, to wind up their affairs in
England, 75.
******
Ag
***
Florentine, 312.
Genoese, 312.
•
in Ireland, p. 357.
Lucchese, 312.
Spanish, 909.
Venetian, 10, 17, 25, 52, 68, 75, 85,
210, 211, 212, 215, 316, 323, 359, 482,
520, 557, 700, 867, 976.
English, p. 348, p. 357, p. 358.
at Antwerp, 855.
......
foreign, in England, p. 352, p. 544.
...
of Antwerp, and in Flanders, loans
from the, p. 551, p. 553, 916, 941.
Mestre, 347.
Metals, p. 357.
Metz, Archbishop of, 752.
Meuse, the, 919.
S
Miani, Ser Joannes, 990.
Michaeli et parenti, bill brokers, 1012.
Michiel, Ser Giovanni, son of Jacomo, 637,
638; Venetian ambassador to England,
795, 796, 845, 860, 863, 864, 866, 867,
868, 880, 886, 893, 912, 922 note, 923,
924, p. 563, 941.
.....
.....
…………..
...
Milan, 274, 286, 329, 466, 476, 486, 500, 506,
507 note, 512, 565, 599, 631, 732, 941.
****
…………….
911, 913, 929, 951, 973.
……….
>
•
******
""
letters dated at, 388, 456, 458, 459,
468, 470, 477.
the court of, 456.
*****
">
………………………
··
...
the ministry at, 491.
>
Senate of, 490, 494.
syndics of, 886, 944.
•
··
letters from, 918, 976.
letters to, 860, 869, 870, 903,
castle of, officials of the, 501.
, Imperial Governor of. See Gonzaga,
...
Don Ferrante.
treaty between Venice and the State
of, 464.
commission to, 867.
narratives by, 894, 895.
his secretary, 863, 976.
the nephew of Cardinal Cibo beheaded
at, 637.
duchy of, 4, 80, 81, 84, 98, 476, 915,
961, 1024.
Milanese, the, 83, 84, 98, 286, 320, 321, 332,
941, 944, 951.
"
Military commanders, English, p. 351.
•
Duchess of, the sister of the, 213.
Duke of, Francesco Sforza, 81 note.
""
foreign, in the pay of Edward
VI., p. 358.
pursuits, said to be disliked by the
English, p. 544.
Militia, English, p. 350, p. 548.
Mines, gold and silver, in Scotland, p. 360.
lead and tin, in England, p. 543.
iron, p. 543.
..
Minio, Ser Francesco, C.C.X., 899.
·· M
Marco, 88.
Mint, the English, p. 357, p. 359.
Mirandola, La, 313, 377, 915.
Alexander from, 346, 353.
Mocenico, Ser Aloysius, Sap. T. F., 933.
Mocenigo, Alvise, Venetian ambassador with
******
Charles V., 460, 462, 465, 472, 486,
491, 494, 495, 496, 526.
letters from, 412, 476,
letters to, 461, 464, 490,
497.
Ser Francesco, 421, 422, 423, 432,
440, 467.
Ser Leonardo, 421.
Thomà, 88, 598.
resources of England, p. 547.
•
...
506, 517.
•"
GENERAL INDEX.
663
"
•
Modena, 1003, 1024.
··
··
""
Modeneo, Antonio, 200.
Molfetta, Prince of, his daughter Isabella of
Capua, 456 note.
Monaco, Marco, 116.
Monasteries, revenues of (in the territories of
the King of the Romans), 42.
"
·
Monastic orders, 29, 35.
revenues, p. 550.
Moneda, Zuan dalla, 344, 345, 346.
Mons, 233.
,
Montague, Lord, Henry Pole, beheaded, 114
note, 206 note, p. 243, p. 457 note, 806.
Viscount, Anthony Brown, Master of
the Horse, p. 552.
··
....
the suppression of the, in England,
p. 347, p. 355, p. 553.
results of the dissolution of the, p. 552.
Monte, Cardinal del, Gianmaria Ciocchi, 587,
600, 614, 623, 636.
Antonio de, 347.
Francesco of, 346, 353.
Lorenzo of, 282.
Nicolo of, 346, 353.
Bishop of, 244, 245.
•
•
•
··
5
536, 537.
...
....
…………, Legate of Bologna, 586.
elected Pope, 641, 642.
.... ""
Cardinal Innocenzio del, the Prevos-
tino, 662.
letter from Pole to, 668.
*******
Cardinal Cristoforo di, 797, 832, 862,
p. 481, 872, 877, 962.
*****
letters from Pole to, 798, 810,
828, 851, 854, 855, 856, 871, 876.
Lodovico da, letter from, 343.
his brother, 343.
Monte Cassino, 689.
Monte Cavallo, 586, 588.
Montecuccolo, Count Camillo da, 886, 895.
Count Rodrigo di, Ferrarese ambas-
sador, 928.
Monte Rotondo, 965.
Montferrat, 387.
letter from, 386.
letters to, 536, 537.
,
his nephew, Giovanni Battista,
territory of, 377.
Montluc, the Rev., 405.
Montmorency, Duke Anne de. See France,
Constable of.
Montreuil, 313, 315, 1035.
""
a border castle near, 965.
Moor, sea-fight with the, 1.
the (il Moro), qu. Doge Christopher
Moro, or his namesake the Governor of
Cyprus, 643.
Moravia, 35.
More, Sir Thomas, 35 note.
****
p. 224.
Morette, Mons. De la, French ambassador in
England, 65.
remarks by Pole in defence of,
Moreto, Domenego, 345, 353.
Moro, il. See Moor.
Morone, Giovanni, Cardinal, 627, 628, 629,
630, 636, 685, p. 382, 872.
………………、
Morosini, Ser Carlo, Procurator, Sage of the
Council of Ten, 704.
……..
Domenico, C.C.X., 734.
Zuan Francesco, 437 note.
',
Morysine, Sir Richard, ambassador to the
Emperor, 748 note.
Motto of the Protestant Princes, Verbum
Domini manet, 41, 74.
Moulins, 124.
Mountjoy, Lord, William Blount, his daughter
Gertrude, p. 425 note.
""
*****
872, 882, 884, 893, 960.
Mulberg, battle of, p. 251 note, 448 note.
Municipal government in England, p. 344.
Munich, 274.
Munster, the Anabaptists at, 26.
..
fortifications of, p. 10, p. 11.
the prophet of, John of Leyden, 26.
the son of the Bishop of, 26.
the capture of, 61, 62, 66.
""
Murano, glass makers of, in England, 574,
578.
....
"
د.
...
………… >
0
letters from Pole to, 817, 829,
......., quays at, 648.
Musicians, p. 358.
>
Musters, p. 350, p. 547, p. 548.
Muzzarelli, Girolamo, Fra, Master of the
Sacred Palace, and subsequently Arch-
bishop of Conza, 238, p. 379 note.
letters to, 763, 785, 818.
""
sent as Nuncio to assist Cardi-
nal Pole in treating the peace between
Charles V. and France, p. 487, 906
926.
***
*
*******
the Bailiff of, 574, 578.
in London, petition of the, 648.
the Warden of, 574.
the town hall of, 574.
………….
*****
Nantes, 1034.
his auditor, 941, 942.
""
See Papal Nuncio.
N., at Ro me, letters of, 616, 617
Namur, 233, 914, 919, 935.
letter dated at, 234.
St. Mary's church at, 234.
castle of, 919.
N.
letters dated at, 1032, 1033.
664
GENERAL INDEX.
Naples, 34, 93, 565, 924, 931, 932, 941, 948,
961, 1030.
viceroy of, Don Pietro di Toledo, 629,
694.
·
Figueroa, Regent of, 476, 923, 925.
kingdom of, investiture of the, given
by the Emperor to Philip of Spain,
923, 925.
>
the monastery at, 948.
…………………..., a letter from Pole to the monastery
at, 956.
....
abbot of, 559.
Cardinal of. See Caraffa, Gianpietro.
prior of, 228.
see of, given to Cardinal Caraffa, 586.
>
Napoli-di-Romania, 167, 173, 286 note, 428.
Nassau, Count of, 24, 25, 115, 919.
Natale, Messer, agent of Don Ferrante
Gonzaga, 506.
governorship of, 941.
the Flanders mail stopped on its way
to, 586.
',
*******
·
,
Nations, law of, p. 57.
Nausen, preacher to the Emperor, 259.
Navagero, Ser Bernardo, son of Ser Giovanni
Alvise, Venetian ambassador with the
Emperor, 336.
letters from, 314, 356.
elected ambassador to England,
441, 446, 484.
Naval battle, a, 312.
Navarre, p. 351, 1024.
*******
"
………….
King of, the sister of the, 1006.
•"
.., Queen of, 327, 1006, 1019, 1024.
…………
commanders, English, p. 352.
forces, of England, p. 548.
Princess of, sister of Francis I., her
daughter, 320.
···
Navarete, Francisco.
of.
See Badajos, Bishop
Nayas, Marquis de las. See Davila, Don
Pedro.
Navia [an Imperial minister], 246.
Navigation, 711.
Navy, the English, p. 351.
…………. •
stores for the, p. 358.
Neapolitan, a, named Baptista, 347.
colonel, a, 66.
emigrants, the, 321.
Negri, Abate de', 1024.
Nemours, Duchess of, 1006.
Nevers, Prince de, 24.
Monsr. Louis de, 24.
Nevill, Sir Edward, beheaded, 206 nole.
Newark, p. 358.
Newcastle, port of, p. 357.
Nice, 246.
………….
,
Nicolo, a musician, 857.
the congress of, 235.
>
the ten years truce stipulated at, 321.
Nightwatch, the Venetian, 359.
...
office of the Lords of the, 284, 301,
1037.
Noailles, Antoine de, French ambassador in
England, 944, 967. See Ambassadors.
François de, Prothonotary, brother of
Antoine, 944, 967.
******
Nobili, [Roberto] de', Cardinal, letter to, 855.
Nobility, the English, p. 338, p. 339, p. 347,
p. 356, p. 358, p. 359, p. 421, 806,
p. 437, p. 457, p. 544, p. 562.
deprived by Henry VIII. of all
jurisdiction, p. 339.
Noce (or Nuce), Count Hironimo della, a
Bolognese, 346.
Noia, Don Hernardo (sic) dalla, 919.
Norfolk, the risings in, p. 265 note.
•
S
Duke of, 115, 126, 130, 284, 312, 472
note, p. 243, p. 457, 854, p. 547, p. 554,
p. 561, 1034.
Normandy, 83, 336, 900, p. 542.
………………………, troops raised in, 897.
Norsia. See Nursia.
North of England, Admiral of the, p. 353.
the people of the, in favour of
Queen Mary, p. 468.
******
Northampton, Marquis of, K.G., p. 457.
Northern insurrection in England. See Re-
bellions.
North-west passage, the, 711 note.
Northumberland, Duke of. See Dudley, John.
Norwich, p. 357.
Bishop of, Thirlby, English am-
bassador with the Emperor, 472 note,
748 note, 849, 850, p. 457, 855, p. 469,
p. 489, p. 554.
bishopric of, 949.
Novello, Alvise, secretary to Domenego Bol-
lani, Venetian ambassador in England,
504.
"
?
Nuce, Count. See Noce.
Nuncios. See Papal Nuncios.
Nuremberg, 238, 398 note, 751.
Nursia, Benedetto di, physician in Rome, 630.
O.
Oatlands, 895.
Observantine order, Franciscan friars of the,
234.
Ochsemburg, 26.
Officers of State in England, p. 552.
Oil, holy, obtained by Queen Mary from the
Emperor for her coronation, p. 432.
Oil, imported into England from Spain, p. 542.
Old Man, harbour of the, p. 358.
O'Neil, the Great, p. 546.
GENERAL INDEX.
665
Orange, Prince of, 944.
•
""
the Order of the Fleece given
to the, 227.
****
""
death of the, 313.
...
………………………, ………………, cavalry under the, 919.
...
Orders, holy, a book containing the form of
conferring (confirmed by Parliament),
p. 349.
Organ, an, presented to Queen Mary, 931.
Orio, Lorenzo, LL.D., 31,
Orleans, 80.
•
Duke of, 98, 332, 336, 1006.
France, Dauphin of.
death of the, 360.
•"
Ormanetto, Nicolò, Cardinal Pole's Auditor,
872, 877, 878, p. 492, p. 500, 877, 893,
925, 926, 931, 952.
Orsini, Camillo, 585, 586, 588, 594.
……………**
letter to, 591.
Giulio, 565.
Paulo, 591, 594.
faction, 586, 588.
Ortis, LL.D., conductor of Queen Katharine's
suit at Rome, and afterwards the
Emperor's proctor, 144.
Orvieto, nunnery at, 247.
Orzi-novi, 512.
Osio, Stanislaus, Chancellor to the King of
Poland, letters to, 230, 374..
Ostia, in the Mantuan territory, 158.
Ottavio, Signor, 407.
******
Duke. See Farnese, Ottavio.
Outlaws, extradition of, 476.
Oxford, p. 347, 862.
University of, p. 345.
Earl of, John de Vere, Lord High
Chamberlain, p. 547, p. 552, p. 554.
Oysters, immense quantities of, found on the
English coast, p. 542.
>
D
1
……………
....
·
··
Pacheco, Cardinal, 596, 606, 618, 629, 635,
642.
Pedro, 939.
Padua, 196, 230, 299, 500, 501, 503, 512, 981,
1005.
•
>
See
,
P.
>
letters dated at, 409, 542.
infantry of the garrison of, 500, 501.
University of, 230 note, 754.
a lecturer at, Colombo Realdo, 640.
"
Venetian Governors of, 299.
letter from the, 542.
*****
letters to the, 300, 500.
*******
the Lord of (in the 14th century),
979, 983, 997, 998, 999.
Paduan territory, letter dated in the, 114.
Page, George, servant of Vannes at Venice,
his threats against Queen Mary, 936.
Paget, Sir William, Secretary of State, 343
note, 368, 393, 455, 462, 469 note, 474,
477, 482, 566. p. 497 note, 886, p. 547,
p. 559, p. 560, 962, 964.
……………. ... *******
" ………………
Paglia, 1011.
his negotiations at the Im-
perial Court, 567.
Keeper of the Privy Seal, p. 552.
Paintings, the Pope ridiculed in (by the
English), p. 347.
Palaces, English, remarks on, p. 357, p. 358,
p. 553.
Palatine, Count, 43, 398 note, 809, 810, 811,
816, 821.
Frederick, 246, 257, 267, 269.
………………………, ………………, Otho, 244, 257, 259.
Palavicino, Signor Sforza, 356.
Palermo, p. 379 note.
Palmer, Sir Thomas, beheaded, 788.
Papal government, secret affairs of the, 334
note.
………………………
……………………
•
....
……………………
•
…………………
territory, the, 599.
messenger, a, 767.
benediction, sent by the Pope to
Charles V., p. 456.
agent, secret interview between Queen
Mary and a, p. 557.
briefs, 42, p. 387, 768, 797, p. 468,
p. 477, p. 481, 893, 954, 957, 960,
1002, 1006, 1024.
bulls, 656, 957.
See Henry VIII.
Papal Legates:
....
..
to the Emperor, 170, 218, 225,
226, p. 408, 781. See Dandino.
in Germany, 244. See Contarini,
Gasparo.
OU
………………
destined by the Pope to attend
the Council, 329.
•
to the Emperor and France (two),
See Pole,
…………….
742, 748, p. 386, 770, 830.
Saint George.
··
………..
Pole.
Papal Nuncios :-
…………
in France (A.D. 1531-2), 1003,
1006, 1011, 1012, 1035.
at Vienna, Pietro Paulo Vergerio,
29, 43, 59.
......
in France, 24.
to England, p. 386, p. 402. See
•
in IIungary. See Rorario.
...... on the way to Venice, 84.
to France, 131, 742, 825, p. 479,
p. 480, 872, 877, 879, 880, p. 492, 891,
943. See Ceneda, Bishop of; Santa
Croce.
at Ratisbon,the Bishop of Modena,
244, 245.
+
666
GENERAL INDEX.
Papal Nuncios-cont.
to the Emperor, 227, 234, 236,
257, 517, 685, 742, 773, 850, p. 457,
854, 855, p. 464, 858, p. 469, p. 481,
p. 487, p. 494, 898, 906, 909, 941, 942,
952, 954, 957, 960, 966. See Conza,
Archbishop of; Pighino; Poggio;
Muzzarelli.-
………………
at Worms, 229.
at Venice, 335, 338, 397, 398,
469, 479, 522, 564.
…………….
…………….
Pardons, 425 note.
Parga, 34 note.
Paris, 80, 124, 133, 144, 147, 312, 320, 375,
548, 556, 584, 825, p. 481, 880, p. 545,
941, 968, 1012, 1031, 1032, 1034.
………….., letters dated at, 875, 963, 964, 967,
1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006,
1007, 1008, 1009, 1015, 1018, 1019,
1020, 1036.
........., stately entry of Henry II. into, 566.
Paris, Manoli da, shipmaster, 323, 894.
Parishes, p. 347.
Parliament, p. 339, p. 343, p. 346, p. 347,
p. 349, p. 355, p. 391, 784, p. 407, 786,
797, p. 421, p. 422, 807, p. 430, p. 431,
820, 823, 849, 850, 854, 859, 862, 880,
p. 488, p. 490, p. 495, 887, 924, p. 536,
p. 538, p. 545, p. 552, p. 553, p. 555,
p. 556, p. 557, p. 560, p. 561, p. 563,
935, 936, 949, p. 580, 954, 955, 957,
960, 962, 964, 966, 970, 971, 972, 973,
975, 1006.
...
the manner of holding, p. 342, p. 554.
summonses to, p. 342.
Speaker of the, p. 342.
Acts of, p. 551, 975.
""
Parliament, the French house of, 1007.
...
Parma, the quarrel between the Pope and his
grandchildren about, p. 285 note, 565,
585, 586, 591, 594, 626, 627, 635, 636,
642, 646.
""
……………………., money sent into, by the French, 636.
Duchess of. See Margaret of Austria.
Duke of. See Farnese, Ottavio.
Prince of, Alessandro Farnese, 587
note.
Gio. Alvise da, 317.
See San Saluto, Abbot
***
Parpaglia, Vincenzo.
of.
Parr, Katharine, Queen, 295, 316, p. 346.
Pasqual, John, at Venice, 298.
Pasqualigo, Proveditor of the Venetian fleet,
173.
""
Pasquin, characters drawn by, 35.
a challenge sent to, 51.
Pasquin's Passion, 50.
Pasquinades, 51, 234.
Pastor, Gasparo, 45.
Pasturage in England, p. 354, p. 542, p. 552.
See Common-lands.
Pate, gentleman of Henry VIII.'s chamber,
and one of his ambassadors at the Diet
of Ratisbon, 231, 234, 244.
………………………
Paulet, William, (successively) Lord St. John
of Basing, and Marquis of Winchester,
Lord Steward of the Household and
Lord High Treasurer, K.G., 528 note,
p. 547, p. 552, p. 554.
Pavese, Bernardino, 412.
Pavia, Bortholamio of, 282.
Paxini, Hieremia, a glass maker, 648.
Peace between the Christian powers and in
Italy, 2.
the proposed, 144.
…………………
between Charles V. and France. See
Charles V.
"Peace certificates" (a Venetian custom),
Richard, titular Bishop of Worcester,
531, 732, 767, 768, 769, p. 393, 790,
p. 457, 855, 893.
...
516.
Peers of the Realm, p. 553. See Nobility.
Pellegrin, a courier, 476, 486, 1005.
Pellicier, French ambassador in Venice, 286
Pembroke, Earl of, p. 537, p. 544, p. 547, p. 554,
p. 561.
his eldest son, p. 539.
Penitentiaria, the Pope's intention to reform
the, 652.
Penitentiary, the. See Cervini, Marcello;
Hilliard, Dr.
Penning, Henry, Papal messenger to Queen
Mary, p. 386, 768, p. 398, 790, 797,
807, 809, 810, 811, 816, p. 438.
.....
note.
···
Pensions, p. 553.
extraordinary, p. 357.
Perino, a Florentine, 346, 353.
Peronne, 825.
Perpignan, 286.
Persia, the war in, 39 note.
Peru, 914.
…………………
...
"
……………………, a report to be made to the
Pope by, 813.
....
."
Perugia, territory of, 588.
Pesaro, 10 note.
....
Prascildo Robbolino of, 282.
Pescara, Marchioness of, Vittoria Colonna,
247, 273, 533.
,י
•
....
"S
letters to, 278, 409.
""
Marquis of, 941.
Peschiera, 270, 277.
Peterborough, Bishop of, p. 554.
Petre, Secretary, p. 559, p. 560.
Pflug, Julius, 250 note.
Philip, Prince of Spain, 566, 742, p. 437, 841,
842, 843, 844, 846, 850, p. 457, 853,
855, 856, p. 470, 861, 864, 865, 867,
874, 880, 881, p. 489, p. 490, 886, 887,
888, 889, 890, 891, 892, 893, 895, 897,
898, 900, 904, 905, 906, 907, 910, 911,
913, 914, 915, 916, 918, 920, 921, 922,
GENERAL INDEX.
667
Philip, Prince of Spain-cont.
……………
•
••
******
959.
…………………., proclaimed King of England,
887.
923, 924, 925, 927, 928, 929, 930, 932,
p. 538, p. 547, p. 549, p. 553, p. 559,
p. 560, p. 561, 935, 936, 938, 940, 941,
942, 944, 945, 947, 948, 950, 951, 952,
953, 954, 955, 957, 958, 960, 961, 962,
966, 968, 970, 971, 972, 973, 976.
letters to, 912, 917, 937, 946,
at St. James of Galicia, 919.
.. ………………, presented with the Order of the
Garter, on landing in England, 923.
... ""
his marriage with Queen Mary.
See Marriages.
•
··
•
***
..
coronation of, 935, 945, 965.
his prospects in England, p. 561.
about to leave England for an
interview with Charles V., 944.
......
>
......
...... ……………..
Physicians, 54.
Piacenza, 98, 270, 565, 1003.
**
…………. >
...
....
………………
..…………………..
Governor of. See Gonzaga, Ferrante.
Piastre, note respecting the coins called, p. 530.
Picardy, 115, 124, 294, 333, 349, 919, p. 545,
1019, 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034.
the French army in, 129, 133, 576,
584.
...
>
his mother, 886.
his son, Don Carlos, p. 561.
letters dated at, 140, 142.
territory of the Duke of, 456.
claims of the Apostolic See upon, 565.
claims of the Farnesi upon, 636.
commissioners of Edward VI. and
Henry II. to meet on the confines of,
about forays and skirmishes, 566.
places held by the English in, 659.
the borders of, 936,
Pickering, Sir William, 748 note.
Pictures, 59.
Piedmont, 313, 335, 343, 373, 375, 377, 383,
387, 431 note, 541, 963, 964, 965.
Piedmontese, a, 564 note, 857.
Pighino, Rev. Sebastian, Papal Nuncio with
Charles V., 652, 685. See Papal
Nuncios.
....
Cardinal, letter to, 778.
Pikemen, English, p. 350, p. 548.
Pio, Rodolfo, Cardinal. See Carpi, Cardinal
of.
Piovene, agent to the son of Camillo Ursino,
646.
Battista. See Polà, Bishop of.
Pirates, p. 352.
Pisa, Duke and Prince of, 1003.
Pisani, Cardinal, 68, 629, 637.
the bull against Henry VIII.
presented to, 77.
Giovanni, Venetian Ambassador in
France, letters from, 1001, 1002, 1003,
1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008.
Pistoire, John, 250 note.
Pistoria, 915.
Pizzighettone, 458, 466 note.
Pizzoni, Gasparo, 546.
Plague, the, 54, 811, 828, 1030, 1034.
Plymouth, 895.
…………, port of, French ships at, 831.
Po, the, 158, 377.
·
Poggio, Nuncio in Germany, 244.
Poissy, 967.
letters dated at, 968, 1010, 1011, 1012,
1013, 1014.
Polà, Bishop of, Battista Piovene, 586, 588,
591, 594.
Poland, King of, Sigismund, 230 note.
··
··
•
...
..
Pole, Catharine, p. 457 note.
....
ambassador from the, to the
Emperor, 232.
...
Sir Geoffrey, 206 note.
Henry, Lord Montague, 114 note, p.
243, p. 457 note, 806.
………………………, Reginald, Cardinal, 128, 130, 131 note,
163, 265, 334, 335, 339, 572, 577, 587,
588, 590, 592, 594, 595, 596, 597, 599,
602, 603, 604, 605, 607, 609, 613, 614,
616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 622, 626,
627, 628, 629, 630, 631, 633, 635, 637,
638, 639, 640, 641 note, 646, 662, 666,
670, 685, 690, 696, 790, 813, 825, 861,
865, 880, 881, 886, 888, 889, 891, 896,
898, 906, 908, 909, 914, 924, 925, 926,
931, p. 539, 936, 942, 964, 968, 972,
973, 975.
his daughter, 270 note.
Queen Dowager of, Bonna Sforza,
ambassador from, to the Emperor and
England, 931.
...
y...... .
letters from, 114, 116, 136,
137, 138, 140, 141, 142, p. 57, 144,
145, 147, 149, 150, 153, 155, 156, 158,
194, 195, 196, 199, 201, 206, 208, 209,
230, 235, 239, 247, 249, 256, 272, 273,
278, 279, 280, 326, 369, 374, 386, 409,
453, 454, 505, 530, 531, 533, 536, 537,
539, 543, 549, 559, 560, 561, 563, 564,
570, 575, 591, 668, 671, 678, 680, 681,
689, 694, 732, 737, 752, 754, 761, 762,
763, 764, 765,767, 768, 769, 771, 773,
774, 776, 777, 778, 780, 782, 784, 785,
786, 787, 792, 793, 797, 798, 799, 800,
801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806, 808, 809,
810, 811, 812, 814, 815, 816, 817, 818,
819, 820, 821, 822, 823, 826, 827, 828,
829, 832, 833, 834, 836, 850, 851, 854,
855, 856, 858, 862, 871, 872, 875, 876,
877, 878, 879, 882, 883, 884, 885, 893,
901, 917, 937, 938, 939, 940, 946, 947,
948, 952, 954, 955, 956, 957, 958, 959,
960, 962, 965, 969.
letters to, 807, 849, 859, 949,
•
953.
his books and writings, 280,
531, p. 380, 901.
…, …………….., protector of Cardinal Bembo's
will, 530.
his pension, 543.
sends two of his gentlemen to
the Protector Somerset, 567, 573.
his letter to the Protector 575
""
******
668
GENERAL INDEX.
Pole, Reginald, Cardinal-cont.
……….
...
··
……………
•♪ ……………. .
a writing by, touching the di-
vorce (Pole's account of its reception
by Henry VIII.), p. 243.
...
·
...
his income, 587.
the abbacy of Canal Nuovo in
the Polesine conferred on, 586, 587.
""
in the conclave for the election
...
of a Pope, 596; his own account
thereof, 671.
named Deacon, 652.
•• **** "
libels against, that he had a
natural daughter, &c. &c., p. 381 note.
"information" for the Emperor
………….., styled Angelical rather than
Anglican, 587.
***
by, 772.
his portrait, 671.
………………………. ……………., Legate to England, the Em-
peror, and France, 766, 767, 768, p.
391.
•"
...*
""
statement made to, by the Ab-
bot of San Saluto, 779.
his abbacy, 814. See Canal
··
******
Nuovo.
...
••
Lord.
Queen Mary's request that he
should not come to England as Legate,
789.
•
******
his former legation to Henry
VIII., p. 393.
> ......
his family and relatives, 199,
206, 279, p. 247, p. 257, p. 258, p. 382.
his brother. See Montague,
......
Robert or Thomas.
………………………, ………………, agent of, in England, 893.
..,
... ……………..
letter to, 883.
………………………. ………………, agent of, at Rome, 505, 780,
811, 850, 862, p. 499, p. 579.
……………., secretary to.
Abbot of.
""
,
Countess of.
··
his mother.
See Salisbury,
his nephew. See Stafford,
·
……………………., secretary and agent to, Antonio
Fiordibello, 772, 773, 774, 786, 793,
809, 811, 816, 825, 827, 828, p. 469,
p. 481, 872.
See San Saluto,
letter to him, 793.
a courier despatched by
..
him to Pole, 797.
..., Auditor of. See Ormanetto,
Nicolo.
………….
chaplain of, 787, 834.
.....
………. ……………., messenger of, 821, 822.
Penning.
Ursula, p. 481 note.
See
l'olin, Captain, 375.
Politi, Giovanni Battista, of Bologna, 346.
Polygamy, 221.
Pomaro, Pietro, 428.
Pomerania, Duke of, 254.
Pomeraye, Mons. de, French ambassador in
England, 1028, 1029.
Poole, port of, p. 357.
Pope, the, obedience to, renounced by Henry
VIII., 1006.
……….
•
………….
•
··
……………..
………….
•
···
……………………, Adrian, 602.
"Conclusions" printed and published
in England against the person and au-
thority of the, 6.
an oration touching the, 257.
>
oath to renounce the doctrine and
authority of the, p. 349.
Leo X., 195 note, p. 546.
Julius II., 642.
•
………….
...
**S
his dispensation for the mar-
riage of Henry and Katharine, 823.
****
Clement VII., 4, 6, 13, p. 10, 143,
246, p. 534, p. 558.
C
• C
Paul III., 30, 32, 35, 42, 43, 50 note,
59, 68, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 88, 97, 98,
106, 110, 113, 116, 122, 123, 125, 126,
128, 130, 131, 132, 134, 140, 141, p. 57,
144, 145, 146, 150, 153, 155, 156, 158,
159, 160, 163, 164, 194, 199, 206, 208,
234, 235, 238, 239 note, 244, 246, 247,
249, 250, 257, 270, 275, 286, 293, 312,
320, 321, 329, 334, 335, 338, 370,
377, 381, 388, 390, 398, 404, 407, 417,
469, 472, 479, 481, 522, 530, 536, 560,
561, 563, 565, 567, 568, 570, 572, 573,
p. 248, p. 259, p. 263, 577, 585, 586,
587, 591, 594, 597, 616, 627, 635,.
p. 382, p. 387, 782, p. 499.
letters to, 114, 147, 149, 209,
……………….
326, 369, 453, 454, 505.
******
his envoy to the King of IIun-
gary, 43.
....
dinary to, 89.
89.
""
the nephews of, 55.
..
Venetian ambassadors extraor-
....
an agreement made by, with
the Emperor, 98.
•
his secretary, 149.
·· ""
……………., an oration touching, 257.
......, appoints Pole legate at the
Council of Trent [1542], 280 note.
......
....., negotiations between the Em-
peror and, 497.
his son, the Lord Pietro Alvise,
****
his quarrel with his grand-
children about Parma, p. 285 note, 565.
See Parma.
……………………, galleys of, 572 note.
>
ני
•
****
letters relating to the election of a,
587, 595, 596, 597, 599, 600, 602, 603,
604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609, 610, 611,
612, 613, 614, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620,
621, 622, 623, 626, 627, 628, 629, 630,
631, 633, 635, 636, 637, 638, 639, 640,
641, 642, p. 320.
death of, 587, 588, 589.
Julius III. (formerly Cardinal del
Monte), 158 note, 642, 643, 646, 652,
656, 657, 660, 662, 666, 668, 670, 672,
682, 684, 685, 690, 692, 696, 703, 705,
732, 737, 742, 748, 752, 759, p. 381,
p. 382, p. 386, 768, 770, 771, 772, 774,
GENERAL INDEX.
669
Pope Julius III.—cont.
…………..
CC
779, 780, 781, p. 407, p. 408, p. 409,
786, 789, 790, 793, 798, 799, 802, 803,
804, 805, 806, 807, 808, 810, 816, 822,
823, 825, 828, 829, 830, 832, 834, 849,
854, 855, 856, 859, 861, 871, 872, 876,
882, 884, 893, 898, 909, 917, 925, 927,
p. 534, p. 546, p. 555, p. 557, 941, 942,
947, 958, 959, 960, 969, 971, 972, 974,
975, 976, 1002, 1003, 1005, 1007, 1008,
1010, 1012, 1014, 1015, 1024, 1028,
1035, 1036.
... ……………….
crowned with great honour, 653.
letters from Pole to, 752, 764,
767, 784, 787, 792, 797, 811, 820, 821,
850, 858, 862, 875, 877, 878, 952, 954,
955, 957, 962, 966.
……………….
**9
a report to be made to, by Pole's
messenger, 813.
...
*** ""
Mary, p. 557.
Porte, the Sublime, 285, 286 note, 287, 349,
404, 428, 540, 645, 659, 716, 788.
"Portigrach," castle of [in Scotland], 534.
Porto Hercules, 915.
Porto Venere, 277 note, 941.
Portogir," a fortress taken near, by the
Scots and French troops, 653.
Portogruer, Daniel of, 346, 353.
Portsmouth, 349, p. 358.
Portugal, King of, 89, 157, 321.
absolution to Queen
grants absolution
"
Prince of, death of the (succeeded by
his son), 861.
Princess of, 886. See Joanna of
Austria.
Portuguese, the, 229.
ambassador to the Emperor, 227.
at Luxemburg, 236.
in France, 880, 968.
"
Powder, p. 553.
.....
resident in France, 968.
******
ships, 312.
Præmunire, statute of, 960.
Praet, Mons. de, Louis de Flandres, 241, 258,
944, 1004, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1012.
Prayer Book, the, p. 347.
******
•.,
a copy of the, sent to Pole, p. 242,
p. 265.
Preachers, 257, p. 349.
Preaching, in England, the mode of, p. 349.
Prebendaries, p. 347.
9
Prelates dismissed their sees, 849. See Bishops.
Premontre, letters dated at, 889, 897, 900.
Prevostino, the. See Monte, Cardinal Inno-
cenzio del.
Prices, rise of, p. 551.
Priests, 35, 42, 70.
parish, p. 348.
married, 849.
Princes Electors, the, 246. See Germany.
Prints, 59.
marriage of, 50, 223, p. 348.
Prioli, Alvise, the bishopric of Brescia to be
given to, 696.
Nicolò, del C. di X., 430.
Priuli (mentioned in Pole's letters), 141, 150,
153, 155, 158, 732.
Monsignor, 793, 808.
Hieronimus, C.C.X., 367, 368, 370.
Jeronimus, C.C.X., 667.
Luigi, 563.
Privy Council, the, 480, 482, 575, 589, 679,
p. 342, p. 343, 779, 854, p. 457, p. 533,
p. 559, 962, 1030. See Council, Lords
of the.
Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the. See Crom-
well, Thomas; Paget, William; Russell,
John.
Proclamations, p. 342, 886, 923.
Prospero, Father Don, 689.
Protector of England. See Hertford, Earl of ;
Somerset, Duke of.
the title of, p. 339.
Protectors, Lords, and executors appointed by
Henry VIII.'s will, 455.
……………………
· >
Protestant camp, the, 412.
>
church, the, p. 347.
league, of Smalcald, 248, 377 note, 448,
p. 251 note.
princes, 398.
Protestantism, 684.
………..
...
..
Protestants, the, 223, 225, 238, 244, 248, 251,
254, 257,258, 261, 263, 265, 267, 269,
412, 448, 454 note.
ambassadors from the, to the King of
France, 448.
Proveditor of the (Venetian) fleet, 1.
Provence, 246, 1032.
the Christians and Jews of, 208.
the French fleet withdrawn from,
335.
((
U
………………
··
Ꭱ ..
"""
Q.
Querini, Giovanni. See Aquileia, Patriarch of.
Girolamo, an executor of Cardinal
Bembo's will, 530 note.
Bishop of, 235.
Ragazona," the (ship), 713, 714, 515.
Regazzona."
CC
•9
R.
Ragusa, 1024.
See
Cardinal of, Gianangelo de' Medici,
letter to, 549.
Ramberti, Benetto, 1 note. See Rhamberti.
:
670
GENERAL INDEX.
Ratisbon, 36, 238, 247, 371, 1033.
...
••
the Diet at, 233, 234, 244, 245, 246,
248, 250, 253, 254, 255, 257,258,259,
262, 266, 267, 268, 270, 271, 373.
**** >
Gasparo Contarini sent as apo-
stolic legate to the, 239, note.
municipality of, 241.
Carthusian monastery outside the city
of, 251.
church of Sant' Emmerano at, 257.
****
letters dated at, 240, 241, 243, 244,
245, 246, 248, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254,
255, 257,258, 259, 261, 262, 263, 264,
265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 271, 381, 382,
383, 387.
Venetian ambassador at, 404.
Bishop of, 241, 246.
Ravenna, 158, 420, 440, 461.
""
D
Cardinal Archbishop of, Benedetto
degli Accolti, 50.
benefices vacant by the death
>
******
of, 586.
Realdo, Colombo, surgeon, 640.
Rebellions and insurrections in England, 125,
126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 135, 143, p.
62, 147, 150, 265, 567, 568, 572, 573,
p. 251, p. 262, p. 265, 576, 579, 581,
584, 585, 626, p. 345, p. 359, p. 391,
p. 392, 851, 854, 855, 856, 858, 860,
861, 865, 887, p. 546, p. 559, p. 560.
Reform (of the Church), 652.
Reformation, the, p. 555.
Regal power, the, in England, p. 341.
Regazzona," the (ship), 323.
zona.
Reggio, 1003.
""
Paulo of, 353.
>
•
Reiffenberg, Friederic van, captain in the ser-
vice of England, p. 358.
See "Raga-
Relief, the fine called, p. 356.
Religion, contradictory enactments touching,
in England, p. 355.
Religious observances and opinions in England,
p. 345, p. 346, p. 349.
Renard, Simon, lieutenant of Amont, Imperial
ambassador in England, 953, 954, 955,
957, 958, 959, 960.
Renaud (?), sent by the King of France to
Courtenay, 837.
•
Rennes, letters dated at, 1028, 1029.
Renti, 936, 943.
Requests, Masters of, p. 342.
Revenues, of Henry VIII., 54, p. 356.
ecclesiastical, 42.
note.
·· ',
…., governors of the (at Venice), 504, 555.
of the crown of England, p. 549.
insufficiency of the, p. 553.
Reynold, Charles, Archdeacon of Kells, 150
Rhaimond, Dr., 244.
Rhamberti, Benedetto, Venetian secretary at
Milan, 462, 463, 487, 490, 495, 497,
506.
Rheims, 322, 907.
...
letters from, 456, 458, 459, 468,
470, 477.
....., letters to, 457, 460, 465, 474,
486, 488, 491, 494, 496, 503.
..
·
Rhenier, Federico, 88.
Rhine, the, 63, 82, 919, p. 542.
princes on the, 63.
letter dated at, 916.
Archbishop of. See Lorraine, Car-
dinal of.
2
Rhodes, siege of, 620.
>
………….
…………………
>
the towns on the, infected with plague,
828.
Knight of, the Prior of Naples, 228.
Knights of, the revenues of the, 228,
p. 355.
...
***
Rialto, 413, 415, 424, 431, 436.
the Edict Steps at, 345, 578. See
Edict Steps.
the public warehouse at, 358.
English cloths exposed in the, as
"deceitful," 741 note.
***"
Richard I., Cœur de Lion, his crusade against
the infidels, p. 344, p. 544.
Richard, an Englishman, 282.
Richmond, 893, 895.
Earl of, Henry (afterwards Henry
VII.), p. 541.
...
**
Duke of, Henry, natural son of
Henry VIII., 118, 1036.
Ridolfi, Cardinal, 587, 588, 599, 602, 605,
616, 617, 621, 622, 623, 627, 630, 632,
636, 637.
death of, 638.
>
his body opened, 640.
*******
Riedes, Bortholo de, 894.
Rieux, Mons. de, 930. See Rios, Roeux.
.......
…………….. ""
his brother, 930.
Rimini, proposals made by Charles V. at, 98.
Cardinal of, 249.
Rincon, Antonio, Captain, French ambassador
to King John Zapolsky, 1011, 1012; at
Constantinople, 413, 431 note.
Rios, Secretary, at Ratisbon, 381.
(? See
Rieux.)
Riva, Alvise da, C.X. Ill., 487, 488.
Robbolino, Prascildo, of Pesaro, 282.
Rochester, insurrection at, p. 457, p. 560.
Bishop of, p. 554. See Fisher.
Rochester, Sir Robert, Comptroller of the
>
Household, p. 552.
....
Rodolfo, the Legate. See Ridolfi.
Roeux, Mons. de, 115.
See Rieux.
Rolls, Master of the, p. 342.
Roman barons, 588.
post, the, 786.
Romans, King of the. See Ferdinand.
"
Queen of the, Anne of Hungary, 27,
36, 50, 90, 476 note.
GENERAL INDEX.
671
Rome, 13, 32, 35, 71, 82, 97, 113, 116, 150,
153, 158, 164, 172, 206, 218, 234, 246,
250, 270, 329, 404, 505, 563, p. 242,
p. 253, p. 262, 599, 626, 632, 639, 672,
673, 674, 676, 678, 682, 694, 732, 742,
748, p. 386, 768, 769, 777, p. 398,
p. 401, 780, 790, 811, 817, 822, 825,
826, 898, 901, 906, 925, 927, 931,
p. 534, p. 557, 960, 1002, 1003, 1009,
1010, 1011, 1012, 1014, 1017, 1024,
1025, 1035.
...
letters dated at, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 83,
84, 88, 92, 98, 99, 105, 106, 110, 115,
118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,
127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 136, 137,
138, 163, 194, 196, 199, 208, 230, 239,
247, 249, 256, 279, 334, 335, 339, 374,
469, 530, 531, 533, 536, 537, 539, 543,
549, 559, 560, 562, 565, 567, 572, 573,
575, 577, 579, 582, 583, 585, 586, 587,
588, 591, 592, 594, 595, 596, 597, 599,
600, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608,
609, 610, 611, 612, 613, 614, 616, 617,
618, 619, 620, 621, 622, 623, 627, 628,
629, 630, 633, 635, 636, 637, 638, 640,
641, 642, 643, 644, 646, 652, 654, 655,
656, 657, 660, 662, 666, 668, 670, 684,
685, 689, 690, 696, 779.
>
………………………、 ………………, Imperial, 88.
...
letters to the, 312, 320,
338, 370, 398, 417, 472, 971, 974.
Court of, 30, p. 135 note, 549, p. 324,
818.
""
ambassadors at, 71, 586.
"
Charles V. postpones going to, 92.
.9
suit of the late Queen Katharine at,
144.
***
war at the gates of, 247.
Castle St. Angelo at, 586, 588, 597,
599, 627 note, 641.
*****
****
··
*****
Christ's chapel in, 588.
*****
the body of the deceased Pope
conveyed to the Consistory Hall of, 588.
Venetian, 89, 399, 416.
""
...
St. Peter's at, 586.
……………..
the Borgo at, 588, 594.
19
the palace at, 588, 592.
Piazza di Spagna, 588 note.
""
•
the fortifications of, 594 note.
San Lorenzo, apartments of Cardinal
Farnese at, 603.
St. Paul's monastery in, 689.
the Prior of, 689.
the Abbot of, 689.
*………..
****
a Venetian courier sent to, with the
news of Edward VI.'s death, 759.
Sant' Onofrio at, monks of, 780.
Rorario, D. Hieronimo, Papal Nuncio in
Hungary, 43, 48, 59.
the altar of, 642, 643.
Roses, the Wars of the, p. 541.
Rosseto, Dom Alessandro, French ambassador
to Rome and Venice, 320.
Rota, the (at Rome), 22.
Rotterdam, 222.
Rouen, letter dated at, 1026.
……………………., Archbishop of, George d'Amboise
p. 284, 610, 611, 612.
Rovelona, letter dated at, 116.
Roveredo, 277.
Rovigo, the Venetian governor of, 590.
Roxburgh, p. 354.
Russell, Sir John, gentleman of the privy
chamber to Henry VIII., p. 244.
...
Lord John, Lord Privy Seal, 312. See
Bedford, Earl of.
Rutland, Earl of, p. 554.
S.
Sabinese, the title of, 607 note.
Sacraments, the, and their administration,
p. 348, p. 349, p. 419, p. 430, p. 555.
Sacrato, Count Pier Maria dal, 646.
Sacred College, the, 591, 603, 611, 637, 668
note, p. 322, 774, 780, 801, 804.
Charles V.'s letter to the, 600. See
Cardinals, College of.
Sacred Palace, Master of the. See Muzzarelli,
Girolamo.
******
Sadoleto, Bishop of Carpentras, 128.
Cardinal, 201.
>
letters to, 195, 208.
relatives of, 195.
***
>
Saffron, p. 355.
Sailors, English, p. 351, p. 548.
Saint Andrew's, bishopric of, p. 540.
…………….
Castle of, recovered by Mary of Guise
from the English, 526.
Saint Bartholomew, massacre of, an account
of the, by Camillo Capilupo, 377 note.
Saint Benedict, abbacy of, 559.
death of the Abbot of, 559.
Saint Cloud, the court at, 1011.
Saint David's, Bishop of, p. 554.
Saint Denis, p. 481, 871, 876, 877, 1006.
letter dated at, 862.
Saint Dizier, siege of, 313, 314.
letter dated from the Imperial army
under, 314.
Saint George, patron of the Knights of the
Garter, p. 547.
festival of, p. 431.
………………… ·
Saint George, Cardinal of, Gieronimo Capodi-
ferro, Legate in France, 779, 782, 798,
799.
** ··, ………….
letters to, 781, 801.
Saint Germain, 967, 1004, 1011.
Saint Helena, church of (at Venice), 346.
Saint James's, letters dated at, 849, 859.
Saint James of Galicia, the Prince of Spain at,
919.
672
GENERAL INDEX.
Saint John's of Jerusalem, Knight of, 827.
Saint Leger, Sir Anthony, p. 547.
Saint Mark's church (at Venice), chapter of,
615.
master of the choir of, 615.
*******
sanctuary (Venice), the jewels of, 532,
697, 733, 749.
Saint Michael, the French order of, p. 547.
Saint Nicholas, church of, at Lido (Venice),
346.
priests of, 814.
Saint Omer, 936, 942, 945.
Saint Paul's Cathedral, ceremony performed
in, by Bishop Gardiner, 976.
Saint Pol, the county, 321.
Mons. de, 24.
......
د.
Saint Quentin, letter dated at, 1023.
Saint Sixtus, Cardinal, 246.
Salerno, Archbishop of, 116, 128.
Prince of, 220, 222.
}
Salic Law, the, p. 545.
Salisbury, 929.
………………
.....
Bishop of, p. 554.
""
Salt made in England, p. 355.
Countess of, Margaret Pole, 114 note,
273, 278, 279, p. 246.
beheaded, 206 note, 265, 267,
Salviati, Cardinal, 587,596, 602, 605, 607, 616,
617, 618, 621, 622, 626, 627, 630, 631,
632, 636, 637, 639, 640.
Salzburg, Cardinal of, 43.
....
....
272 note.
San Bonifacio, one of the Counts of, 334.
Count Bernardo da, 335, 337.
Bonifacio.
*******
...
San Cassano, 98.
San Clemente, Cardinal of, Giambattista
Cicala, letter to, 826.
San Felice, Jacomo from, 346, 353.
Sigismund of, 346.
San Francesco, on the island of the Lake of
Garda, letters dated at, 784, 785, 786,
787. See Garda.
San Giorgio Maggiore (at Venice), Abbot of.
See Cortese, Gregorio.
•
San Saluto (i.e. Salutore), Abbot of, Vincenzo
Parpaglia, secretary to Cardinal Pole,
764, 767, 769, 780, 797, 799, 800, 801,
802, 803, 825, p. 494, 893.
******
See
letter from Pole to, 564.
.... ...
………………………, going from Trent to France,
797.
,
statement made by, to Cardinal
Pole, 779.
·
San Secondo, Count of, 313.
Sandrino, Thomaso, Monsignor, letter from,
388.
Sandwich, port of, p. 357.
Sant' Angelo, Cardinal, Ranuccio Farnese,
565, 636.
letter to, 762.
......
Castle. See Rome.
Santa Croce, Cardinal. See Cervini, Marcello.
Prospero, Papal Nuncio in France,
letters to, 803, 879. See Papal Nuncios.
Santa Fiore, Cardinal, 588, 590, 618.
his brother, 588.
,
Sanuto, Francesco, Venetian ambassador with
the Emperor, letters from, 266, 267,
268, 269, 270, 271.
......
Sardinia, Charles V.'s arrival in, 62.
Sarno, Count of, a Neapolitan colonel, 66.
Savoy, duchy of, 320, 321, 335, 944.
Duke of, 246, 321, 387, 850, p. 456,
857, 876, 898, 926, 935, 941, 944, 968.
negotiations between Henry VIII.
and the, 335, 343, 377, 384, 387.
Louise of, 1001, 1006, 1019, 1020.
Saxon cavalry, 919.
Saxony, 63, 82.
.....
...
•
...
• •
***"
………………….
Scaino, Gio. Paulo, Messer, 804.
Scala, La, 611.
Scarlati, Hironimo de', 353.
Raphael de', a Florentine, 346.
Schiere, John [John Squyer ?], an Englishman,
298, 300, 301.
•
Duke of, John Frederick, the Elector,
p. 11, 42, 74, 244, 376 note, 398 note,
448 note, 1022, 1032.
Schomberg, Nicholas. See Capua, Cardinal of.
Schwartzenburg, Count, 919.
Scilly Isles, the, 920.
Scotch wars, p. 358.
...
Scotland, 194, 287, 288, 342, 505, 528, 534,
535, 538, 540, 541, 544, 547, 556, 562,
p. 260, p. 261, 582, 589, 683, 702,
p. 353, p. 358, 716, p. 540, p..543.
letter from, 26.
motto of the, 74.
his father's brother, the
....
.....
Elector Frederick (A.D. 1493), 74.
councillors of the, 245.
......" …………..
Duke George of, the late, his daughter,
wife of the Landgrave of Hesse, 221.
Duke Henry of, 263.
""
·
…………..
…….
··
··
……….
mission by the Pope of the Patriarch
of Aquileia to, 293.
war declared against, 285.
English troops in, 307, 309.
>
French succour for, 538, 539 note, 540,
541, 566.
making great preparations for war
,
....
with England, 565.
French troops in, 653.
places taken by the English in, re-
stored, 654, 659.
the borders of, p. 353, p. 358.
the expedition into, p. 359.
description of, p. 359, p. 540.
the government of, p. 360.
its relations with France, p. 361.
GENERAL INDEX.
673
Scotland-cont.
19
··
the chief nobility of, taken by Mary
of Guise to France, p. 361.
French domination in, p. 562.
King of, James IV., p. 351.
James V., 194, 288, 290, p.358,
p. 540, 1033.
....
………………, proposal for his marriage
with the daughter of Francis I., 124.
..
....
offers to march against
Henry VIII., 131.
Queen Dowager of, Mary of Guise,
527, 540, 544, p. 360, p. 361, p. 540.
..
Queen of, Mary Stuart, 288 note, 540,
541, 544, p. 352, p. 361, 716, p. 393,
907, p. 540, p. 562.
Cardinal of. See Beaton, David.
the Governor of [Earl of Arran],
540, 541, p. 540.
his sons, 540.
?
*******
د.
Scots, the, 285, 325, 654, p. 350, p. 351,
p. 352, p. 359, p. 360, p. 361.
Scottish ambassador in France, 375.
barons, 541.
captain, a, 894.
noblemen, captured by the English,
288, 291, p. 358.
Scudi, Di, persons named, 117.
Scutari, 634.
troops, 288, 290, 291, 325, 535, 541,
544, 547, 653.
Sebastiano, Messer, 689.
Sebenico, Venetian governors of, 180.
Secretary of State. See Cromwell; Paget;
Cecil.
Sects in England, p. 349.
Secula, Bernardin, Captain of the Council of
Ten, 500, 501, 503.
Segni, Mons. de', 942.
Segovia, diocese of, 642 note.
Selve, Mons. de, French ambassador at
Venice, 683, 713.
Senate, the Venetian, 443, 455, 499, 507 note,
637, 638, 676, 686, 699, p. 388, 720,
721, 783, 933.
motions made in, 157, 283, 392,
401, 402, 411, 416, 441, 493, 518, 523,
552, 598, 700, 704, 730, 746, 753, 795,
865, 950.
decree of, 52.
………………………, ………………, petition to, 731.
…………………………………., a report on England made to
"
.,
""
the, 934.
♪ *******
1000.
Acts of the, A.D. 1376, 977 to
Senlys, 1019 note, 1023.
Seraglio, the Turkish, 634.
Sergeants-at-law, and barristers, English,
p. 340.
Sermoneta, Cardinal, 618. See Simonetta.
5.
Seymour, Jane, Queen of Henry VIII., 109,
112, p. 346.
··
Sfondrato, Cardinal, Legate to Charles V.,
454 note, 497, 517, 596, 602, 614, 630,
633, 636, 640, 652.
the see of Cremona con-
ferred on, 586.
Sforza, Guido Antonio, Legate of Bologna,
letter to, 137.
[]
…………………♥ ……………
.9
Lord, the Protector's brother, 556,
p. 256.
Ship-building in England, p. 358, p. 548.
Ship-owners, English, p. 548.
Ship-money, p. 553.
Ships, 78.
··
*******
Venice to, 108.
Sir John, 112.
Shrewsbury, Earl of, p. 554.
Sichersand, port of, p. 360.
Sicily, 565, 925, 932, 941, 942, 1011.
kingdom of, 924.
""
English, 312, 329, p. 351, p. 358, 886,
p. 537, p. 546, p. 549.
……………. >
··9
captured by the French, p. 562.
sailing from Boulogne with women
and children to England, 579.
French, 874.
··
……………
Regent of, 925.
Siena, Bernardino di, p. 348.
Sienna, 887, 915, 941, 957, 965.
"
...
...
...
letter from the Doge of
Venetian. See Venetian ships.
Siennese, a, 346, 353.
...
………………
•S
subjects, the Emperor's, 588, 931.
territory, the, 915, 941.
Simonetta, Cardinal, 195. See Sermoneta.
Sledges, 27.
Smalcalde, the Protestant League of. See
Protestant League.
Charles V. at, 98.
the Spanish garrison at, 548.
news from, 855.
Governor of, Pietro Strozzi, 846.
the Maremma of, 965.
Socrates, bust of, 680.
Soest (in Germany), 26.
Solyman, Sultan, 34 note, 36, 39 note, 65, 81,
132, 246, 265 note, 270, 297, 620, 634,
645, 659, 968, 1011, 1024, 1031, 1033.
letters from the Signory of
Venice to, 64, 296.
***
*******
going with his army to invade
Italy, 179.
his sons, 1024.
See Turk, the Great.
Somerset, Duke of, Protector of England
(see Hertford, Earl of), 546, 557, 564
note, 567, 575, 581, 585, 589, 626, 653,
p. 339, p. 346, p. 361, 715, p. 535.
letter from Cardinal Pole to,
575 (pp. 241–267).
driven out of London, 585.
UU
"S
....
•
……..
******
674
GENERAL INDEX.
Somerset, Duke of-cont.
………………………, ………………, proclaimed rebel and traitor,589.
released from prison, 626, 653.
sent to the Tower with his wife
and children, 716.
...
..
•
►
...
... ......
Sophy, the, 554, 968.
Soranzo, Bernardo, C.X., 430.
C
…………………
....
··· ··
...
..
• •
""
•
··
…………. •
·· •
"
…………………, ………………, requests the clection of his suc-
cessor, 753.
Lord.
...
………………
,
..
***
…………….
…………….
......
*******
Ser Francesco, 873.
Giacomo, Venetian ambassador to
England, 693, 695, 698, 699, 700, 701,
734, 739, 757, 759, 831, 841, 857, 864,
867, 873, 896.
………、、 ………………, grants to, 933.
"
"
....
letters from, 789, 790.
letters to, 706, 708, 709, 711,
712, 714, 715, 717, 718, 719, 721, 722,
723, 724, 725, 726, 727, 728, 729, 738,
740, 741, 743, 744, 745, 747, 755, 775,
783, 794, 824, 835, 837, 842, 844, 847,
852, 853.
Ser Lorenzo, 873.
Sorrento, Archbishop of, 536.
…………….
*****
......9
******
*******
letter to the, 561.
Soto, the Rev. Father, 832, 855, 856.
Southampton, 893, 898.
""
beheaded, p. 260.
his brother. See Seymour,
his secretary. See Cecil.
" ..... ',
his report of England, 934.
his conduct and treatment in
England, p. 563.
......
.......
***
commission to, 868.
Southwark, insurgents in, 855, p. 561.
Spain, 24, 34, 246, 286, 307, 543, 732, 742,
846, p. 457, 854, 855, 861, 865, 886,
890, 893, 894, 896, 910, 921, 922, 923,
932, p. 542, p. 543, p. 560, p. 562, 935,
941, 942, 965, 1004, 1005, 1024.
his kinsman, C.C.X., 835.
his secretary. See Franceschi.
>
harbour of, 919, 921, 930.
Hampton.
Earl of, p. 554.
.....
English archers in, p. 351,
silver brought from, 931.
ecclesiastical fruits of, 942.
friars brought from, to England, by
Philip, p. 580.
Governess of, Joanna of Austria, 880,
See
886.
King of, Ferdinand, p. 258. See
Ferdinand.
See Philip.
Spalatin, D.D., preacher to the Duke of
Saxony, 74.
Spalatro, Venetian governors of, 180.
Archbishop of, at Rome, 602.
""
Spaniards, the, 387, 588, 742, p. 458, 923, 927.
........, heavy penalties on any Englishman
maltreating, 886.
Spanish cavalry, 312, 936.
caravels, 892.
Cardinals, 565.
...
•
ships, 312, 892, 896, 906, 930.
troops, 886, 897, 905, 919, 923, 924,
930, p. 562, 941, 942.
Spatafora, Bortolomeo, the Magnifico, 896.
Speech, liberty of, 936.
Spezia, 275.
Spinelli, Venetian secretary in England, 31.
Spinola, Battista, Cavalier, a Genoese, 1037.
Spires, 294, 296, 306, 307, 381, 742, 810.
letters dated at, giving an account of
the conference between the Protestants
and Catholics, 237, 238.
...
...
Spoleto, territory of, 588.
people of, 635.
Stafford, Robert and Thomas, Pole's nephews,
687, 749, 750, 809, 815, p. 481 note,
872, 877, p. 489, p. 491, p. 495.
Star Chamber, the, p. 342.
Stayndeayn, letter dated at, 819.
Stella, Antonio, Messer D., 615.
Gio. Francesco, 780, 808, 817, 818,
872, p. 493, 893, 960.
Stenay, 321.
Steward, the Lord, of England. See Arundel,
Earl of.
... .....
....
...
(of France). See France, Lord
Steward of.
Stiria, 1033.
20
………….
Storlado, Ser Joannes, 990.
Strangers, "the affairs
of the, and the
Statute concerning them, 226.
See Foreigners.
Strasburg, city of, 398.
Strata, Agustino, of Turin, 282.
Strido, conquest of, 297.
Strozzi, Leone. See Capua, Prior of.
fleet, the, 894, 895, 897, 910, 915, 919,
921, 923, 924, 941.
infantry, 307, 742, 880, 910, 916, 922,
935, 945.
...
•
··
Doctor of Laws, 340, 565.
•
"
•
Pietro, 313, 417, 456, 915, 942.
.."
………
541.
...
Governor of Sienna, 846.
his army routed, 931.
""
his papers captured, 942.
"
commander of the French fleet,
....
Strozzis, the, 335.
Stuhk-Weissenburg, 297.
Subiaco, Abbot of, 689.
Subsidies, p. 356, p. 357, p. 553.
mode of levying, p. 551.
Subsidy, a, levied by Henry VIII., p. 358.
Suffolk, Duke of, 312, p. 457, 854, p. 495,
p. 536, p. 539 note.
Duchess of, Mary Tudor, Queen
widow of France, p. 359, p. 361, p. 535,
p. 539.
GENERAL INDEX.
675
Sultan, the. See Solyman.
Superantio, Ser Hieronymus, 950.
Supremacy, the question of the, 217, p. 387,
p. 391, p. 392, 771, 774, p. 396, p. 401,
779, 797, p. 419, p. 421, p. 422, 975.
Act of the, 116.
......g
Supreme Head of the Church, the title of, 672,
p, 346, p. 396, 836, p. 534, 975.
Surian, Antonio, Venetian Ambassador at
Rome, 31, 71.
letters to, 32, 68.
... .......
Surplice, the white, p. 556.
Surplices, p. 348.
Sussex, Earl of, K.G., p. 547, p. 554.
Swabia, 942.
Sweating Sickness, the, p. 541.
Swiss Cantons, the, 110, 246.
towns, 105.
....
ambassadors in France, 589.
Switzerland, 412.
Switzers, the, 105, 110, 115, 412, 887, 944,
965, 1031.
……………………, army of the, 313, 919.
Sword and hat, blessed by the Pope, 131.
Sydney, Sir Henry, 742 note.
T.
Tapestries, p. 359, 898.
Tarvisii, civitas, 983.
Tasso, Torquato, 780 note.
Tauris, 34, 554.
Taverns, p. 544.
Taxes, 42, 54, p. 356.
the impossibility of levying all the,
in England, p. 553.
Taylor, John, LL.D., English ambassador in
France, 1021, 1027.
………….
Tenths, p. 355, p. 550.
Terouenne, p. 351, 751.
Terrible, Marco and Piero, glass makers, 648.
Thames, the, 325, p. 542, p. 543.
Theologians, a meeting of, summoned by the
Pope, 116.
Theology, professors of, p. 349.
Thermes, Mons. de, p. 361.
Thionville, 742, 942.
Thirlby, Thomas. See Norwich, Bishop of.
Thomaso, Don, 948, 956.
Throckmorton, Mr. George, in Venice, 733.
Richard, p. 399 note.
Tiber, the, 618.
Tiberio, Messer, a physician, 591.
Tiepolo, Nicolò, Venetian Ambassador to
Pope, &c., 88, 221 note, 1011.
………., Stefano, 289.
Tin and tin mines, in England, p. 354, p. 356,
p. 543.
Toledo family, the, 626.
……
Don Garzia de, 694.
Juan Alvarez de.
bishop of.
Don Pedro de.
of.
****
****
Tordesillas, 886.
Tornoberii, Philippus filius Domini (one of
Sir John Hawkwood's companions),
983.
Torre, Michele della, Papal Nuncio in France
and Bishop of Ceneda, 560, 563.
Tortona, Bishop of, Gambara, 22, 23.
Torture, trial by, not approved of in England,
p. 340.
Toulouse, Archbishop of, 1014.
Tournai, p. 351.
Tournon, Cardinal de, 322, 599, 600, 916,
1035, 1036 note.
..
Tours, 1034.
Tower of London, the, 556, p. 262, 589, 648,
p. 357, 716, p. 399 note, p. 457, 854,
861, 865, p. 538, p. 539, p. 549, p. 553,
P. 559.
·· ……………. >
See Burgos, Arch-
See Naples, Viceroy
....
....
Tower Hill, p. 538.
Trade, 17.
Trani, Cardinal of, Giandomenico de Cupis,
587, 596, 609, 614, 618, 627, 629, 630,
636.
Transtevere, the body of Paul III. conveyed
through, 588.
Treasurer, Lord High. See Paulet.
Treasurer of Queen Mary's Household, p. 552.
Treasurer of the Council of Ten, 499, 553,
699, 863.
Treasury Court, the English, p. 358.
Treaty, a, concerning Florentine exiles, 92.
between the Pope and the Emperor,
98.
Lady Jane Grey at the, p. 537.
Lords in the, p. 537.
between Venice and the Milanese, 476,
486, 490.
See Leagues; Peace.
Trent, 158, 244, 270, 274, 294, 329, 334, 338,
466, p. 319, 810, 811, 814, p. 469, 926,
955.
******
between England and France, 654,
655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 660, 664, 665.
of Cambrai, 1003.
letters dated at, 275, 276, 277, 326,
369, 386, 797, 798, 799, 800, 801, 802,
803, 804, 805, 806.
"
',
Council of, 230 note, 329, 335, 340,
369, 386, 626, 685, 732, 737, p. 379,
901. See Council.
transfer of the, to Bologna,
454 note.
l'apal Legate at, 326.
the postmaster at, 517.
Cardinal Pole at, 797.
Isepo of. See Isepo.
""
676
GENERAL INDEX.
Trent-cont.
•
Tresham, Sir Thomas, p. 539 note.
Tresseno family, a gentleman of the, 356.
Treves, the neutrality of, 926.
Archbishop of, 752, 850.
...
Trevisan, Marc' Antonio. See Doge of
Venice.
Treviso, 345, 348, 353, 355, 356, 365, 430,
466.
Bailiff and Captain of, letter to the,
430.
Tribute or census paid yearly by France to
England, 80.
Trivisana (in the Venetian territory), 977, 981.
Trivisano, Stefano, C.C.X., 494, 497, 500,
501, 503.
………… .9 ……………….
815.
Triulzi, or Triultio, Cardinal de, Nuncio in
France, 121, 1006, 1024.
Troyes, 362.
·
Tudor, Mary. See Suffolk, Duchess of.
Tunis, the expedition of Charles V. against,
50 note, 59, 62, 63, 246; tapestries
representing the expedition, 898.
Tunstal, Bishop of Durham, 116, p. 554.
Turenne, Viscount of, 1030.
Turin, 282, 385, 541, 964.
Turk, the Great, 1, 14, 65, 98, 132, 160, 246,
266, 554, 1011.
•
·
··· ·
... •
…………
Turkish advices, 1024.
..
Cardinal of, Christoforo Madrucci, 51,
256, 275, 381, 404, 453, 454, 507 note,
586, 602, 618. 621, 627, 632, 642, 752,
768, 797, 798, 804.
letters to, 256, 533, 809, 812,
....
...
…………♥
>
armada, the, 152.
army, the, 159, 160, 269, 270, 1033.
fleet, the, 159, 160, 185, 706, 942,
968.
forces, 1011.
grandees, 634.
governor, the, 540.
hides, 358.
infantry, 1011.
news, 151.
Turks, the, 42, 160, 161, 225, 246, 247, 265,
267, 268, 269, 314, 398, 448, 926,
1028, 1033. See Infidels.
……………..
·
...
··
>
******
…………….
league against, 172.
his army and fleet, 177.
preparations by the, 179.
See Solyman, Sultan.
ambassador at Vienna, 70.
at Venice, 554.
Corfu besieged by the, 159.
…………, proposed expedition against the, 132,
164, 170.
See Leagues.
""
Napoli and Romania in the hands of
the, 286.
Tuscany, 690, 1003.
Vicar-General of, 1003.
Tweed, the, p. 354
JJ.
Uderzo, Francesco of, 282.
Giovanni of, 282.
Ulm, 296, 398 note, 412, 472 note, 543 note.
letter dated at, 476.
Diet at, 376 note.
Unction, extreme, p. 348.
Uniformity, Act of, p. 265 note.
Upton, Master John, D.D., recommended by
Queen Mary for the bishopric of
Norwich, 949.
Urbino, private agreement about the State of,
A.
Duke of, Venetian Captain General,
10, 32, 35 note, 655. See Captain
General.
………..
....
..
•
·
··· , ...
>
Ursino, Camillo, 646, 690.
his resignation of the
governorship of the Venetian forces,
………….
Valenciennes, 234, 314.
··
……………..
740.
Cardinal of, Giulio della Rovere, 689.
letters to, 678, 680.
……………
………………………, governor of, 144, p. 62.
Valentinois, Madame de (Diane de Poitiers),
letters dated at, 231, 232, 233.
St. Paul's church at, 231.
967, 968.
Valerio, Monsignor, 456.
Valery [en Caux ?], 655.
Valladolid, 880, 886, 904, 941.
Vandin, D. Paulo, LL.D., 22.
Vannes, Peter, 372.
V.
··
English ambassador to Venice,
"
... "
679, 687, 711, 715, 741, 824, 844, 853,
860,903, 936, 941, 944, 951, 973, 1037.
to be shown the armoury
halls of the Council of Ten, 697.
...
licence to, to carry arms,
....
756, 758.
...
……………, ……………., requests the arrest of one
of his servants, 899, 903.
remarks upon his timorous-
…………. ……………**
ness, 936.
Vannes, letters dated at, 1030, 1031.
Varadino, Bishop of, 265 note.
Vargas, Francisco de, Imperial ambassador
in Venice, letter from Pole to, 765.
See Imperial Ambassador.
....
the secretary, 925, 954.
Vatican, the, 595.
Vaurensis, Episcopus. See Lavaur, Bishop
of.
GENERAL INDEX.
677
Vaux, Seigneur de, Giovanni Gioachino di
Passano, French ambassador to Eng-
land (A.D. 1531), 1001, 1002, 1007.
Vega, Don Hernando de, p. 470.
Veglia, 735.
Veilly or Vigli, De, 92, 98, 227.
Velletri, 586.
Vendome, Duke of, 115, 919, 1005.
Duchess of, 321, 1006.
Cardinal of, 597, 599, 627, 1006.
Venerio, Ser Marco Antonio, LL.D., 950.
Ser Hierons., Sap. Ordinum, 933.
Venetia, Nicolo da, 347.
Venetian ambassador with the Great Turk, or
"the Emperor of the Ottomans," letters
to the, 328, 329, 331, 332, 333, 336.
ambassadors, moneys destined for, 319,
698, 699, 863, 873. See Ambassadors;
Charles V.; France, &c.
••
…………………….
..
ambassadors at Turin, 541.
extraordinary at Rome, 655.
arsenal. See Arsenal.
Captain-General at sea, a, 16.
[on land]. See Urbino, Duke
of; also Captain General.
citizens, 78.
consul in England, 160, 212.
letters to the, 211.
fleet, proveditor of the, 1.
galleys, 578.
………….
......
......
………..
glass trade, 574, 578. See Glass-
makers.
merchandise, 482, 520.
merchants. See Merchants.
noblemen, 831.
people, employments of the, 215.
secretaries in England. See Agostini ;
Franceschi; Novello; Zambon; Zuc-
cato.
See Flanders galleys.
secretaries, treasonable practices of
two, 286.
ships, 215, 322, 323, 353, 418, 482, 523.
……………., two, captured by the French on
their way to England, 713, 714.
Government, official note of the com-
munications between Sigismund Harvel
and the, 466.
Venetians, the, 574, 578.
Venice, 10 note, 42, 45, 48, 54, 74, 78 note,
85, 106, 136, 139, 179, 207, 211, 212,
218, 220, 222, 235, 244, 260, 286, 298,
301, 323, 334, 335, 338 note, 348, 353,
354, 355, 356, 358, 363, 365, 367, 368,
402, 412, 417, 419, 432 note, 438, 439,
445, 446. 449, 456, 458, 459, 461, 462,
466, 469, 479, 480, 482, 487, 493, 495,
500, 501, 503, 507 note, 517, 523, 557,
637, 672, 673, 674, 682, p. 338, 711,
741, 749, 750, 863, 903, p. 563, 936,
941, 944, 951, 1011, 1012, 1024.
ambassadors from, to England. See
Ambassadors.
>>
English ambassadors to. See Ambas-
sadors; Harvel; Vannes.
Venice-cont.
·
•
……………
•
****
YO…………
...
....
..
...
…………….
Henry VIII. proposes a secret under-
standing to, 2.
letters dated at, 80, 384.
Frankish wool in, 215.
""
•
wells of, 220.
included in the peace between the
Emperor and France, 321.
the laws of, 348, 363.
..
""
***3
tanners of, 358.
petition from the shoemakers of, 358.
slaughter-houses in, 358.
[torture ?] chamber of, 502.
secrets of the State of, 507.
the two Columns at, 508, 509.
"
the Nuncio at. See Papal Nuncios.
advices sent from the French camp to,
576.
......
··
.
rector of St. Luke's at, 513.
.. >
the Ducal Palace at, 422 note, 511
note.
Papal Legate at, 587.
foreign ambassadors at, 706.
Imperial ambassador in. See Vargas.
Academy of, 458 note, 514 note.
church of the "Frari" at, 469 note.
church of San Geremia at, 615.
church of Saints John and Paul at,
615.
church of S. Giorgio Maggiore at,
637 note.
…………., governor of the revenues at the chan-
cery chest at, 555.
•
...
•
...
...
…………., Giovanni of, 282.
Venier, Venetian ambassador in France, 322.
the nobleman, 410.
Angelo, Dom, bailiff of Murano, 574.
Francesco, a Chief of the Council of
Ten, 289, 365, 366.
Venetian ambassador at Rome,
London factory at, 212.
state attornies of, 353, 438, 523, 731.
state inquisitors of, 413, 422, 423, 424,
427, 431, 432, 433, 436, 440, 444, 451.
state proveditors of, 741.
,
.....
·
…………. ...
letters from, 334, 335, 339.
9
"
···
Doge of Venice. See Doge.
Giovanni Antonio, Venetian ambas-
sador in France, letters from, 1001,
1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007,
1008, 209, 1010, 1011, 1012, 1013,
1014, 1015, 1016, 1017, 1018, 1019,
1020, 1021, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025,
1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, 1030, 1031
1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1036.
his secretary, 1011.
Venetian ambassador at Rome,
…………….
………
……………………..
497.
...,
··
""
532.
··
..... ……………..
>
letters from, 339, 469.
letters to, 479, 481, 522.
a Chief of the Council of Ten,
678
GENERAL INDEX.
Venier-cont.
Marco Antonio, D.C.X., 367, 368,
370. See Venerio.
Sebastian, Ser, sage for the Mainland,
704.
Venosa, Bishop of, Alvarez della Quadra,
letter to, 539.
•
•
......
……………
Venuci, Hironimo, 353.
Verallo, or Veruli, Cardinal, 586, 597, 602.
Vercelli, 335.
Vergerio, Pietro Paulo, Bishop of Capo
d'Istria, l'apal Nuncio at Vienna, 29
note, 42, 43, 59, 63, 82.
at the Court of France, 226.
………………
Verona, 116, 158, 337.
·
letters dated at, 195, 343.
abbacy of the Trinity of, 22, 23.
diocese of, 787.
English at, 343.
………………………, governors of, 22, 338.
letters to, 23, 337.
………………♪
Bishop of, Matteo Giberti, 123, 128,
140, p. 57, p. 58, 144, 145, p. 63, 149,
150, 155, 195, 196, 543, 787, 834.
•
•"
""
""
*****
………………………, ………………, letter to, 116.
·· ... ·· , *******
his villa, 158.
Veronese, the, 277 note.
Vestments, p. 349, p. 556. See Surplices.
"Viara," the (ship), 831.
Vicenza, 337.
………………………, governors of, 338.
Vienna, 26 note, 246, 265, 1033.
•
.......
letters dated at, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 38,
41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 55, 59,
61, 62, 63, 66, 69, 70, 74, 82, 87.
cathedral church of St. Stephen at,
35, 50.
church of St. Augustine at, 42.
St. Michael's at, 50.
"
Bishop of. See Faber.
""
Vienne, Archbishop of, p. 477.
Vigli, Mons. de. See Veilly.
Villan, Gioan, the Doge's courier, 1018.
Villers-Cotterets, 825.
Vinacense, Dom Francesco, 74.
Vincentini cause, the, 117.
Visco, Cardinal. See Crispo.
Vitello, Alessandro, 588.
……………………., Paulo, 588.
...
Viterbo, 588.
ر
**S
letter dated at, 235.
Cardinal Pole's legation to, 209, r.
381 note.
the legation to, conferred on Cardinal
Cornaro, 670.
Vith [White ?], Raphael, an Englishman,
282.
Vitturi, Antonio, 720.
Vurantio, Antonio, 48.
W.
Wales, p. 350, p. 354, p. 541.
***
forms to be used in the churches in,
P. 347.
the principality of, p. 354.
Wallop, Sir John, English ambassador in
France, 80, 1027 note.
War and literature in England, p. 544.
Warden, the Lord, p. 547.
Wards, Court of, p. 356, p. 548.
marriages of, p. 356.
""
Wardships, 54, p. 548.
"
abuses of the system of, p. 356, p. 549.
Warendorf, 26.
•
.... >
...... 2
Wark, p. 354, p. 358.
Warwick, Earl of, son of the Duke of Clarence
and nephew of Edward IV.; Ilenry
VII.'s repentance of his conduct towards
the, and the recompense made to the
family by Henry VIII., described by
Cardinal Pole, pp. 246, 247.
beheaded at the instigation of Fer-
dinand of Aragon, p. 257.
See Dudley, John.
******
…………………………
Water-bailiffs, 220.
the governors of the city of, 26.
John of, 26.
Water Tower, the (in Africa), taken by the
Emperor, 66.
Waterford, p. 357.
Weapons of the English army, p. 548.
Welsh, the, p. 354.
Wesal, John, 61.
Westminster, 935, 936.
letter dated at, 372.
palace of, royal letters dated at, 807,
953.
>
Westmorland, Earl of, p. 547, p. 554.
Whales and sea monsters, p. 360.
Wheat, to be supplied from England to Venice,
207.
White (Vith), Raphael, an Englishman, 282.
Whitehall, p. 342.
palace at, p. 538.
Wight, Isle of, p. 353, p. 359, 921.
William the Bastard, or the Conqueror, 54,
P. 541.
Wilton, Lord, K.G., p. 547.
Earl of (Grey), p. 554.
·"
Winchester, 886, 893, 897, 904, 922, 923.
Cathedral, 923.
Bishop of. See Gardiner.
*****
Marquis of. See Paulett, William.
Windsor, 886, 923.
Castle, 585, p. 547.
Wines, 831, 894, p. 356, p. 542.
Wissonio (sic), Dr., sent by Henry VIII. to
Liege to confer with Cardinal Pole,
p. 253.
">
………….
GENERAL INDEX.
679
Wittenberg, the Imperial Camp under, letters
dated at the, 506, 517.
Wolsey, Cardinal, 54, 438 note, p. 534.
Woodstock, p. 538.
Wools, English, 52, 78, 210, 211, 212, 215, 260,
295, 316, 520, p. 354, p. 356, p. 360,
p. 542, p. 543, p. 546.
Flemish, 78.
*******
Worcester, Bishop of, p. 554.
Richard.
Earl of, p. 554.
... >
Worms, 229, 234, 236, 238, 257.
conference at, 232, 233.
……… •>
Charles V.'s election at, 132.
Wotton, Dr., 343 note.
....
………………… ………………, English ambassador in France,
748 note, 891, 893, 896, 897, 907.
Wreck of the sea, p. 352.
Wrecks, the English law with respect to, con-
demned, 54.
*******
Wriothesley, Thomas, Lord, Lord Chancellor
of England, 364, 365, 368, p. 359.
Wurtemburg, duchy of, 13.
…………….
…………
the Diet of, 62, 223, 225, 237, 238,
338, 936.
·· >
··
גי
his son, 35.
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, late ambassador with the
the Duke of, 13, 35, 41, 42, 69, 70,
398 note, 809, 810, 811, 816, 821.
his wife, 35, 69.
"
►
...
***
..
See Pate,
....
Emperor, 234, 236.
... >
arrested by order of IIenry
VIII., 240.
... ……………….
his rebellion, 854, 861, 865, 887,
p. 538, p. 560.
X.
Xenophon, the works of, 680.
د.
Y.
Yarmouth, port of, p. 357.
York, p. 344, p. 543.
the rebels at [1536-7], 854.
…………….., Archbishop of, Robert Ilolgate, 132,
p. 347, 505 note, p. 554.
the late Edward Lee, 505 note.
Cardinal of. See Wolsey.
the IIouse of, p. 541.
' ,
Duke of, p. 541.
……………
•
•
Zambon, Giacomo, Venetian Secretary in
England, 319, 330, 363, 364, 365, 366,
367, 370, 391, 392, 393, 416, 441, 460,
461, 472, 474, 477, 479, 483, 484, 731.
....
………. ………………. ………………, commission to, 316, 317.
letters from, 452, 455.
letters to, 348, 355, 368,
"" ·
*******
379, 403, 405, 418, 420, 435, 439, 440,
442, 443, 446, 447, 450, 462, 471, 482,
485, 492, 519, 521.
………
··
..
•
....
Zane, Borto, C.C.X., 672, 673.
Jeronimo, C.C.X., 497, 500, 501, 503.
Zanon, Sebastian, a glass-maker, 648.
Zante, 165, 167, 572 note.
Zara, Venetian Governors of, 180.
Zealand, 935.
French galleys detained in, 579.
Zeno, Ser Andrea, 981.
Nicholas, 598.
***
• •
···
··
>
Zini, Pier Francesco, letter to, 814.
…………… ...
*****
…………
……………
the archpresbytership of Lonato
conferred on, 834.
>
Zuccato, Hironimo, Venetian Secretary in
England, 31 note, 37, 54, 100, 101, 107,
108, 148, 151, 159, 164, 170, 211, 221,
265, 310, 315, 316, 791.
letters from, 286, 288.
letters to, 44, 46, 49, 56,
... >
58, 67, 72, 73, 86, 91, 94, 95, 96, 104,
109, 111, 152, 160, 161, 162, 165, 166,
168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176,
177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184,
185, 186, 189, 190, 192, 193, 197, 198,
200, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207, 212, 281,
291, 293, 295.
2.
•
...S
"
******* *******
motion in the Senate
concerning, 102, 283.
increase of salary for,
***
154.
Zucchello, D. Sixto, 1024.
Zucharin, Zuan Maria, 418.
…………. •9 ……………. *******
letter to, 419.
Zudecha, the (at Venice), 358.
Page.
11, margin, for St. Mark's College, read St. Mark's Library.
107, No. 267, insert date, Ratisbon, 3rd July 1541.
ERRATA.
110, line 21, for 276, read 277.
113, line 9, for Attieri, read Altieri.
173, line 14, after few, insert days.
239, note, for Domenico Bollani, read Daniel Barbaro.
272, line 16, for Nestor, read Astorre.
292, No. 616
296, No. 621
340, line 4, for placets, read pleas, or placita.
370, line 19, for Rochester, read Worcester.
378, No. 757, for The Same to the Same, read The Doge and College to the Venetian Ambassador
in England.
409, note, for eti, read etc.
448, No. 837, dele Renard; [qu. Renaud ?]
""
} for Francisco de Mendoza, read Juan Alvarez de Toledo.
IN VOLUME IV.
Preface, p. xxvii, line 20, for when Dandolo was there, read when Dandolo was sent to him.
p. xxx, line 22, for 3rd and 4th, read 3rd and 42nd.
(The same error should
Page 450, line 4, for Andrea Dandolo, read Leonardo Dandolo.
also be corrected in the Index.)
""
IN VOLUME I.
Preface, p. lviii, note, for brothers, read cousins (?)
p. lxxiii, for elder brothers, read cousins german (?)
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This is a work of great value for elucidating the early history of our nobility
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4
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Vol. I.—1557-1696.
I
Vol. II.-1697-1702.
The above Papers connected with the affairs of the Treasury comprise
petitions, reports, and other documents relating to services rendered to the State,
grants of money and pensions, appointments to offices, remissions of fines and
duties, &c. They illustrate civil and military events, finance, the administration
in Ireland and the Colonies, &c., and afford information nowhere else recorded.
Vol. I.-1515–1574.
Vol. II.—1575-1588.
Vol. III.-1589–1600.
CALENDAR OF THE CAREW PAPERS, preserved in the Lambeth Library.
Edited by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's
College, London; and WILLIAM BULLEN, Esq. 1867-1871.
Vol. IV.—1601-1603.
Vol. V.-Book of Howth; Miscel-
laneous.
The Carew Papers relating to Ireland, deposited in the Lambeth Library, are
unique, and of great importance. The Calendar cannot fail to be welcome to all
students of Irish history. Another volume is in the press.
CALENDAR OF LETTERS, DESPATCHES, AND STATE PAPERS, relating to the
Negotiations between England and Spain, preserved in the Archives at
Simancas, and elsewhere. Edited by G. A. BERGENROTH. 1862-1868.
Vol. I.--Hen. VII.-1485-1509.
Vol. II.-Hen. VIII.-1509-1525
Supplement to Vol. I. and Vol. II.
Mr. Bergenroth was engaged in compiling a Calendar of the Papers relating
to England preserved in the archives of Simancas in Spain, and the corresponding
portion removed from Simancas to Paris. Mr. Bergenroth also visited Madrid,
and examined the Papers there, bearing on the reign of Henry VIII. The
first volume contains the Spanish Papers of the reign of Henry VII.; the
7
second volume, those of the first portion of the reign of Henry VIII. The
Supplement contains new information relating to the private life of Queen
Katharine of England; and to the projected marriage of Henry VII. with Queen
Juana, widow of King Philip of Castile, and mother of the Emperor Charles V.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPTS, relating to ENGLISH
AFFAIRS, preserved in the Archives of Venice, &c. Edited by RAWDON
BROWN, Esq. 1864-1873.
Vol. I.-1202–1509.
Vol. II.-1509–1519.
Vol. III.—1520–1526.
Vol. IV.-1527-1533.
Vol. V.-1534-1554.
Mr. Rawdon Brown's researches have brought to light a number of valuable
documents relating to various periods of English history; his contributions to
historical literature are of the most interesting and important character.
會
​SYLLABUS, IN ENGLISH, OF RYMER'S FŒDERA. By Sir THOMAS Duffus
HARDY, D.C.L., Députy Keeper of the Public Records. Vol. I.-Will. I.—
Edw. III.; 1066-1377. Vol. II., Ric. II.-Chas. II.; 1377-1654.
1869-1873.
The "Fœdera," or "Rymer's Fœdera," is a collection of miscellaneous docu-
ments illustrative of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, from the Norman
Conquest to the reign of Charles II. Several editions of the "Fœdera" have
been published, and the present Syllabus was undertaken to make the contents
of this great National Work more generally known.
REPORT OF THE DEPUTY KEEPER OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS AND THE REV.
J. S. BREWER TO THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS, upon the Carte and
Carew Papers in the Bodleian and Lambeth Libraries. 1864. Price
2s. 6d.
REPORT OF THE DEPUTY KEEPER OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS TO THE Master
OF THE ROLLS, upon the Documents in the Archives and Public Libraries
of Venice. 1866. Price 2s. 6d.
In the Press.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS relating to IRELAND, OF THE REIGN OF
ELIZABETH, preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office. Edited
by HANS CLAUDE HAMILTON, Esq., F.S.A. Vol. III.—1586, &c.
CALENDAR OF THE CAREW PAPERS, preserved in the Lambeth Library. Edited
by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's College,
London; and WILLIAM BULLEN, Esq. Vol. VI.—1603–1624.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS, DOMESTIC SERIES, OF THE REIGN OF
CHARLES I., preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office. Edited
by WILLIAM DOUGLAS HAMILTON, Esq., F.S.A. Vol. XIV.-1639.
CALENDAR OF LETTERS, DESPATCHES, AND STATE PAPERS, relating to the
Negotiations between England and Spain, preserved in the Archives at
Simancas, and elsewhere. Edited by DoN PASCUAL DE GAYANGOS.
Hen. VIII.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS relating to IRELAND, OF THE REIGN OF
JAMES I., preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office, and
elsewhere. Edited by the Rev. C. W. RUSSELL, D.D., and JOHN P.
PRENDERGAST, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. Vol. II.—1606, &c.
CALENDAR OF Letters and PAPERS, FOREIGN and DOMESTIC, OF THE REIGN
OF HENRY VIII., preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office,
the British Museum, &c. Edited by J. S. Brewer, M.A., Professor
of English Literature, King's College, London. Vol. IV., Part 3.-
1529, &c.
SYLLABUS, IN ENGLISH, OF RYMER'S FEDERA. By Sir THOMAS DUFFUS
HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the Public Records. Vol. III.—
Appendix and Index.
CALENDAR OF TREASURY PAPERS, preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record
Office. Edited by JOSEPH REDINGTON, Esq. Vol. III.-1702–1706.
In Progress.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS, COLONIAL SERIES, preserved in Her Majesty's
Public Record Office, and elsewhere. Edited by W. NOEL SAINSBURY,
Esq. Vol. IV.-East Indies, China, and Japan, 1622, &c. Vol. V.
America and West Indies, 1661, &c.
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS, FOREIGN SERIES, OF THE REIGN OF ELIZA-
BETH, preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office. Edited by
ALLAN JAMES CROSBY, Esq., B.A., Barrister-at-Law. Vol. IX.-
1569, &c.
-
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS, DOMESTIC SERIES, DURING THE COMMON-
WEALTH, preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office.
Edited by
MARY ANNE EVERETT Green.
+
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS, DOMESTIC SERIES, OF THE REIGN OF
GEORGE III., &c., preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office.
Edited by JOSEPH REDINGTON, Esq. (1760-1800), and JOHN RINGWOOD
ATKINS, Esq. (1801–1829).
Calendar of DOCUMENTS relating to IRELAND, excerpted from the Records
preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office; to the end of the
Reign of HENRY VII. Edited by HENRY SAVAGE SWEETMAN, Esq.
A.B., Trinity College, Dublin, Barrister-at-Law (Ireland).
CALENDAR OF STATE PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPTS, relating to ENGLISH
AFFAIRS, preserved in the Archives of Venice, &c. Edited by RAWDON
BROWN, Esq. Vol. VI.-1555, &c.
9
THE CHRONICLES AND MEMORIALS OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.
(6
[ROYAL 8vo., half-bound. Price 10s. each Volume or Part.]
On 25 July 1822, the House of Commons presented an address to the
Crown, stating that the editions of the works of our ancient historians were
inconvenient and defective; that many of their writings still remained in
manuscript, and, in some cases, in a single copy only. They added, "that an
"uniform and convenient edition of the whole, published under His Majesty's
"royal sanction, would be an undertaking honourable to His Majesty's reign,
"and conducive to the advancement of historical and constitutional know-
"ledge; that the House therefore humbly besought His Majesty, that He
"would be graciously pleased to give such directions as His Majesty, in His
"wisdom, might think fit, for the publication of a complete edition of the
"ancient historians of this realm, and assured His Majesty that whatever
expense might be necessary for this purpose would be made good.”
The Master of the Rolls, being very desirous that effect should be given
to the resolution of the House of Commons, submitted to Her Majesty's
Treasury in 1857 a plan for the publication of the ancient chronicles and
memorials of the United Kingdom, and it was adopted accordingly. In
selecting these works, it was considered right, in the first instance, to
give preference to those of which the manuscripts were unique, or the
materials of which would help to fill up blanks in English history for
which no satisfactory and authentic information hitherto existed in any
accessible form. One great object the Master of the Rolls had in view was
to form a corpus historicum within reasonable limits, and which should be
as complete as possible. In a subject of so vast a range, it was important
that the historical student should be able to select such volumes as conformed
with his own peculiar tastes and studies, and not be put to the expense of
purchasing the whole collection; an inconvenience inseparable from any
other plan than that which has been in this instance adopted.
Of the Chronicles and Memorials, the following volumes have been pub-
lished. They embrace the period from the earliest time of British history
down to the end of the reign of Henry VII.
10
1. THE CHRONICLE OF ENGLAND, by JOHN CAPGRAVE. Edited by the
Rev. F. C. HINGESTON, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford. 1858.
Capgrave was prior of Lynn, in Norfolk, and provincial of the order of the
Friars Hermits of England shortly before the year 1464. His Chronicle extends
from the creation of the world to the year 1417. As a record of the language
spoken in Norfolk (being written in English), it is of considerable value.
2. CHRONICON MONASTERII DE ABINGDON. Vols. I. and II. Edited by
the Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON, M.A., of University College, Durham,
and Vicar of Leighton Buzzard. 1858.
This Chronicle traces the history of the great Benedictine monastery of
Abingdon in Berkshire, from its foundation by King Ina of Wessex, to the
reign of Richard I., shortly after which period the present narrative was drawn
up by an inmate of the establishment. The author had access to the title-deeds
of the house; and incorporates into his history various charters of the Saxon
kings, of great importance as illustrating not only the history of the locality
but that of the kingdom. The work is printed for the first time.
3. Lives of EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. I.-La Estoire de Seint Aedward
le Rei. II.-Vita Beati Edvardi Regis et Confessoris. III.-Vita
Eduuardi Regis qui apud Westmonasterium requiescit. Edited by
HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow and Assistant Tutor of Trinity
College, Cambridge. 1858.
The first is a poem in Norman French, containing 4,686 lines, addressed to
Alianor, Queen of Henry III., and probably written in the year 1245, on the
occasion of the restoration of the church of Westminster. Nothing is known
of the author. The second is an anonymous poem, containing 536 lines, written
between the years 1440 and 1450, by command of Henry VI., to whom it
is dedicated. It does not throw any new light on the reign of Edward the
Confessor, but is valuable as a specimen of the Latin poetry of the time. The
third, also by an anonymous author, was apparently written for Queen Edith,
between the years 1066 and 1074, during the pressure of the suffering brought
on the Saxons by the Norman conquest. It notices many facts not found in
other writers, and some which differ considerably from the usual accounts.
4. MONUMENTA FRANCISCANA; scilicet, I.-Thomas de Eccleston de Ad-
ventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam. II.-Adæ de Marisco Epistolæ.
III.-Registrum Fratrum Minorum Londoniæ. Edited by J. S.
BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's College,
London. 1858.
This volume contains original materials for the history of the settlement of
the order of Saint Francis in England, the letters of Adam de Marisco, and
other papers connected with the foundation and diffusion of this great body. It
has been the aim of the editor to collect whatever historical information could be
found in this country, towards illustrating a period of the national history for
which only scanty materials exist. None of these have been before printed.
5. FASCICULI ZIZANIORUM MAGISTRI JOHANNIS WYCLIF CUM TRITICO.
Ascribed to THOMAS NETTER, of WALDEN, Provincial of the Carmelite
Order in England, and Confessor to King Henry the Fifth. Edited by
the Rev. W. W. SHIRLEY, M.A., Tutor and late Fellow of Wadhain
College, Oxford. 1858.
This work derives its principal value from being the only contemporaneous
account of the rise of the Lollards. When written, the disputes of the school-
11
men had been extended to the field of theology and they appear both in the
writings of Wycliff and in those of his adversaries. Wycliff's little bundles
of tares are not less metaphysical than theological, and the conflict between
Nominalists and Realists rages side by side with the conflict between the different
interpreters of Scripture. The work gives a good idea of the controversies at
the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries.
6. THE BUIK OF THE CRONICLIS OF SCOTLAND; or, A Metrical Version of
the History of Hector Boece; by WILLIAM STEWART.
by WILLIAM STEWART. Vols. I., II.,
and III. Edited by W. B. TURNBULL, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-
at-Law. 1858.
This is a metrical translation of a Latin Prose Chronicle, and was written in the
first half of the 16th century. The narrative begins with the earliest legends,
and ends with the death of James I. of Scotland, and the "evil ending of the
traitors that slew him." Strict accuracy of statement is not to be looked for in
such a work as this; but the stories of the colonization of Spain, Ireland, and
Scotland are interesting if not true; and the chronicle is valuable as a reflection
of the manners, sentiments, and character of the age in which it was composed.
The peculiarities of the Scottish dialect are well illustrated in this metrical version,
and the student of language will find ample materials for comparison with the
English dialects of the same period, and with modern lowland Scotch.
7. JOHANNIS CAPGRAVE LIBER DE ILLUSTRIBUS HENRICIS. Edited by the
Rev. F. C. HINGESTON, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford. 1858.
This work is dedicated to Henry VI. of England, who appears to have been, in
the author's estimation, the greatest of all the Henries. It is divided into three
distinct parts, each having its own separate dedication. The first part relates only
to the history of the Empire, and extends from the election of Henry I., the
Fowler, to the end of the reign of the Emperor Henry VI. The second part is
devoted to English history, and extends from the accession of Henry I. in the year
1100, to the year 1446, which was the twenty-fourth year of the reign of King
Henry VI. The third part contains the lives of illustrious men who have borne
the name of Henry in various parts of the world.
Capgrave was born in 1393, in the reign of Richard II., and lived during the
Wars of the Roses, for the history of which period his work is of some value.
8. HISTORIA MONASTERII S. AUGUSTINI CANTUARIENSIS, by THOMAS OF
ELMHAM, formerly Monk and Treasurer of that Foundation. Edited
by CHARLES HARDWICK, M.A., Fellow of St. Catharine's Hall, and
Christian Advocate in the University of Cambridge.
1858.
This history extends from the arrival of St. Augustine in Kent until 1191.
Prefixed is a chronology as far as 1418, which shows in outline what was to have
been the character of the work when completed. The only copy known is in the
possession of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. The author was connected with Norfolk,
and most probably with Elmham, whence he derived his name.
9. EULOGIUM (HISTORIARUM SIVE TEMPORIS): Chronicon ab Orbe condito
usque ad Annum Domini 1366; a Monacho quodam Malmesbiriensi
exaratum. Vols. I., II., and III. Edited by F. S. HAYDON, Esq., B.A.
1858-1863.
This is a Latin Chronicle extending from the Creation to the latter part of the
reign of Edward III., and written by a monk of the Abbey of Malmesbury, in
Wiltshire, about the year 1367. A continuation, carrying the history of England
down to the year 1413, was added in the former half of the fifteenth century by
an author whose name is not known. The original Chronicle is divided into
five books, and contains a history of the world generally, but more especially
12
of England to the year 1366. The continuation extends the history down to
the coronation of Henry V. The Eulogium itself is chiefly valuable as contain-
ing a history, by a contemporary, of the period between 1356 and 1366. The
notices of events appear to have been written very soon after their occurrence.
Among other interesting matter, the Chronicle contains a diary of the Poitiers
campaign, evidently furnished by some person who accompanied the army of the
Black Prince. The continuation of the Chronicle is also the work of a contem-
porary, and gives a very interesting account of the reigns of Richard II. and
Henry IV. It is believed to be the earliest authority for the statement that the
latter monarch died in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster.
10. MEMORIALS OF HENRY THE SEVENTH: Bernardi Andreæ Tholosatis
Vita Regis Henrici Septimi; necnon alia quædam ad eundem Regem
spectantia. Edited by JAMES GAIRDNER, Esq. 1858.
The contents of this volume are-(1) a life of Henry VII., by his poet
laureate and historiographer, Bernard André, of Toulouse, with some composi-
tions in verse, of which he is supposed to have been the author; (2) the journals
of Roger Machado during certain embassies on which he was sent by Henry VII.
to Spain and Brittany, the first of which had reference to the marriage of the
King's son, Arthur, with Catharine of Arragon; (3) two curious reports by
envoys sent to Spain in the year 1505 touching the succession to the Crown
of Castile, and a project of marriage between Henry VII. and the Queen of
Naples; and (4) an account of Philip of Castile's reception in England in 1506.
Other documents of interest in connexion with the period are given in an appendix.
11. MEMORIALS OF HENRY THE FIFTH. I.-Vita Henrici Quinti, Roberto
Redmanno auctore. II. Versus Rhythmici in laudem Regis Henrici
Quinti. III.-Elmhami Liber Metricus de Henrico V. Edited by
CHARLES A. COLE, Esq.
1858.
This volume contains three treatises which more or less illustrate the history of
the reign of Henry V., viz.: A Life by Robert Redman; a Metrical Chronicle by
Thomas Elmham, prior of Lenton, a contemporary author; Versus Rhythmici,
written apparently by a monk of Westminster Abbey, who was also a contempo-
rary of Henry V. These works are printed for the first time.
12. MUNIMENTA GILDHALLE LONDONIENSIS; Liber Albus, Liber Cus-
tumarum, et Liber Horn, in archivis Gildhallæ asservati.
Vol. I.,
Liber Albus. Vol. II. (in Two Parts), Liber Custumarum. Vol. III.,
Translation of the Anglo-Norman Passages in Liber Albus, Glossaries,
Appendices, and Index. Edited by HENRY THOMAS RILEY, Esq., M.A.,
Barrister-at-Law. 1859–1862.
The manuscript of the Liber Albus, compiled by John Carpenter, Common
Clerk of the City of London in the year 1419, a large folio volume, is pre-
served in the Record Room of the City of London. It gives an account of
the laws, regulations, and institutions of that City in the twelfth, thirteenth,
fourteenth, and early part of the fifteenth centuries.
The Liber Custumarum was compiled probably by various hands in the early
part of the fourteenth century during the reign of Edward II. The manuscript,
a folio volume, is also preserved in the Record Room of the City of London,
though some portion in its original state, borrowed from the City in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth and never returned, forms part of the Cottonian MS.
Claudius D. II. in the British Museum. It also gives an account of the laws,
regulations, and institutions of the City of London in the twelfth, thirteenth, and
early part of the fourteenth centuries.
Edited by Sir HENRY ELlis,
1859.
Although this Chronicle tells of the arrival of Hengist and Horsa in England
in the year 449, yet it substantially begins with the reign of King Alfred, and
13, CHRONICA JOHANNIS DE OXENEDEs.
K.H.
13
comes down to the year 1292, where it ends abruptly. The history is particu-
larly valuable for notices of events in the eastern portions of the kingdom,
which are not to be elsewhere obtained, and some curious facts are mentioned
relative to the floods in that part of England, which are confirmed in the Fries-
land Chronicle of Anthony Heinrich, pastor of the Island of Mohr.
14. A COLLECTION OF POLITICAL POEMS and Songs RELATING TO English
HISTORY, FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD III. TO THE REIGN OF
HENRY VIII. Vols. I. and II. Edited by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq.,
M.A. 1859-1861.
These Poems are perhaps the most interesting of all the historical writings of
the period, though they cannot be relied on for accuracy of statement. They
are various in character; some are upon religious subjects, some may be called
satires, and some give no more than a court scandal; but as a whole they pre-
sent a very fair picture of society, and of the relations of the different classes
to one another. The period comprised is in itself interesting, and brings us,
through the decline of the feudal system, to the beginning of our modern
history. The songs in old English are of considerable value to the philologist.
15. The "OPUS TERTIUM," "OPUS MINUS," &c., of ROGER BACON. Edited
by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's
College, London. 1859.
This is the celebrated treatise--never before printed-so frequently referred
to by the great philosopher in his works. It contains the fullest details we
possess of the life and labours of Roger Bacon: also a fragment by the same
author, supposed to be unique, the "Compendium Studii Theologiæ."
16. BARTHOLOMAI DE COTTON, MONACHI NORWICENSIS, HISTORIA AN-
GLICANA; 449-1298: necnon ejusdem Liber de Archiepiscopis et
Episcopis Angliæ. Edited by HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow
and Assistant Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge.
1859.
The author, a monk of Norwich, has here given us a Chronicle of England
from the arrival of the Saxons in 449 to the year 1298, in or about which year
it appears that he died.
The latter portion of this history (the whole of the
reign of Edward I. more especially) is of great value, as the writer was con-
temporary with the events which he records. An Appendix contains several
illustrative documents connected with the previous narrative.
17. BRUT Y TYWYSOGION; or, The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales.
Edited by the Rev. JOIN WILLIAMS AB ITHEL, M.A. 1860.
This work, also known as "The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales," has
been attributed to Caradoc of Llancarvan, who flourished about the middle of
the twelfth century. It is written in the ancient Welsh language, begins with
the abdication and death of Caedwala at Rome, in the year 681, and continues
the history down to the subjugation of Wales by Edward I., about the year 1282.
18. A COLLECTION OF ROYAL AND HISTORICAL LETTERS DURING THE
REIGN OF HENRY IV. 1399-1404. Edited by the Rev. F. C. HIN-
GESTON, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford. 1860.
This volume, like all the others in the series containing a miscellaneous selec-
tion of letters, is valuable on account of the light it throws upon biographical
history, and the familiar view it presents of characters, manners, and events.
The period requires much elucidation; to which it will materially contribute.
19. THE REPRESSOR OF OVER MUCH BLAMING OF THE CLERGY. BY
REGINALD PECOCK, Sometime Bishop of Chichester. Vols. I. and II.
Edited by CHURCHILL BABINGTON, B.D., Fellow of St. John's College,
Cambridge. 1860.
The "Repressor" may be considered the earliest piece of good theological dis-
quisition of which our English prose literature can boast. The author was born
14
about the end of the fourteenth century, consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph in
the year 1444, and translated to the see of Chichester in 1450. While Bishop of
St. Asaph, he zealously defended his brother prelates from the attacks of those
who censured the bishops for their neglect of duty. He maintained that it was no
part of a bishop's functions to appear in the pulpit, and that his time might be
more profitably spent, and his dignity better maintained, in the performance of
works of a higher character. Among those who thought differently were the
Lollards, and against their general doctrines the "Repressor" is directed. Pecock
took up a position midway between that of the Roman Church and that of the
modern Anglican Church; but his work is interesting chiefly because it gives a
full account of the views of the Lollards and of the arguments by which they were
supported, and because it assists us to ascertain the state of feeling which ulti-
mately led to the Reformation. Apart from religious matters, the light thrown upon
contemporaneous history is very small, but the "Repressor" has great value
for the philologist, as it tells us what were the characteristics of the language in
use among the cultivated Englishmen of the fifteenth century. Pecock, though
an opponent of the Lollards, showed a certain spirit of toleration, for which he
received, towards the end of his life, the usual mediæval reward—persecution.
20. ANNALES CAMBRIA. Edited by the Rev. JOHN WILLIAMS AB ITHEL,
M.A.
1860.
These annals, which are in Latin, commence in the year 447, and come down
to the year 1288. The earlier portion appears to be taken from an Irish Chronicle,
which was also used by Tigernach, and by the compiler of the Annals of Ulster.
During its first century it contains scarcely anything relating to Britain, the
earliest direct concurrence with English history is relative to the mission of
Augustine. Its notices throughout though brief, are valuable. The annals.
were probably written at St. Davids, by Blegewryd, Archdeacon of Llandaff,
the most learned man in his day in all Cymru.
21. THE WORKS OF GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. Vols. I., II., III., and IV.
Edited by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's
College, London. Vols. V. and VI. Edited by the Rev. JAMES F.
DIMOCK, M.A., Rector of Barnburgh, Yorkshire. 1861-1873.
These volumes contain the historical works of Gerald du Barry, who lived
in the reigns of Henry II., Richard I., and John, and attempted to re-establish
the independence of Wales by restoring the see of St. Davids to its ancient
primacy. His works are of a very miscellaneous nature, both in prose and
verse, and are remarkable chiefly for the racy and original anecdotes which
they contain relating to contemporaries. He is the only Welsh writer of any
importance who has contributed so much to the medieval literature of this
country, or assumed, in consequence of his nationality, so free and independent
a tone. His frequent travels in Italy, in France, in Ireland, and in Wales, gave
him opportunities for observation which did not generally fall to the lot of mediæval
writers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and of these observations Giraldus
has made due use. Only extracts from these treatises have been printed before,
and almost all of them are taken from unique manuscripts.
The Topographia Hibernica (in Vol. V.) is the result of Giraldus' two visits to
Ireland. The first in the year 1183, the second in 1185-6, when he accompanied
Prince John into that country. Curious as this treatise is, Mr. Dimock is of
opinion that it ought not to be accepted as sober truthful history, for Giraldus
himself states that truth was not his main object, and that he compiled the work
for the purpose of sounding the praises of Henry the Second. Elsewhere, how-
ever, he declares that he had stated nothing in the Topographia of the truth of
which he was not well assured, either by his own eyesight or by the testimony,
with all diligence elicited, of the most trustworthy and authentic men in the
country; that though he did not put just the same full faith in their reports as
in what he had himself seen, yet, as they only related what they had themselves
seen, he could not but believe such credible witnesses. A very interesting portion
of this treatise is devoted to the animals of Ireland. It shows that he was a very
accurate and acute observer, and his descriptions are given in a way that a
scientific naturalist of the present day could hardly improve upon.
The Expug-
natio Hibernica was written about the year 1188 and may be regarded rather
15
as a great epic than a sober relation of acts occurring in his own days. No
one can peruse it without coming to the conclusion that it is rather a poetical
fiction than a prosaic truthful history.
Vol. VI, contains the Itinerarium Kambriæ et Descriptio Kambriæ.
22. LETTERS AND PAPERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE WARS OF THE ENGLISH
IN FRANCE DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY THE SIXTH, KINg of Eng-
LAND. Vol. I., and Vol. II. (in Two Parts). Edited by the Rev. JOSEPH
STEVENSON, M.A., of University College, Durham, and Vicar of Leighton
Buzzard. 1861-1864.
The letters and papers contained in these volumes are derived chiefly from
originals or contemporary copies extant in the Bibliothèque Impériale, and the
Depôt des Archives, in Paris. They illustrate the line of policy adopted by
John Duke of Bedford and his successors during their government of Normandy,
and such other provinces of France as had been acquired by Henry V. We
may here trace, step by step, the gradual declension of the English power, until
we are prepared to read of its final overthrow.
23. THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, ACCORDING TO THE SEVERAL ORIGINAL
AUTHORITIES. Vol. I., Original Texts. Vol. II., Translation. Edited
and translated by BENJAMIN THORPE, Esq., Member of the Royal
Academy of Sciences at Munich, and of the Society of Netherlandish
Literature at Leyden. 1861.
This Chronicle, extending from the earliest history of Britain to the year
1154, is justly the boast of England; for no other nation can produce any history,
written in its own vernacular, at all approaching it, either in antiquity, truthful-
ness, or extent, the historical books of the Bible alone excepted. There are at
present six independent manuscripts of the Saxon Chronicle, ending in different
years, and written in different parts of the country. In this edition, the text
of each manuscript is printed in columns on the same page, so that the student
may see at a glance the various changes which occur in orthography, whether
arising from locality or age.
24. LETTERS AND PAPERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE REIGNS OF RICHARD III.
AND HENRY VII. Vols. I. and II. Edited by JAMES GAIRDNER, Esq.
1861-1863.
The Papers are derived from MSS. in the Public Record Office, the British
Museum, and other repositories. The period to which they refer is unusually
destitute of chronicles and other sources of historical information, so that the
light obtained from these documents is of special importance. The principal
contents of the volumes are some diplomatic Papers of Richard III.; correspon-
dence between Henry VII. and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; documents
relating to Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk; and a portion of the corre-
spondence of James IV. of Scotland.
25. LETTERS OF BISHOP GROSSETESTE, illustrative of the Social Condition
of his Time. Edited by HENRY RICHARDds Luard, M.A., Fellow and
Assistant Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1861.
The Letters of Robert Grosseteste (131 in number) are here collected from various
sources, and a large portion of them is printed for the first time. They range in
date from about 1210 to 1253, and relate to various matters connected not only
with the political history of England during the reign of Henry III., but with
its ecclesiastical condition. They refer especially to the diocese of Lincoln, of
which Grosseteste was bishop.
26. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Vol. I. (in Two Parts); Anterior
to the Norman Invasion. Vol. II.; 1066-1200. Vol. III.; 1200-1327.
By Sir THOMAS DUFFUS HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the Public
Records. 1862-1871.
The object of this work is to publish notices of all known sources of British
history, both printed and unprinted, in one continued sequence. The materials,
16
when historical (as distinguished from biographical), are arranged under the
year in which the latest event is recorded in the chronicle or history, and not
under the period in which its author, real or supposed, flourished. Biographies
are enumerated under the year in which the person commemorated died, and not
under the year in which the life was written. This arrangement has two
advantages; the materials for any given period may be seen at a glance; and
if the reader knows the time when an author wrote, and the number of years
that had elapsed between the date of the events and the time the writer flourished,
he will generally be enabled to form a fair estimate of the comparative value of
the narrative itself. A brief analysis of each work has been added when deserving
it, in which the original portions are distinguished from those which are mere
compilations. When possible, the sources are indicated from which such com-
pilations have been derived. A biographical sketch of the author of each piece
has been added, and a brief notice has also been given of such British authors as
have written on historical subjects.
27. ROYAL AND OTHER HISTORICAL LETTERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE REIGN
OF HENRY III. Vol. I., 1216-1235. Vol. II., 1236-1272. Selected
and edited by the Rev. W. W. SHIRLEY, D.D., Regius Professor in
Ecclesiastical History, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. 1862-
1866.
The letters contained in these volumes are derived chiefly from the ancient
correspondence formerly in the Tower of London, and now in the Public Record
Office. They illustrate the political history of England during the growth of
its liberties, and throw considerable light upon the personal history of Simon de
Montfort. The affairs of France form the subject of many of them, especially
in regard to the province of Gascony. The entire collection consists of nearly
700 documents, the greater portion of which is printed for the first time.
28. CHRONICA MONASTERII S. ALBANI.-1. THOME WALSINGHAM HISTORIA
ANGLICANA; Vol. I., 1272-1381: Vol. II., 1381--1422. 2. WILLELMI
RISHANGER CHRONICA ET ANNALES, 1259-1307. 3. JOHANNIS DE
TROKELOWE ET HENRICI DE BLANEFORDE CHRONICA ET ANNALES,
1259-1296; 1307-1324; 1392-1406. 4. GESTA ABBATUM MONASTERII
S. ALBANI, A THOMA WALSINGHAM, REGNANTE RICARDO SECUNDO,
EJUSDEM ECCLESIÆ PRÆCENTORE, COMPILATA; Vol. I., 793-1290:
Vol. II., 1290–1349: Vol. III., 1349–1411. 5. JOHANNIS AMUNDESHAM,
MONACHI MONASTERII S. ALBANI, UT VIDETUR, ANNALES; Vols. I.
and II. 6. REGISTRA QUORUNDAM ABBATUM MONASTERII S. ALBANI,
QUI SÆCULO XVmo FLORUERE; Vol. I., REGISTRUM ABBATIÆ JOHANNIS
WHETHAMSTEDE, ABBATIS MONASTERII SANCTI ALBANI, ITERUM
SUSCEPTÆ; ROBERTO BLAKENEY, CAPELLANO, QUONDAM ADSCRIPTUM.
Edited by HENRY THOMAS RILEY, Esq., M.A., Cambridge and Oxford;
and of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. 1863–1872.
In the first two volumes is a history of England, from the death of Henry
III. to the death of Henry V., written by Thomas Walsingham, Precentor of
St. Albans and prior of the cell of Wymundham, belonging to that abbey.
It is printed from MS. VII. in the Arundel Collection in the College of Arms,
London, a manuscript of the fifteenth century, collated with MS. 13 E. IX. in the
King's Library in the British Museum, and MS. VII. in the Parker Collection
of Manuscripts at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
In the third volume is a Chronicle of English History, attributed to William
Rishanger, monk of Saint Albans, who lived in the reign of Edward I.,
printed from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. IX. (of the fourteenth
century) in the British Museum, collated with MS. 14 C. VII. (fols. 219–
231) in the King's Library, British Museum, and the Cottonian Manuscript,
Claudius E. III., fols. 306-331: Also an account of transactions attending the
award of the kingdom of Scotland to John Balliol by Edward I., 1291-1292,
from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI., attributed to William Rishanger above
mentioned, but on no sufficient ground: A short Chronicle of English History,
from 1292 to 1300, by an unknown hand, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.:
17
A short Chronicle from 1297 to 1307, Willelmi Rishanger Gesta Edwardi
Primi Regis Angliæ, from MS. 14 C. I. in the Royal Library, and MS. Cotton.
Claudius D. VI., with an addition of Annales Regum Angliæ, probably by the
same hand: A fragment of a Chronicle of English History, 1299, 1300, from
MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.: A fragment of a Chronicle of English History,
1295 to 1300, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI. and a fragment of a Chronicle
of English History, 1285 to 1307, from MS. 14 C. I. in the Royal Library.
:
In the fourth volume is a Chronicle of English History, by an anonymous
writer, 1259 to 1296, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI. : Annals of Edward II.,
1307 to 1323, by John de Trokelowe a monk of St. Albans, from MS. Cotton.
Claudius D. VI.: A continuation of Trokelowe's Annals, 1323, 1324, by
Henricus de Blaneforde, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.: A full Chronicle
of English History, by an anonymous writer of St. Albans, 1392 to 1406, from
MS. VII. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; and an account
of the benefactors of St. Albans, written in the early part of the fifteenth
century, from MS. VI. in the same Library.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh volumes contain a history of the Abbots of
St. Albans, and of the fortunes and vicissitudes of the house, from 793 to 1411,
mainly compiled by Thomas Walsingham, Precentor of the Abbey in the reign
of Richard II.; from MS. Cotton. Claudius E. IV., in the British Museum;
with a Continuation, from the closing pages of the Parker MS. No. VII., in the
Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
The eighth and ninth volumes, in continuation of the Annals, contain a
Chronicle, probably written by John Amundesham, a monk of St. Albans.
The tenth volume relates especially to the acts and proceedings of Abbot
Whethamstede, and may be considered as a memorial of the chief historical and
domestic events occurring during the first ten years of his second abbacy. The
Register was in all probability compiled between 1465 and 1476.
29. CHRONICON ABBATIÆ EVESHAMENSIS, AUCTORIBUS DOMINICO PRIORE
EVESHAMIÆ ET THOMA DE MARLEBERGE ABBATE, A FUNDATIONE AD
ANNUM 1213, UNA CUM CONTINUATIONE AD ANNUM 1418. Edited by
the Rev. W. D. MACRAY, M.A., Bodleian Library, Oxford. 1863.
The Chronicle of Evesham illustrates the history of that important monastery
from its foundation by Egwin, about 690, to the year 1418. Its chief feature is
an autobiography, which makes us acquainted with the inner daily life of a
great abbey, such as but rarely has been recorded. Interspersed are many
notices of general, personal, and local history which will be read with much
interest. This work exists in a single MS., and is for the first time printed.
30. RICARDI DE CIRENCESTRIA SPECULUM HISTORIALE DE GESTIS REGUM
ANGLIÆ. Vol. I., 447-871. Vol. II., 872-1066. Edited by JOHN E. B.
MAYOR, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. 1863-1869.
The compiler, Richard of Cirencester, was a monk of Westminster, 1355-
1400. In 1391 he obtained a licence to make a pilgrimage to Rome. His
history, in four books, extends from 447 to 1066. He announces his intention
of continuing it, but there is no evidence that he completed any more. This
chronicle gives many charters in favour of Westminster Abbey, and a very full
account of the lives and miracles of the saints, especially of Edward the Con-
fessor, whose reign occupies the fourth book. A treatise on the Coronation, by
William of Sudbury, a monk of Westminster, fills book iii. c. 3. It was on this
author that C. J. Bertram fathered his forgery, De Situ Brittaniæ, in 1747.
31. YEAR BOOKS OF THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE FIRST. Years 20-21,
30-31, and 32-33. Edited and translated by ALFRED JOHN HORWOOD,
Esq., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law. 1863-1866.
The volumes known as the "Year Books" contain reports in Norman-French
of cases argued and decided in the Courts of Common Law. They may be con-
sidered to a great extent as the "lex non scripta" of England, and have been held
in the highest veneration by the ancient sages of the law, and were received by
them as the repositories of the first recorded judgments and dicta of the great
28291.
Y Y
18
legal luminaries of past ages. They are also worthy of the attention of the
general reader on account of the historical information and the notices of public
and private persons which they contain, as well as the light which they throw
on ancient manners and customs.
32. NARRATIVES OF THE EXPULSION OF THE ENGLISH FROM NORMANDY,
1449-1450.-Robertus Blondelli de Reductione Normanniæ: Le Re-
couvrement de Normendie, par Berry, Hérault du Roy: Conferences
between the Ambassadors of France and England. Edited, from MSS.
in the Imperial Library at Paris, by the Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON,
M.A., of University College, Durham. 1863.
This volume contains the narrative of an eye-witness who details with con-
siderable power and minuteness the circumstances which attended the final ex-
pulsion of the English from Normandy in the year 1450. The history commences
with the infringement of the truce by the capture of Fougères, and ends with
the battle of Formigny and the embarkation of the Duke of Somerset.
whole period embraced is less than two years.
The
Vols.
33. HISTORIA ET CARTULARIUM MONASTERII S. PETRI GLOUCESTRIÆ.
I., II., and III. Edited by W. H. HART, Esq., F.S.A., Membre corre-
spondant de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie. 1863-1867.
This work consists of two parts, the History and the Cartulary of the Monastery
of St. Peter, Gloucester. The history furnishes an account of the monastery
from its foundation, in the year 681, to the early part of the reign of Richard II.,
together with a calendar of donations and benefactions. It treats principally of
the affairs of the monastery, but occasionally matters of general history are
introduced. Its authorship has generally been assigned to Walter Froucester,
the twentieth abbot, but without any foundation.
34. ALEXANDRI NECKAM DE NATURIS RERUM LIBRI DUO; with NECKAM'S
POEM, DE LAUDIBUS DIVINA SAPIENTIÆ. Edited by Thomas Wright,
Esq., M.A.
1863.
Neckam was a man who devoted himself to science, such as it was in the
twelfth century. In the "De Naturis Rerum " are to be found what may be
called the rudiments of many sciences mixed up with much error and ignorance.
Neckam was not thought infallible, even by his contemporaries, for Roger Bacon
remarks of him," this Alexander in many things wrote what was true and useful;
"but he neither can nor ought by just title to be reckoned among authorities.'
Neckam, however, had sufficient independence of thought to differ from some
of the schoolmen who in his time considered themselves the only judges of litera-
ture. He had his own views in morals, and in giving us a glimpse of them, as
well as of his other opinions, he throws much light upon the manners, customs,
and general tone of thought prevalent in the twelfth century. The poem entitled
"De Laudibus Divinæ Sapientia" appears to be a metrical paraphrase or
abridgment of the "De Naturis Rerum." It is written in the elegiac metre ;
and though there are many lines which violate classical rules, it is, as a whole,
above the ordinary standard of medieval Latin.
35. LEECHDOMS, WORTCUNNING, AND STARCRAFT OF EARLY ENGLAND; being
a Collection of Documents illustrating the History of Science in this
Country before the Norman Conquest. Vols. I., II., and III. Collected
and edited by the Rev. T. OswALD COCKAYNE, M.A., of St. John's
College, Cambridge. 1864-1866.
This work illustrates not only the history of science, but the history of super-
stition. In addition to the information bearing directly upon the medical skill
and medical faith of the times, there are many passages which incidentally throw
light upon the general mode of life and ordinary diet. The volumes are interesting
not only in their scientific, but also in their social aspect. The manuscripts from
which they have been printed are valuable to the Anglo-Saxon scholar for the
illustrations they afford of Anglo-Saxon orthography.
19
36. ANNALES MONASTICI. Vol. I. :-Annales de Margan, 1066–1232 ;
Annales de Theokesberia, 1066–1263; Annales de Burton, 1004–1263.
Vol. II. :-Annales Monasterii de Wintonia, 519-1277; Annales Mo-
nasterii de Waverleia, 1-1291. Vol. III. :-Annales Prioratus de
Dunstaplia, 1-1297; Annales Monasterii de Bermundeseia, 1042-
1432. Vol. IV. :-Annales Monasterii de Oseneia, 1016-1347; Chroni-
con vulgo dictum Chronicon Thoma Wykes, 1066-1289; Annales
Prioratus de Wigornia, 1-1377. Vol. V. :-Index and Glossary. Edited
by HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow and Assistant Tutor of
Trinity College, and Registrary of the University, Cambridge.
1869.
1864-
The present collection of Monastic Annals embraces all the more important
chronicles compiled in religious houses in England during the thirteenth
century. These distinct works are ten in number. The extreme period
which they embrace ranges from the year 1 to 1432, although they refer more
especially to the reigns of John, Henry III., and Edward I. Some of these narra-
tives have already appeared in print, but others are printed for the first time.
37. MAGNA VITA S. HUGONIS EPISCOPI LINCOLNIENSIS.
From Manuscripts
in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the Imperial Library, Paris. Edited
by the Rev. JAMES F. DIMOCK, M.A., Rector of Barnburgh, Yorkshire.
1864.
This work contains a number of very curious and interesting incidents, and,
being the work of a contemporary, is very valuable, not only as a truthful
biography of a celebrated ecclesiastic, but as the work of a man, who, from per-
sonal knowledge, gives notices of passing events, as well as of individuals who
were then taking active part in public affairs. The author, in all probability,
was Adam Abbot of Evesham. He was domestic chaplain and private confessor
of Bishop Hugh, and in these capacities was admitted to the closest intimacy.
Bishop Hugh was Prior of Witham for 11 years before he became Bishop of
Lincoln. His consecration took place on the 21st September 1186; he died on
the 16th of November 1200; and was canonized in 1220.
38. CHRONICLES AND MEMORIALS OF THE REIGN OF RICHARD THE FIRST.
Vol. I. :-ITINERARIUM PEREGRINORUM ET GESTA REGIS RICARDI.
Vol. II. :-EPISTOLÆ CANTUARIENSES; the Letters of the Prior and
Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury; 1187 to 1199. Edited by
WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A., Vicar of Navestock, Essex, and Lambeth
Librarian. 1864-1865.
The authorship of the Chronicle in Vol. I., hitherto ascribed to Geoffrey
Vinesauf, is now more correctly ascribed to Richard, Canon of the Holy Trinity
of London. The narrative extends from 1187 to 1199; but its chief interest
consists in the minute and authentic narrative which it furnishes of the exploits
of Richard I., from his departure from England in December 1189 to his death
in 1199. The author states in his prologue that he was an eye-witness of much
that he records; and various incidental circumstances which occur in the course
of the narrative confirm this assertion.
The letters in Vol. II., written between 1187 and 1199, are of value as
furnishing authentic materials for the history of the ecclesiastical condition of
England during the reign of Richard I. They had their origin in a dispute which
arose from the attempts of Baldwin and Hubert, archbishops of Canterbury, to
found a college of secular canons, a project which gave great umbrage to the
monks of Canterbury, who saw in it a design to supplant them in their function
of metropolitan chapter. These letters are printed, for the first time, from a MS.
belonging to the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth.
39. Recueil des CRONIQUES ET ANCHIENNES ISTORIES DE LA GRANT BRE-
TAIGNE A PRESENT NOMME ENGLETERRE, par JEHAN DE WAURIN. Vol. I.,
YY 2
20
Albina to 688. Vol. II., 1399-1422. Edited by WILLIAM HARDY, Esq.,
F.S.A. 1864-1868.
40. A COLLECTION OF THE CHRONICLES AND ANCIENT HISTORIES OF GREAT
BRITAIN, NOW CALLED ENGLAND, by JOHN DE WAVRIN. Albina to 688.
(Translation of the preceding Vol. I.) Edited and translated by
WILLIAM HARDY, Esq., F.S.A. 1864.
This curious chronicle extends from the fabulous period of history down to the
return of Edward IV. to England in the year 1471, after the second deposition of
Henry VI.
The manuscript from which the text of the work is taken is pre-
served in the Imperial Library at Paris, and is believed to be the only complete
and nearly contemporary copy in existence. The work, as originally bound,
was comprised in six volumes, since rebound in morocco in 12 volumes, folio
maximo, vellum, and is illustrated with exquisite miniatures, vignettes, and initial
letters. It was written towards the end of the fifteenth century, having been
expressly executed for Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de la Gruthuyse and Earl of
Winchester, from whose cabinet it passed into the library of Louis XII. at Blois.
41. POLYCHRONICON RANULPHI HIGDEN, with Trevisa's Translation. Vols. I.
and II. Edited by CHURCHILL BABINGTON, B.D., Senior Fellow of
St. John's College, Cambridge. Vols. III. and IV. Edited by the
Rev. JOSEPH RAWSON LUMBY, M.A., late Fellow of Magdalene College,
Cambridge. 1865-1872.
This is one of the many medieval chronicles which assume the character of a
history of the world. It begins with the creation, and is brought down to the
author's own time, the reign of Edward III. Prefixed to the historical portion, is
a chapter devoted to geography, in which is given a description of every known
land. To say that the Polychronicon was written in the fourteenth century is to
say that it is not free from inaccuracies. It has, however, a value apart from its
intrinsic merits. It enables us to form a very fair estimate of the knowledge of
history and geography which well-informed readers of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries possessed, for it was then the standard work on general history.
The two English translations, which are printed with the original Latin, afford
interesting illustrations of the gradual change of our language, for one was made
in the fourteenth century, the other in the fifteenth. The differences between
Trevisa's version and that of the unknown writer are often considerable.
42. LE LIVERE DE REIS DE BRITTANIE E LE LIVERE DE REIS DE
ENGLETERE. Edited by JOHN GLOVER, M.A., Vicar of Brading, Isle of
Wight, formerly Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1865.
These two treatises, though they cannot rank as independent narratives, are
nevertheless valuable as careful abstracts of previous historians, especially "Le
Livere de Reis de Engletere." Some various readings are given which are
interesting to the philologist as instances of semi-Saxonized French.
It is supposed that Peter of Ickham must have been the author, but no certain
conclusion on that point has been arrived at.
43. CHRONICA MONASTERII DE MELSA, AB ANNO 1150 USQUE AD ANNUM
1406. Vols. I., II., and III. Edited by EDWARD Augustus BOND, Esq.,
Assistant Keeper of the Manuscripts, and Egerton Librarian, British
Museum. 1866-1868.
The Abbey of Meaux was a Cistercian house, and the work of its abbot is both
curious and valuable. It is a faithful and often minute record of the establishment
of a religious community, of its progress in forming an ample revenue, of its
struggles to maintain its acquisitions, and of its relations to the governing
institutions of the country. In addition to the private affairs of the monastery,
some light is thrown upon the public events of the time, which are however kept
distinct, and appear at the end of the history of each abbot's administration. The
text has been printed from what is said to be the autograph of the original
compiler, Thomas de Burton, the nineteenth abbot.
21
44. Matthæi PARISIENSIS HISTORIA ANGLORUM, SIVE, UT VULGO DICITUR,
HISTORIA MINOR. Vols. I., II., and III. 1067-1253.
1067-1253. Edited by Sir
FREDERIC MADDEN, K.H., Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts,
British Museum, 1866-1869.
The exact date at which this work was written is, according to the chronicler,
1250. The history is of considerable value as an illustration of the period during
which the author lived, and contains a good summary of the events which followed
the Conquest. This minor chronicle is, however, based on another work (also
written by Matthew Paris) giving fuller details, which has been called the
"Historia Major." The chronicle here published, nevertheless, gives some
information not to be found in the greater history,
45. LIBER MONASTERII DE HYDA: A CHRONICLE AND CHARTULARY OF
HYDE ABBEY, WINCHESTER, 455-1023. Edited, from a Manuscript in
the Library of the Earl of Macclesfield, by EDWARD EDWARDS, Esq.
1866.
The "Book of Hyde" is a compilation from much earlier sources, which are
usually indicated with considerable care and precision. In many cases, however,
the Hyde chronicler appears to correct, to qualify, or to amplify-either from
tradition or from sources of information not now discoverable-the statements,
which, in substance, he adopts. He also mentions, and frequently quotes from
writers whose works are either entirely lost or at present known only by fragments.
There is to be found, in the "Book of Hyde," much information relating to the
reign of King Alfred which is not known to exist elsewhere. The volume
contains some curious specimens of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval English.
46. CHRONICON SCOTORUM: A CHRONICLE OF IRISH AFFAIRS, from the
EARLIEST TIMES to 1135; with a SUPPLEMENT, containing the Events
from 1141 to 1150. Edited, with a Translation, by WILLIAM Maunsell
HENNESSY, Esq., M.R.I.A. 1866.
There is, in this volume, a legendary account of the peopling of Ireland and of
the adventures which befell the various heroes who are said to have been con-
nected with Irish history. The details are, however, very meagre both for this
period and for the time when history becomes more authentic. The plan adopted
in the chronicle gives the appearance of an accuracy to which the earlier portions
of the work cannot have any claim. The succession of events is marked, year by
year, from A.M. 1599 to A.D. 1150. The principal events narrated in the later
portion of the work are, the invasions of foreigners, and the wars of the Irish
among themselves. The text has been printed from a MS. preserved in the
library of Trinity College, Dublin, written partly in Latin, partly in Irish.
47. THE CHRONICLE OF PIERRE DE LANGTOFT, IN FRENCH VERSE, FROM
THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD I. Vols. I. and II.
Edited by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A. 1866-1868.
It is probable that Pierre de Langtoft was a canon of Bridlington, in Yorkshire,
and that he lived in the reign of Edward I., and during a portion of the reign of
Edward II. This chronicle is divided into three parts; in the first is an
abridgment of Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Britonum," in the second, a
history of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman kings, down to the death of Henry III.,
and in the third a history of the reign of Edward I. The principal object of the
work was apparently to show the justice of Edward's Scottish wars.
language is singularly corrupt, and a curious specimen of the French of Yorkshire.
The
48. THE WAR OF THE GAEDHIL WITH THE GAILL, or, THE INVASIONS OF
IRELAND BY THE DANES AND OTHER NORSEMEN. Edited, with a
Translation, by JAMES HENTHORN TODD, D.D., Senior Fellow of
Trinity College, and Regius Professor of Hebrew in the University,
Dublin. 1867.
The work in its present form, in the editor's opinion, is a comparatively modern
version of an undoubtedly ancient original. That it was compiled from contem-
porary materials has been proved by curious incidental evidence. It is stated in
22
the account given of the battle of Clontarf that the full tide in Dublin Bay on the
day of the battle (23 April 1014) coincided with sunrise; and that the returning
tide in the evening aided considerably in the defeat of the Danes. The fact has
been verified by astronomical calculations, and the inference is that the author of
the chronicle, if not himself an eye-witness, must have derived his information
from those who were eye-witnesses. The contents of the work are sufficiently
described in its title. The story is told after the manner of the Scandinavian
Sagas, with poems and fragments of poems introduced into the prose narrative,
49. GESTA REGIS HENRICI SECUNDI BENEDICTI ABBATIS. THE CHRONICLE
OF THE REIGNS OF HENRY II. AND RICHARD I., 1169–1192; known
under the name of BENEDICT OF PETERBOROUGH. Vols. I. and II.
Edited by WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A., Regius Professor of Modern His-
tory, Oxford, and Lambeth Librarian. 1867.
This chronicle of the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I., known commonly
under the name of Benedict of Peterborough, is one of the best existing speci-
mens of a class of historical compositions of the first importance to the student.
50. MUNIMENTA ACADEMICA, OR, DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF ACADEMICAL
LIFE AND STUDIES AT OXFORD (in Two Parts). Edited by the Rev.
HENRY ANSTEY, M.A., Vicar of St. Wendron, Cornwall, and lately
Vice-Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford. 1868.
This work will supply materials for a History of Academical Life and Studies
in the University of Oxford during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries.
51. CHRONICA MAGISTRI ROGERI DE HOUEDENE. Vols. I., II., III., and IV.
Edited by WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A., Regius Professor of Modern History,
and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. 1868-1871.
This work has long been justly celebrated, but not thoroughly understood until
Mr. Stubbs' edition. The earlier portion, extending from 732 to 1148, appears
to be a copy of a compilation made in Northumbria about 1161, to which
Hoveden added little. From 1148 to 1169-a very valuable portion of this
work-the matter is derived from another source, to which Hoveden appears to
have supplied little, and not always judiciously. From 1170 to 1192 is the
portion which corresponds with the Chronicle known under the name of
Benedict of Peterborough (see No. 49); but it is not a copy, being sometimes
an abridgment, at others a paraphrase; occasionally the two works entirely
agree; showing that both writers had access to the same materials, but dealt
with them differently. From 1192 to 1201 may be said to be wholly Hoveden's
work it is extremely valuable, and an authority of the first importance.
52. WILLELMI MALMESBIRIENSIS MONACHI DE GESTIS PONTIFICUM ANGLO-
RUM LIBRI QUINQUE. Edited, from William of Malmesbury's Auto-
graph MS., by N. E. S. A. HAMILTON, Esq., of the Department of
Manuscripts, British Museum. 1870.
William of Malmesbury's “Gesta Pontificum " is the principal foundation of
English Ecclesiastical Biography, down to the year 1122. The manuscript
which has been followed in this Edition is supposed by Mr. Hamilton to be the
author's autograph, containing his latest additions and amendments.
53. HISTORIC AND MUNICIPAL DOCUMENTS OF IRELAND, FROM THE ARCHIVES
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN, &c. 1172-1320. Edited by JOHN T. GILBERT,
Esq., F.S.A., Secretary of the Public Record Office of Ireland. 1870.
1
A collection of original documents, elucidating mainly the history and condition
of the municipal, middle, and trading classes under or in relation with the
rule of England in Ireland, a subject hitherto in almost total obscurity.
Extending over the first hundred and fifty years of the Anglo-Norman
settlement, the series includes charters, municipal laws and regulations, rolls of
names of citizers and members of merchant-guilds, lists of commodities with
their rates, correspondence, illustrations of relations between ecclesiastics and
laity; together with many documents exhibiting the state of Ireland during the
presence there of the Scots under Robert and Edward Bruce.
23
54. THE ANNALS OF LOCH CÉ. A CHRONICLE OF IRISH AFFAIRS, FROM
1014 to 1590. Vols. I, and II. Edited, with a Translation, by
WILLIAM MAUNSELL HENNESSY, Esq., M.R.I.A. 1871.
The original of this chronicle has passed under various names. The title of
"Annals of Loch Cé" was given to it by Professor O'Curry, on the ground that
it was transcribed for Brian Mac Dermot, an Irish chieftain, who resided on an
island in Loch Cé, in the county of Roscommon. It adds much to the materials
for the civil and ecclesiastical history of Ireland; and contains many curious
references to English and foreign affairs, not noticed in any other chronicle.
55. MONUMENTA JURIDICA. THE BLACK BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY, WITH
AN APPENDIX. Vol. I. Edited by SIR TRAVERS TWISS, Q.C., D.C.L.,
Her Majesty's Advocate-General. 1871.
This book contains the ancient ordinances and laws relating to the navy
and was probably compiled for the use of the Lord High Admiral of England.
Selden calls it the "jewel of the Admiralty Records." Prynne ascribes to the
Black Book the same authority in the Admiralty as the Black and Red Books
have in the Court of Exchequer, and most English writers on maritime law
recognize its importance.
OF
56. MEMORIALS OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VI. :-OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE
THOMAS BEKYNTON, SECRETARY TO HENRY VI., AND BISHOP
OF BATH AND WELLS. Edited, from a MS. in the Archiepiscopal
Library at Lambeth, with an Appendix of Illustrative Documents, by the
Rev. GEORGE WILLIAMS, B.D., Vicar of Ringwood, late Fellow of King's
College, Cambridge. Vols. I. and II. 1872.
These curious volumes, which are of a very miscellaneous character, were, in
all probability, compiled under the immediate direction of Bekynton, and com-
menced before he had attained to the dignity of the Episcopate. They contain
many of the Bishop's own letters, and several written by him in the King's
name. Besides these, there are letters sent to himself while he was the Royal
Secretary, as well as others addressed to the King. This work will elucidate
some obscure points in the history of the nation during the first half of the
fifteenth century.
57. MATTHÆI PARISIENSIS, MONACHI SANCTI ALBANI, CHRONICA MAJORA.
Vol. I. The Creation to A.D. 1066. Edited by HENRY RICHARDS
LUARD, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Registrary of the University,
and Vicar of Great St. Mary's, Cambridge. 1872.
This volume contains the first portion of the "Chronica Majora" of Matthew
Paris, one of the most valuable and frequently consulted of all the ancient
English Chronicles. It is now published for the first time. The editions by
Archbishop Parker, and William Wats, severally commence at the Norman
Conquest.
58. MEMORIALE FRATRIS WALTERI DE COVENTRIA. THE HISTORICAL
COLLECTIONS OF WALTER OF COVENTRY. Vols. I. and II. Edited, from
the MS. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by
WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A., Regius Professor of Modern History, and Fellow
of Oriel College, Oxford. 1872-1873.
This work, now printed in full for the first time, has long been a desideratum
by Historical Scholars. The first portion, however, is not of much importance,
being only a compilation from earlier writers. The part relating to the first
quarter of the thirteenth century is the most valuable and interesting.
59. THE ANGLO-LATIN SATIRICAL POETS AND EPIGRAMMATISTS OF THE
TWELFTH CENTURY. Vols. I. and II. Now first collected and edited
by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A., Corresponding Member of the National
Institute of France (Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres). 1872.
The Poems contained in these volumes have long been known and appreciated
as the best satires of the age in which their authors flourished, and were deservedly
popular during the 13th and 14th centuries.
24
60. MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VII., FROM
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS PRESERVED IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE.
Vol. I. Edited by the Rev. WILLIAM CAMPBELL, M.A., one of Her
Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. 1873.
This volume is valuable as illustrating the acts and proceedings of Henry VII.
on ascending the throne, and shadows out the policy he afterwards adopted.
61. HISTORICAL PAPERS AND LETTERS FROM THE NORTHERN REGISTERS.
Edited by JAMES RAINE, M.A., Canon of York, and Secretary of the
Surtees Society.
1873.
The documents in this volume illustrate, for the most part, the general history
of the north of England, particularly in its relation to Scotland.
62. REGISTRUM PALATINUM DUNELMENSE. The Register of Richard de
Kellawe, Lord Palatine and Bishop of Durham; 1311-1316. Vol. I.
Edited by Sir THOMAS DUFFUS HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the
Public Records. 1873.
Bishop Kellawe's Register contains the proceedings of his prelacy, both lay
and ecclesiastical, and is the earliest Register of the Palatinate of Durham.
In the Press.
A COLLECTION OF SAGAS AND OTHER HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS relating to
the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen on the British Isles.
Vols. I. and II. Edited by GEORGE WEBBE DASENT, Esq., D.C.L. Oxon.
Roll of the PRIVY COUNCIL OF IRELAND, 16 RICHARD II. Edited by the
Rev. JAMES GRAVES, A.B., Treasurer of St. Canice, Ireland.
THE WORKS OF GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. Vol. VII. Edited by the Rev.
JAMES F. DIMOCK, M.A., Rector of Barnburgh, Yorkshire.
CHRONICON RADULPHI ABBATIS COGGESHALENSIS MAJUS; and, CHRONICON
TERRÆ SANCTÆ ET DE CAPTIS A SALADINO HIEROSOLYMIS. Edited
by the Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON, M.A., of University College, Durham.
Year Books oF THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE FIRST. Years 21-22.
Edited
and translated by ALFRED JOHN HORWOOD, Esq., of the Middle Temple,
Barrister-at-Law.
CHRONICLE OF ROBERT OF BRUNNE. Edited by FREDERICK JAMES FUR-
NIVALL, Esq., M.A., of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Barrister-at-Law.
MATTHÆI PARISIENSIS, MONACHI SANCTI ALBANI, CHRONICA MAJORA.
Vol. II. Edited by HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow of Trinity
College, Registrary of the University, and Vicar of Great St. Mary's,
Cambridge.
CHRONICA MONASTERII S. ALBANI.-6. REGISTRA QUORUNDAM ABBATUM
MONASTERII S. ALBANI, QUI SÆCULO XV⁰ FLORUERE; Vol. II. Edited
by HENRY THOMAS RILEY, Esq., M.A., Cambridge and Oxford; and
of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law.
POLYCHRONICON RANULPHI HIGDEN, with Trevisa's Translation. Vol. V.
Edited by the Rev. JOSEPH RAWSON LUMBY, B.D., late Fellow of
Magdalene College, Cambridge.
25
HISTORY OF THE REIGNS OF EDWARD THE THIRD AND RICHARD THE SECOND ;
from a Manuscript in the British Museum, by an Anonymous Writer.
Edited by EDWARD MAUNDE THOMPSON, Esq., of the British Museum.
MONUMENTA JURIDICA. THE BLACK BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY, WITH
AN APPENDIX. Vol. II. Edited by SIR TRAVERS TWISS, Q.C., D.C.L.
REGISTRUM PALATINUM DUNELMENSE. The Register of Richard de Kellawe,
Lord Palatine and Bishop of Durham; 1311-1316. Vol. II. Edited
by Sir THOMAS DUFFUS HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the Public
Records.
LIFE OF THOMAS BECKET; from an Icelandic Saga, with an English Translation.
Edited and translated by M. EIRÍKR MAGNÚSSON, Under-Librarian of the
Public Library, Cambridge.
In Progress.
THE METRICAL CHRONICLE OF ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER. Edited by WILLIAM
ALDIS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A.
LIVES OF ARCHBISHOP DUNSTAN. Edited by WILLIAM STUBBS, M.A., Regius
Professor of Modern History, and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford.
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Vol. IV.; 1327, &c.
Vol. IV.; 1327, &c. By Sir THOMAS
DUFFUS HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the Public Records.
CORPUS HISTORICUM EBORACENSE. CHRONICA PONTIFICUM ECCLESIÆ EBORACI
AUCTORE THOMA STUBBS DOMINICANO ; and other Documents relating to
the Primacy of York. Edited by the Rev. JAMES RAINE, M.A., Canon
of York, and late Fellow of the University, Durham.
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WORKS PUBLISHED IN PHOTOZINCOGRAPHY.
DOMESDAY BOOK, or the GREAT SURVEY OF ENGLAND OF WILLIAM THE
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This important and unique survey of the greater portion of England* is the
oldest and most valuable record in the national archives. It was commenced
about the year 1084 and finished in 1086. Its compilation was determined upon
at Gloucester by William the Conqueror, in council, in order that he might
know what was due to him, in the way of tax, from his subjects, and that each
at the same time might know what he had to pay. It was compiled as much
for their protection as for the benefit of the sovereign. The nobility and people
had been grievously distressed at the time by the king bringing over large num-
bers of French and Bretons, and quartering them on his subjects, “each accord-
66
ing to the measure of his land," for the purpose of resisting the invasion of
Cnut, King of Denmark, which was apprehended. The commissioners appointed
to make the survey were to inquire the name of each place; who held it in the
time of King Edward the Confessor; the present possessor; how many hides
were in the manor; how many ploughs were in demesne; how many homagers;
how many villeins; how many cottars; how many serving men; how many free
tenants; how many tenants in soccage; how much wood, meadow, and pasture;
the number of mills and fish-ponds; what had been added or taken away from
the place; what was the gross value in the time of Edward the Confessor; the
present value; and how much each free-man or soc-man had, and whether any
advance could be made in the value. Thus could be ascertained who held the
estate in the time of King Edward; who then held it; its value in the time of
the late king; and its value as it stood at the formation of the survey. So
minute was the survey, that the writer of the contemporary portion of the Saxon
Chronicle records, with some asperity-"So very narrowly he caused it to be
"traced out, that there was not a single hide, nor one virgate of land, nor even,
"it is shame to tell, though it seemed to him no shame to do, an ox, nor a cow,
"nor a swine was left, that was not set down."
Domesday Survey is in two parts or volumes. The first, in folio, contains the
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Kent, Leicester and Rutland, Lincoln, Middlesex, Northampton, Nottingham,
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and York. The second volume, in quarto, contains the counties of Essex,
Norfolk, and Suffolk.
Domesday Book was printed verbatim et literatim during the last century, in
consequence of an address of the House of Lords to King George III. in 1767.
It was not, however, commenced until 1773, and was completed early in 1783.
In 1860, Her Majesty's Government, with the concurrence of the Master of the
Rolls, determined to apply the art of photozincography to the production of a
fac-simile of Domesday Book, under the superintendence of Colonel Sir Henry
James, R.E., Director of the Ordnance Survey, Southampton. The fac-simile was
completed in 1863.
*For some reason left unexplained, many parts were left unsurveyed; Northumberland, Cumberland,
Westmoreland, and Durham, are not described in the survey; nor does Lancashire appear under its
proper name; but Furness, and the northern part of Lancashire, as well as the south of Westmoreland,
with a part of Cumberland, are included within the West Riding of Yorkshire. That part of Lancashire
which lies between the Ribble and Mersey, and which at the time of the survey comprehended 688
unnors, is joined to Cheshire. Part of Rutland is described in the counties of Northampton and Lincoln.
31
FAC-SIMILES of NATIONAL MANUSCRIPTS, from WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR to
QUEEN ANNE, selected under the direction of the Master of the Rolls,
and Photozincographed, by Command of Her Majesty, by Colonel SIR
HENRY JAMES, R.E., Director of the Ordnance Survey. Price, each
Part, with translations and notes, double foolscap folio, 16s.
Part I. (William the Conqueror to Henry VII.). 1865.
Part II. (Henry VIII. and Edward VI.). 1866.
Part III. (Mary and Elizabeth). 1867.
Part IV. (James I. to Anne). 1868.
The first Part extends from William the Conqueror to Henry VII., and contains
autographs of the kings of England, as well as of many other illustrious per-
sonages famous in history, and some interesting charters, letters patent, and
state papers. The second Part, for the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI.,
consists principally of holograph letters and autographs of kings, princes, states-
men, and other persons of great historical interest, who lived during those
reigns. The third Part contains similar documents for the reigns of Mary and
Elizabeth, including a signed bill of Lady Jane Grey. The fourth Part con-
cludes the series, and comprises a number of documents taken from the originals
belonging to the Constable of the Tower of London; also several records illus-
trative of the Gunpowder Plot, and a woodcut containing portraits of Mary Queen
of Scots and James VI., circulated by their adherents in England, 1580-3.
Public Record Office,
June 1873.
C
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