GIFT OF JANE Ko;9ATHE]R ENGLAND'S FIRST GREAT WAR MINISTER BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Some Supposed Shakespeare Forg-eries. More about Shakespeare " Forgeries." Shakespeare as a Groom of the Chamber. The History of Hampton Court Palace. The Royal Gallery of Hampton Court Illustrated. Holbein's and Vandyck's Pictures at Windsor Castle. Kensington Palace, the Birthplace of Queen Victoria. "=*^^ C»..?v^'|^^-'"'^'--^^.-"^^ V-'" PORTRAIT OF WOLSEY ABOUT THE AGE OF FORTY. Reproduced from the Drawing— perhaps made at Lille or Toiirnay in September, \^\i— attributed to Jacques le Boucq of Artois, formerly in the Library of the town of Arras, noiv destroyed by the Germans. The inscription : " Thomas Vulsey, Cardinal d'Yorck'' is contemporary ; the words that follow : " Authour du Schisme'' were evidently inserted at a much later time. Frontispiece ENGLAND'S FIRST GREAT WAR MINISTER: How Wolsey made a New Army and Navy and organized the English Expedition to Artois and Flanders in 1513 And how things which happened then may inspire and guide us now in 1916 BY ERNEST LAW WITH PORTRAITS AND FACSIMILES LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS, LTD. 1916 420006 PORTRAIT OF WOLSEY AT THE AGE OF FORTY-FIVE. Reproduced from the Picture Painted for Henry VIII. in 1^20 of "The Field of the Cloth of Gold." Face i> V PREFACE The introductory remarks in the first chapter of this book, together with its table of contents, should sufficiently indicate its aim and scope without any formal preface. Nevertheless, there remain one or two points which seem to require brief notice here. In the first place, it should be explained that for every statement of fact in the following pages the author has the warrant, either of original contem- porary documents, or, when these were unattainable, of the best historical evidence available. Many of such authorities are referred to in the course of the text : where they are not so, the statements are, as a rule, based on the calendars of State Papers, or on the original documents themselves, therein referred to. To all of these statements precise references will be furnished in a subsequent volume, which the author hopes to bring out later on, treating of all vi England's First Great War Minister the incidents of the campaign in full. In this will be also printed several documents never before published ; besides maps, plans, and facsimiles of contemporary drawings, and reproductions of old prints — all illustrative of the events of the war and of the military life of that period. Such a complete and detailed record will, it is hoped, afford a more vivid picture of the actual campaign than has been attempted in the summary in the present volume, the design of which is con- fined to describing the organization of the expedition, under Wolsey as War Minister. At the same time, the author has endeavoured, while pointing the obvious morals to be drawn by us at the present hour from that wonderful work of his, to do something towards helping to lift the clouds of falsity which have so long hung over his character and achievements, and which only in our day have at last begun to be dispersed — owing mainly to the writings of two English churchmen, the late Rev. Dr. Brewer, and Mandel Creighton, Bishop of London. Yet even now the general estimate of one, who should rank among the greatest of all English states- Preface vii men, Is far too much founded on that travesty of the real man — the Wolsey of the play '' King Henry the Eighth " ; the Wolsey of Master Griffith's poor apology ; the Wolsey of the speeches to Thomas Cromwell and of the famous '* Farewell " soliloquies — in none of which, as the critics are now pretty well agreed, did Shakespeare have any hand at all, if, indeed, he had any but the smallest in any portion of the play. Incidentally also the author has endeavoured to recall to Englishmen the memory of one of the earliest and greatest of England's many forgotten heroes — that splendid seaman Sir Edward Howard. How is it that while there are monuments and memorials in this country to German musicians, German philosophers, German professors, there is not one to Cardinal Wolsey, not one to Admiral Howard ? Of the two facsimiles, which follow, of documents in the handwritings of these two illustrious English- men — Wolsey's War Memorandum, and Howard's last letter to Wolsey — nothing requires to be said beyond what is printed beneath them and in the text. They tell their own tale. viii E7igland's First Great War Minister It Is hoped that they may, perhaps, help the reader to understand something of that feeUng of the actuality of historic events — something of that feeling of intimacy with historical characters — which is produced by handling and reading their own letters, written with their own hands, and showing all the hesitancies, erasures and corrections of their own current pens — giving a sense of personal contact with the past, which no reading of any modern printed version of a manuscript, or of any modern printed narrative, can ever arouse. Of the three portraits of Wolsey inserted in this volume the first — the frontispiece — though now fairly well known to students, may still be new to many readers. The other two, neither of which has ever before been published, provide us with the most authentic representations of the great Cardinal any- where existing in England. For further information on this topic, those interested in portraiture are referred to the Appendix, where the origin and the significance of all three portraits are discussed. As to the many curious analogies and resem- blances traceable between England at war in 15 12 and 1513, and England at war from 1914 to 1916, Preface ix many are noticed in the text — the equipment by Wolsey of the ** New Army," as it was called ; the hurried provision by him of arms and ammunition ; the sea-fighting ; the elaborate system of trenches around the fortresses ; the intended use of poisonous gases against besiegers ; the places passed through by the English — St. Omer, Aire, Armentieres, Bethune, La Bass6e, Bixshoote, Hulluch, Furnes, Ypres ; and — prophetically, let us hope — Carvin, Seclin, Lille and Tournay ; the brutalities of German mercenaries ; and the Spaniards' denunciation of their ''beastliness." Some of such analogies are merely curious. Others there are, that may really be helpful at the present time — reminding us how remarkably constant and persistent, through four centuries, have been certain English characteristics. For, if, in the beginning of a contest, Englishmen generally — and still more their rulers — have too often been easy-going and careless ; too often unduly confident about their task, and always inclined to think too lightly of their foes ; equally have they, throughout their history, when once the true English spirit has been aroused, shown themselves deter- X England's First Great War Minister mined and resolute to achieve their end and purpose to a degree never reached by any other nation in history. Similar circumstances have ever resulted in similar issues ; like trials called forth the same qualities ; and if we may still trace the same faults and deficlences, equally may we hail the same in- domitable will, the same unalterable, steadfast spirit. If, for example, the terrible fiasco of Fontarabia in 15 12 — due to gross mismanagement by incom- petent, wrangling, obstinate-minded ministers, and slow, foozling old officials, surviving from Henry VII's reign — is matched by the terrible fiasco of Meso- potamia now ; so also is the transformation of our English army, wrought by Wolsey then, matched by the marvellous creation of our New English armies, wrought by Kitchener now. Looking back into English history we can fore- cast, with unerring certainty, what will be the end of the great struggle on which we are engaged to-day. E. L. Hampton Court ; August \th, 191 6. CONTENTS PAGE Preface v List of Illustrations xxi CHAPTER I. AN EXPEDITION TO EFFACE A FAILURE. A Successful but Forgotten Campaign — Curious Analogies with the Present — Wolsey the Organizer of Victory — A much Maligned Statesman — His Vast Responsibilities and Achiev- ments — The Fiasco of Fontarabia — No Fighting, No Tents, No Beer — Terrible Disease and Sickness — The Army strikes for More Pay — In Defiance of Orders returns to England — Foreign Strictures on English Soldiers — Hesitating Counsels —"Wait and See"— "War Office Muddling "—The English scoffed at — Henry " explains " the Failure . . . . i CHAPTER n. WOLSEY AS WAR MINISTER. A New Expedition against France — Wolsey in Supreme Control — His Office near Whitehall — His Immense Preparations — Curious Ancient Naval Documents — Wolsey's Fight against Apathy, Slowness and Waste — Delinquencies of Pursers and Purveyors — Absorbs all the Prerogatives of the Crown — Old Councillors shelved — No Leisure for Talk — His Aloofness from Pushing Self-seekers — His Imperiousness in Council — Absorbed in his Master's and Country's Business — His Ceaseless Labours — No Week-end Jaunts for Him — His Health affected — His Stupendous Task . . . -15 xii England s First Great War Minister CHAPTER III. WOLSEY AS MINISTER OF FINANCE. PAGE Rigid Financial Control — Sharp Scrutiny of Contracts and Prices — Patriotic Economy — Anger of the Profiteers — Wolsey insists on Good Food for the Troops — Plenty of Good Beer — Public and Private Waste — The King's Privy Expenses — His Gambling Losses — His Secret Payments — His fast "Set" — Henry "a Good old Sport" — Wolsey regulates the Royal Expenditure — His Financial Reforms — "Do it Now" — Henry's Revenues — Wolsey's Memo of " Things to be remem- bered " — All Expenditures and Contingencies Anticipated — No "Wait and See" — Wolsey's Foresight . . . .27 CHAPTER IV. wolsey's war BUDGET OF I513, Application to Parliament — Large Sums willingly granted — A Venetian's Report — Particulars of the New Taxes — New Fiscal Principles — " Unheard-of Sums of Money " — A Speech in Parliament on the War and Finance — A "Ginger-' Optimist — Provisions of Wolsey's War Budget of 15 13 — Onerous Direct Taxation — Inquisitorial Valuations — Com- parison with his War Budget of 1523 — All the Blame and Odium on the Minister — The King's Cunning Pretence of Ignorance — The Venetian Ambassador's Accurate Informa- tion — Diplomatic Life in London during the War Preparations — Hospitality at the Venetian Embassy . . . -39 CHAPTER V. HOW WOLSEY GOT THE MEN. Summons to the Military Tenants — " Push and Go " — Wolsey a Hustler — His Impatience with Dawdlers and Dalliers — No " Conscientious Objectors " then — Mustering and Enrolling — Contents xiii PAGE " Commissions of Array " — " All Men between Sixty and Sixteen to take Arms " — Royal Fear of the Feudal Lords — Service Abroad "in case of Invasion" — Universal Service in Tudor Times — Defence of the King's Dominions — King Henr}^'s Clarion Call — Wolsey the Organizing and Unifying Head 55 CHAPTER VI. WOLSEY AS MINISTER OF MUNITIONS. Arms and Ammunition — Armour and Artillery from Abroad — Big Guns — Foundries Established — Powerful Siege Artillery — King Henry's " Twelve Apostles " — Wolsey Wakes England up — Great Activity in the Land — Amazement of Foreigners— "No Business Doing" — King Henry and His Ships — Acts as Admiral, Mariner and Gunner — Feather-headed Tavern Talk — Wolsey's Warnings — His Candour and Loyalty — How he did not Act — " Knowing the Perils of the Situation " — Never misled his Master — Did not reduce the Artillery — Nor cut down the Number of Fighting Men — Did not pose as a " Strategist " — A really " Responsible " Minister — Not as Now 65 CHAPTER Vn. VICTUALLING AND VARIOUS REQUIREMENTS. Urgency of Victualling both for the Navy and Army — Naval and Military Bases — Enormous Stores of Food at Calais — Immense Numbers of Beasts Slaughtered and Salted — Rise in Prices — A Wonderful Provisioned Army — Cavalry Horses — Draught Horses — Flanders Mares — Tents — The King's Gorgeous Pavilions — Forty Thousand Men under Canvas — Periscopes for the Trenches ......']'] xiv England s First Great War Minister CHAPTER VIII. SANITATION AND SURGEONS AND *' THE LAW OF ARMS." PAGE Wolsey's Interest in Sanitation — His Precautions against Infection — His Interest in the Medical Art — King Henry's Babblings in Drugs — His Own Physicians — Surgeons for the Army — Their Wages — Their Remedies — Boiling Oil for Wounds — The " Barber-Surgeons " — Success of Wolsey's Methods and Precautions — Army Surgeons Exempted from bearing Arms — Chivalrous Warfare — " The Law of Arms " — The " Statutes of War " printed— One Extant Copy — Its Great Curiosity — Its Interesting History — Injunctions against Pillage and Arson — Copies for all Officers — Wolsey arranges for the King's Comfort — Good Wines for His Grace — Colour of the Satin for his Doublet — Wolsey's Regard for Etiquette — The right Stuff for his own Cassocks . . . . -87 CHAPTER IX. THE FLEET AT SEA ^VICTUALLING TROUBLES. Rigging out the Ships for Fighting — The King Inspects His Fleet — Lord Admiral Howard puts to Sea — His Own Squadron — The Full Fleet — Its Fighting Force — Howard's Cheery Letters — " Never such a Fleet Seen " — The Sailing of the Great Ships — Their Names, Tonnage, Armament — Officers and Complement of Men — Soldiers Aboard — Names of Old County Families — The Same To-Day on Land and Sea — Soldiers' and Sailors' Graves — Wages of Officers and Men — Shortage of Victuals — Difficulties of Transport — Food Depending on Wind — Men insist on Beer and Beef — Few Purveyors or Warehouses — Urgency of the Problem — Wolsey grapples with It ....... . loi Contents xv CHAPTER X. SEA-FIGHT OFF BREST — ADMIRAL HOWARd's HEROIC DEATH. PAGS Howard's Determination to get at the Enemy — His Last Messages to All — His Indomitable Spirit — Wolsey's Relations with the Admirals — Their Respect for Him — Admiral Howard's Plan — Sighting the Enemy — " They fled to Brest " — " They shall have Broken Heads" — The Enemy Won't Come Out — His Resolve to " Attack them in their Hiding Places " — Howard rushes In — Admiral's Good, Plain English — Howard boards " Prior John's " Galley — " Come Aboard Again" — How Brave Howard fell — His Glorious Example — His "Bull Rushing Tactics" — The Same Spirit To-day — Momentous Con- sequences . . . . . . . . -115 < CHAPTER XL Howard's tactics criticized by " experts." Discussion of the Action — Cavilling Civilians — No Interference from Wolsey — The King's Impatience — Shall " Attack them in their Hiding-Places" — Amateurs and Professionals — Naval " Strategists " and " Tacticians " — An " Expert's " Criticisms — " Not as I should have done it " — Extraordinary Effects of Howard's Bravery and Death — The Enemy's Generous Tribute — His Body Recovered, Salted and Em- balmed — His Belongings Distributed — The Lion Heart of Howard — His Admiral's Whistles and Chains — Effects of the News Abroad — Who's the " Victory " ? — The Action dis- paraged by King Ferdinand — Vexation of the King of Scots — Speedy and Striking Results — England's Mastery of the Seas — Wolsey marshals the King's Forces — Concentration in the Southern Counties and Ports — Wolsey's "New Army" 127 b xvi England's First Great War Minister CHAPTER XII. THE HOLY LEAGUE — SUBSIDIZED SOVEREIGNS. PAGE Henry's Allies — Maximilian's Shifts and Tricks — The Holy League renewed — Henry's Sincerity — His Chivalrous Ideals — A Lion-Hearted King — His Mixed Motives — Impresses Europe and his own Subjects — Intends to Command in Person — Discussion in Council and in Parliament — Wolsey's Plain, Honest Dealing — New Terms in the Holy League — The Duchess of Savoy negotiates for her Father — Wants his Subsidy paid in Advance — Worrying the English Ambassador for the Instalments — " The Money is on the Way " — Maxi- milian's Delight — Would like a Small Loan too — King Ferdinand wants Money also — His Treachery — His Advice to " his son " Henry 141 CHAPTER XIII. SPIES, CARD-SHARPERS AND GERMAN MERCENARIES. Margaret of Savoy's Goodwill towards England — The French King's Anger — "Safe under English Arrows" — Warning against Spies — " Shady " Neutrals — Crafty Card-Sharpers — Prosecuted for Cheating — Henry engages German Mercen- aries — Their Wages "on the Nail" — The Arch-Mercenary Maximilian — His Daily Wage — Service under Henry VIII— Wears the English King's Badge — His Poses and Theatri- calities — His Astonishing Pretensions — German Mercenaries — Ready to Fight on any Side — Good Soldiers — But Detestable Companions-in-Arms— Their Horrible Atrocities — Spanish Complaints of their Ruffianism and " Beastliness " — Their Greediness — French Chivalry to the Enemy — German Bar- barities — Cruelties to their Prisoners — Froissart denounces them— " Maudit Soient ils ! " 155 Contents xvii CHAPTER XIV. COMMAND OF THE SEA — TRANSPORTING THE NEW ARMY. PACE Henry VIII's Letter to the Pope— The Triple Entente— " No Separate Peace " — England's Aim in the War — " Never a Dishonourable Peace " — The Liberties of the Church — To Free Europe from Domination — Rise of England's Naval Power — Command of the Sea — Wolsey's Far-Reaching Imagination — The King's Great Ships — " England's Navy " — Transporting " Wolsey's New Army " to Calais — The Vanguard commanded by the Lord Steward — Retinue of the Master of the Ordnance — Whole Composition of the Van- guard — The King's Summons to the Feudal Lords — The Rear Ward commanded by the Lord Chamberlain — Great Lords and Landowners as " Grand Captains " — A Great Lord's Receipt for his Wages — Horsemen Strangers . .165 CHAPTER XV. THE MIDDLE OR KING's WARD THE ROYAL HOUSE- HOLD IN "WHITE AND GREEN." The Middle or King's Ward — Concentrated round Dover — Con- veyed to Calais — Four Hundred Transports — Henry's " Great Ships of War Scour every Coast" — Composition of the King's Ward — Retinues of some Great Lords — The King's Own Guard — Wolsey's own Regiment of 200 Fighting Men — Combatant Churchmen — Don't dress up in " white and green " — No Hypocritical Whimperings — No " Superiority of Moral Outlook " — No Impertinencies from Canting Peda- gogues — The Royal Household Uniformed and Armed — Minstrels and Players in " White and Green " — Total of the Ward 15,000 Men — Wages of Officers and Men — Liveries and Uniforms — " Coat and Conduct Money " — A Great Northern Army — "Malice of the Deceitful Scots" — Their "Olde Prankes" 175 b 2 xviii England s First Great War Minister CHAPTER XVI. FOREIGN IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW ARMY AND ITS KING. I'AGE Letters of Venetian Merchants in London — A Total of Sixty Thousand Combatants — " Men who resemble Giants " — " Choicer Troops not seen for Years " — " Cannon fit to Conquer Hell!" — High Quality and Lofty Character of the New Army — Of the Temper and Spirit of the " New Model " and '' Kitchener's Men" — "To Battle as to a Sport or Game" — Pasqualigo's Intimate Knowledge of England and the English — His Enthusiastic Comments — Tavern Gossip — " Our King- Harry is going to Paris" — "Will be crowned King of France" — General Admiration for Henry — His Courage — " Handsomest Potentate ever seen " — Not what " Henry the Eighth " calls up to us — An Ideal " Prince Charming " — Hall's Glowing Panegyric — The Richness and Splendour of the King and his Nobles — The Soldiers all Picked Men . 185 CHAPTER XVn. HENRY VIIl's ARRIVAL AT CALAIS. King Henry embarks at Dover — A "Goodly Passage" — An Official " Eye-Witness " War Correspondent — His Valuable Diary in the British Museum — Salutes from Ships and Forti- fications — The King enters Calais Haven — Lands, from a Boat, on the Quay — Received by the Clergy in Procession — Henry's Striking Appearance — In Glittering Armour and Cloth of Gold — The King's Henchmen — He passes beneath the " Lantern Gate " — A Splendid Cavalcade — W^ending their Way along the Streets — Welcome from the Townsmen — Through the Market Place — Merchants of the Staple honour their King — Henry enters St. Nicholas's Church — His Offerings and Thanksgivings — The Glamour of a " Holy War " 199 Contents xix CHAPTER XVIII. OUTLINES OF THE CAMPAIGN. PAGE Wolsey's Functions at the Front — Corresponds with Queen Katherine — ''An Obstinate Man who rules Everything" — Henry and his Soldiers on the March — Germans indulge in a little '*Kultur" — Henry hangs Three of Them — Arrival before Therouanne — Mutineering Mercenaries — The King of England's " Apostles " begin to preach — The Battle of Spurs — The Chevalier Bayard made Prisoner — Chivalrous Courtesies between French and English — Old France and the New France — Fall of Therouanne — Its Marvellous System of Trenches — Intended Use of Poisonous Gas — Fortifications blown up and levelled — More Hun '• Frightfulness " — King Henry's March to Lille — His Triumphal Entry — Siege of Tournay — Its Surrender — Wolsey builds Miles of Huts for the Army — Too Generous Tommy Atkins — End of the Cam- paign — Henry and his Army return to England . . . 209 CHAPTER XIX. RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. Reasons for the Termination of the Campaign — One of Henry's Main Objects Achieved— His Fame as a Chivalrous Knight — Opinion at Head-Quarters — Impressions in England — Effects on the Continent — Depression in France — Enthusi- astic Italians in London — Rejoicings in Italy — Bonfires in Milan and Rome — The Pope's Gratification — Henry's Letter to Leo X — King Ferdinand's Annoyance — " Put a Bridle on this Colt " — Maximilian's Delight — Turns out a Regular Fraud — Urges Henry to march on Paris — Henry rejects the Proposal — But fears a Premature Peace — Invokes his " Con- science " — Wolsey detects Maximilian's Treachery — The French fortify the line of the Somme — The Strategic Import- ance of Peronne — Danger of an Advance into France — No Renewal of the Campaign — Wolsey negotiates a Treaty of a Marriage between Louis XII and Mary Tudor — Rewarded with Bishoprics — Made Lord Chancellor and a Cardinal . 335 XX England's Firs I Great War Minister CHAPTER XX. wolsey's national policy. PAGE Wolsey's Steady Political Aims — Peace in Europe and an Alliance with France — England to be the disinterested Arbiter of Christian Nations— Henry contented with his own Island — The Principles of England's Foreign Policy — The Fatuous Doctrine of Aloofness from Europe — A Mongrel Crew lures England to the Brink of Ruin — Its Terrible Results— Wolsey's Sane and Patriotic Policy — The " Wolsey Policy " results in England's Expansion Overseas — His New Navy the Decisive Factor in Repelling the Spaniard — National Policy Wolsey's True Domain — Not the " Foreign Policy " of Subtle Doctrin- aires or Mumbhng Party Hacks — But of Life and Action — England and the King One and the Same to Wolsey — His Noble National Aims — Raises England to the Highest Estate among Nations — His Claims for Admiration and Gratitude on all Britons — The First Steps towards an Obscure Goal in 1 5 13 — The "Wolsey Spirit" — The Spiritual prevailing over the Material — How we are thereby sustained to-day . . 237 APPENDIX— Note on the Three Portraits of Wolsey IN THIS Volume . 247 INDEX 253 XXI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PORTRAITS OF WOLSEY. (For a Note on these three portraits of Wolsey, see Appendix, post page 247.) I Portrait of Wolsey about the Age of Forty. From the Drawing attributed to Jean le Boucq, formerly in the Library of the Town of Arras Frontispiece II Portrait of Wolsey about the Age of Forty- five. From the Picture of " The Field of the Cloth of Gold" .... To face page w III Portrait of Wolsey about the Age of Fifty. From the Painting in Trinity College, Oxford To face page i FACSIMILES. PAGE I Facsimile of the Heading of a Wolsey War Memorandum ...... xxii II Facsimile of the End of Admiral Sir Edward Howard's Last Letter to Wolsey . . xxiv XXll Q ;z; <: p^ o w CO O o o »— I Q ^^^'i he o X o „ « • l-H O fcJO c o o c s Oh '3 o •—I -(-> a (u o to (U o be C 12 o ..J a CI TO to be