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T H E A N G E L I C A L

C A R D I N A L

REGINALD POLE

“

R ib“Obstat.D. BEDA CAMM

Censor Depfltatus

Smpr imatur

44 GULIELMUS Ep iscopus A r indelem z'

s

Vz'

ca r z'

us

WESTMONASTERI I,

die I 4 yanuam , 1908

Cardina l Po le.

REGINALD POLE

Nm J aglu , m"Aagm u 0m m

C. M . ANTONY

Wl T l-l A PREFACE“

BY

FATHER ROBERT HUGH BENSON

LONDON

Y“ if? » AM ? »

4 ADAM m m , ADELPHI1909

THE LIBRARYRESURRECTION COLLEGI

REGINALD POLE

Non Aug/ax, m l Angm u 0m m ;

C. M . ANTONY

W ITH A PREFA'CE ’

BY

FATHER ROBERT HUGH BENSON

3

LONDON

EVA N D

4‘ADAM STREET

,ADELPHI

THE LIBRARYRESURRECTION COLLEGE

THE VERY REV.

FATHER REGINALD BUCKLER

O .P .

PREFATORY NOTE

HE history of Cardinal Pole is the

I history of the great schism andgreat recon ciliation of England .

The two are so intimately bound up ineach other that it is impossible to writeof one without the other ; and this mustbe the author ’s apo logy for her frequentreference to con temporary history .

Over the Shadowy ,bloodstained stage

pass stately hi storic figures of Pope andEmperor

,King and Cardinal , Saint and

Martyr,Nun and Queen ; great statesmen

and powerful prelates while the background is alive with crowding faces—monk

,

friar,ambassador

,assassin

,student

,servant

,

friend and traitor, each with his part toplay in the stately drama of that tragedycalled the Life of Reginald Pole .

It has been the writer’s endeavour to seek

to outline,as far as possible

,the personality

and character of the Angelical Cardinal,

vii b

PREFATORY NOTE

by means of contemporary records andletters

,quoted in or translated from the

original,rather than in her own words . Her

most grateful thanks a re due,for valuable

help given in several ways,to her friends

,

the Very Rev . Fr . Reginald Buckler O .P .

Father Robert Hugh Benson ; and threeFathers of the Solesmes Benedictine Monastery at Fam bor ough, whose kindness andsympathy has been unbounded .

Also to another priest,through whose

generosity she was able to undertake thi sbook

,which

,but for him

,would never have

been written .

C . M . ANTONY .

WOODCHE STE R .

Fea stof the Epipha ny ,1909 .

viii

PREFACE

T is hardly possible to irnagme acharacter less suited in popularestimatio n to the needs of his time

,

than was that of Reginald Pole to theper iod of the English schism . They were da ysof fier ceness, brutality and literally Machiavellian diplomacy ; and the nature of thep a n a m a m t.“ n lm m d en m ea t a p ar t in them

EREATAPage xi , for Henry

’s read Ma ry

’

s.

Page xvi i , fo r P ope P aul I V. to f a ce 15 . 207,read P ope

P aul I I I . to f a cep. 5 7.

a lover OI peace anfl Sta c y ,b c u t uu v v m

conscience and pa ssionately zealous forsouls

,should

,as the world reckons success ,

ix

PREFATORY NOTE

by means of contemporary records andletters

, quoted in or translated from theoriginal, rather than in her own words . Hermost grateful thanks are due

,for valuable

help given in several ways,to her fr iends

,

the Very Rev . Fr . Reginald Buckler O .P .

Father Robert Hugh Ben son ; and threeFathers of the Solesmes Benedictine Monastery at Farnborough, whose kindness andsympathy has been unbounded.

Also to another priest,through whose

generosity she was able to undertake thisbook

,which

,but for him

,would never have

been wr itten .

C . M . ANTONY .

viii

PREFACE

T is hardly possible to im agine acharacter less suited

,in popular

estimation to the needs of his time,

than was that of Reginald Pole to theperiod of the English schism . They were da ysof fier ceness, brutality and literally Machiavelli an diplomacy ; and the nature of theCardinal who played so great a part in themwas one of gentlen ess , kindness and simp letransparence It was an age when scholar sSuffered for their knowledge of the truth

,

Christians for their fidelity, and citizens o f

Go d’s Kingdom for that loyalty that includes,

but tr anscends also, patriotism : from a

merely temporal po int of view it was almostan advan tage to be ignorant , unconsc ien-s

tious and selfish .

It is no wonder then that the Car dinal ,a lover of peace and study, sensitive inconscience and pa ssionately zealous for

souls,should

,as the world reckons success,

1x

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PREFACE

better if he had died himself in the samem anner . Yet

,i f the actual affairs in which

he was employed came to unhappy issues ,the fault was never in their agent , neither

as regarded his capacities nor his goodwill .Failure to perform an impossible task has ,more than once in history

,been the occasion

of a startling personal succ ess .AS regards the suspicion of heresy underwhich he fell , it is unnecessary to say evena word in refutation . For hi s nature wasthe precise counterpart of that of whi chself-choosers are made . At Bethlehem therecame to the cradle of God two clas ses ofpersons , the wise and the simple , the kingsand the shepherds it was the bourgeoiswhoremained at home . The significance isto be found in every age of religious unrest .And it was Car dinal Pole , above all others ,who combined in himself the char acteristicof king and shepherd . His learningprofound , and his Simplicity equally profound . So he, with More and Fisher, anda hundred more , retained the Faith , whi leHenry , Cranmer, and Cromwell lost it .As regards his attitude towards the penalties inflicted in the name of religion during

reign in England, it is necessary toX1

say a word or two , although , as a brilliantwriter has recen tly remarked, it is a hopelesstask, in thi s age of sentimentality andextravagant hum an itarian ism—among persons who fear death more than sin andregard pain as the greatest of evils—todiscuss the matter with the hope of a fairhearing . First , however , it must be remembered that the Protestan tism of that datewas of a tota lly different c harac ter, morallyas well as dogmatical ly , from that intowhich it has Since developed. Now itstands

,on the moral side for a harmless

individualism , often coupled with a realpersonal piety , alike granting and deman dingto ler ation—an individualism , which, fromthe very fact of itsdenial of a LivingAuthor ityin matters of Faith can indeed imagine nohigher vir tue than toleration and which inmatter s of State at any rate,

is essentiallyindifferen tis t . But in Tudor days it stoodrather fo r anarchy and even coercion andHenr y and Elizabeth—Nationalists ratherthan strict Protestants—recognised this noless than Mary . Denying authority inreligion it denied that whi ch stood behindall the European governments of tha t dateand its Significanc e is brought out unm istak

xi l

PREFACE

ably by the fact that all the sedi tiousmovements against Mary were inaugurated

an d wr ought in its name . To deny thenauthority in ma tters of faith was to raisethe presumption of an archy and to merit thepenalties inflicted by the State

,in self

defence,upon a ll who menaced its claim

upon obedience — for it was the Commonsof England

,and not primarily ec clesiastics

nor the Queen herself who demanded thesepenalties .Pole’s attitude then was one of simple

acquiescence in the methods of the time ,as might be the acquiescence of a tenderhearted chaplain who stands behind thejudge when sentence of death is given . Ifhe didnot raise his voice against the principleof punishment

,at least he did not raise it

upon the other Side . It is ludicrous to compare him even for an instant to such a manas Henry himself who han ged the Carthusiansfor asserting the Pope

’

s supremacy andburned Frith for impugning the sacramentof the altar While Bonner and Gardinerare accused of rigidity and even truculence ,no such accusation was made against Pole .

It was , indeed , his leni ency on a certainoccasion towards some followers of Luther

"( l l l

1PREFACE

that brought his orthodoxy under suspicion .

And this is the more remarkable,when

we reflect upon the manner in which hehimself had suffered under parallel circumstances .It is to be hoped then that this volume

will not only bring the n ame of ReginaldPole back into remembrance, but will alsodetach the truth

,as illustrated in his life

and adventures,from the all but inextricable

tangle of falsehood,deliberate and unin

tended, with which it has been confused inthe minds of English readers .

ROBERT HUGH BENSON .

SAN iSi LVESTRO , ROME ,

M amt 909 .

xiv"

CRAP .

I I .

I I I .

IV.

VI I I.

IX.

X.

CONTENTS

PAGE

( I goo - I B IRTH, EDUCATION . ANDEARLY LIFE

( 1526- I 5 3I . ) THE BATTLE Is ARRAYED

( I 5 3I - I 5 THE CHALLENGE AND THE

ANSWE R

( I 536- 15 37 THE FIRST LEGATION

( I 538—154I THE SECOND LEGATION 86

( 1542 THE GENERAL COUNCIL

( I 547—I 5 5 THE CONCLAVE

( I 5 53- 15 THE THIRD LEGATION

( I 5 54—15 THE RECONCILIAT ION

( I 5 56- 1 THE GREAT VICTORY

AP PENDIx : AN ACT o r THANKSGIVING FOR THE

RECONC ILIATION OF EN GLAND

XV

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

REG INALD , CARD INAL POLE Fr ontispiece

HENRY VI I I .

BLESSED MARGARET OF SALISBURY

QUEEN MARY I .

POP E PAUL fl.

xvii“

CATALOGUE OF THE PRINCIPAL

WORKS WRITTEN BY

CARDINAL POLE

(Com piled fr om Cata logues in B r itish M useum . )

1 . R P . ad Henr icfi Octavfi B r itta niaa Regempro Ecclesiastica Un itatis defensione. Lib ri quatuor .Fo l . Romae. ( 15 35 (Later editions, 1 5 5 5 Str asbourg , a nd

2 . De Pace (tr eatise on peace between Cha r les V .

a nd Henry I I . ) Ci r ca 15 5 5—6 . Romae .

3. De Concilio Liber. De Baptismo Constant iMagn i . (Ded icated to Paul IV . ) Roma . 1562 .

4 . De Summo P ontifice Christi In terris vicario .

Lo van ii . 1 569 .

5 . Copia d ’una Letter a d’

Angleter r a nella qualen arra l’entrata del Card : P 010 in Inghilterra per laconversione di quella Isola alla Fede Catho lic a . M ilano ,15 54 .

6. Cop ia delle Lettere del Red’

Inghilter ra é del Ca rd .

Po lo sopra la reduz ione di quel Regno alla un ione dellaChiesa . (Date uncertain . ) Ci r ca I 5 57 .

7 . Reformati o Anglia ex dec retis R .P . Sed isApo sto licae Legati , anno 15 56. Quarto . Rom .

1 562 .

CATALOGUE OF PRINCIPAL WORKS

8. Apologia R .P . ad Ca r o lum V. Caesar em (being thededication to the Emperor prefixed to a copy ofDe Un itate

9 . Unitatis Ecc lesia: defensio ad Edwardum ,Hen

rici filium . (Lovanu.

re . A treati se of Justification , found am on g the

writings of Cardinal Pole . (Lovan ii , r

I I . Longo lii vita . (His first pub lished work . )

Padua 1 5 24.

12 . Episto larum R .P . et aIiorum et ipsum .

by 1744 .

XX

CHAPTER I

BIRTH , EDUCATION , AND EARLY LIFE,

1500—15 26

EGINALD POLE ,the fourth and

youn gest son of Sir Richard Pole,

and his wi fe Margaret Countess ofSalisbury

,wa s born on March 3, 15 00 , at

Stourton Castle,Staf fordshire .

His father , the representative of anancient and honourable Welsh family

,was

in high favour at the Court of Henry VI Iunder whom he had served in Scotlandand the king had appo inted him , on accountof hi s valour and accomplishments

,to be

chief gen tleman- o f - the-bedchamber to hiselder son

,Arthur, Prince of Wales . He

di ed a few years after Reginald ’s birth .

Through his mother,Blessed Margaret

Pole , daughter of George Duke of Clarence,niece of Edward IV. ,

and only sister andheiress of that unfortunate Earl of Warwicklong in prison on a charge of pretendedtreason , and finally beheaded by Henry VII . ,

1

THE ANGELICAL CARDINAL

Reginald was of purely royal descent . Inhis veins ran the blood of the ancient housesof England

,Spain

,France , and Castile ;

but an even greater distinction was to behis . He was destined to be the son of ama rtyr , which

,as he wrote in 15 41 ,

“ iscertain ly grander than to be born of anyroyal house .

”

'

Oi his three brothers , the e ldest , HenryLord Montague , was beheaded in 1539 on

Tower Hill,nominally for high treason in

reality for sympathy with his exiled brotherand for opposing Henry VI I I .

’

S supremacy .

The second , Geoff rey , seems to have beena rather restless person , much mixed up inpolitical schemes . It was his evidence ,extorted under fear of torture and death ,which was instrumental in the condemn ationof his mo ther and e lder b rother , and forwhich the grateful Henry granted him afree pardon . The third brother

,Arthur

,

was sentenced to death under Elizabeth,

but reprieved , on account of his relationshipto the Queen . His only sister

,Ursu la

,

married Lord Stafford , son of the Duke ofBuckingham .

Reginald Pole’

s mother,as we learn from

“ Venetian Calendar . Vol . v . 108.

2

EDUCATION AND EARLY LIFE

their letters to each other , off ered him nu

reservedly, a t his birth , to God ; and so

per fec t was her trust that she took no painsto pro vide for his education and future ,willing tha t her son should owe even histemporal welfare directly to God

,and not

to her . Nor was she disappointed of herhope

,for Hen ry VII I .

,Reginald ’s second

c ousin,before his succession in 15 09 ,

undertook the entire charge o f the little boy ’seducation

,and when he was only seven

,

sent him to school as mediaeval customwas— to the Carthusians at Sheen

,where he

spent five happy years,and developed

unusual intellectual gifts . His parents seemto have always intended him for the priesthood and his character and peculiar giftsall tended to an ecclesiastical career .When he was twelve he went to Oxford

and entered at Magdalen , where he was ca lleda noblem an of the college , and had anapartment in the pr esident ’s house . Henceforward we find such entries as these inthe King

’

s Book of Payments ToReginald Po le for his exhibi tion atschool this year, This was onMarch 28, 15 12, and on June 8 of the next

“ Letters a nd Papers of Henr y VII I . Vol . i i . p . 2 .


gr essed as fast as even they could desire .

He could dispute for thirty days in logicand ethics

,had a ripe knowledge of Latin ,

and a graceful knack of writing cleverLatin verse . The thought of the priesthoodseems to have been , for the present , put asideto allow more time for the fascinating studyof polite learning —always a passionwith Pole .

His friendship with Blessed Thomas Moreseems to have begun at Oxford , in connection with whi ch a Charming little storycomes down to us . The future Lord Chanc ellor was ill , and sent to Oxford for medicaladvi ce . Pole happened to hear of this

,and

hastened to collect the very highest Opin ionsupon More

’

s case which the university couldafford . Linacre

,no doubt

,was consulted

and the prescription thus obtained was senthome by Pole to hi s mother , the Countessof Salisbury

,to be made up for the invalid .

Long after this More speaks of the greatpleasure caused him by Pole ’s commendationof a Latin letter written by his favouritedaughter, Margaret . The friendship waslife- long , though the friends saw but littleof each other.In 15 15 Pole took his BA . degree , for

5


which we read that he petitioned to have

a gown and robes suitable and also foradmission to the public library . As wa scustomary with in tending candidates forthe priesthood

,especially those of noble

family , Pole wa s presented by Henry VIII .

with the titles and revenues of severalbenefices, though he was not yet even inminor orders but he was responsible for themainten ance of priests

,at his own charges ,

to fulfil the duties which he was incapableof undertaking himself . In Pole ’s case thisobligation was rigidly carried out . In 15 17he became Prebendary of Rosc om be ,

in

the Cathedral Church of Salisbury ,” and

of Yatm inster , or Gatcombe Secunda , inthe same diocese . On February 12,

15 18,

Reginald Poole,clk ,

”was presented to thecollegiate church of Wynboum e Mynstr e,

Salisbury diocese and about the sametime he received the appointment of Deanof Exeter .But he had no intention of settling down

quietly to en j oy these preferments . Forsome years he had felt the need of a moreperfect study o f Greek . Much as he lovedOxford , much a s he owed to it

,i t was only

Letters a nd Paper s of Hen ry VII I . Vol. ii . p . 2 .


on the Continent that his desire could’ befulfi lled . His eyes turned , not to the

brilliant university of Paris , but to Ital y— tothe wonderful city in which at that time thegreatest scholars in the world

,with perhaps

one exception , were ga thered . His mother ,who loved him intensely , understood hi s

longing and gave her consent . His tutorsat Oxford approved . The king prom i sedhim an allowance of 5 00 crowns yearly ,

beyond his ecclesiastical revenues of 1000

crowns and in February 15 21 we find thefirst entry of this in the King

’s Book ofPayments : to Mr . Pole

,whom the King

sends to Italy , finding for one year, J£100 .

And so,at the close of 15 20 ,

Reginald Pole,

crowned with university hon ours,left Oxford

for Padua .

On April 1 , 15 21 , King Henry sent amessage to the Signory of Venice

,r ecom

mending “a nephew of his , the Lord

Reginald who is going to study atPadua ;

” and on May 21 o f the sameyear a patent was made out for Sir ReginaldPole , a kinsman of the King of England ,

whois come to study at Padua , authori sing himto export plate , c lothes ,

" Venetian Ca lenda r .

" Vol . v. 184. t id. 2 18.

7


The ancient city of Padua,in the fifteenth

and Sixteenth centuries was in truth theAthens of Europe . Annexed by Venice ,after a long and chequered hi story , in theyear 1406,

the City of St . An tony hadbecome the cen tre to which all the greatestscholars

,thinkers , and literati of the day

were instinctively attracted . I ts nobleuniversity was the pride of I taly and theworld . The human ities , physics , logic ,rhetoric

,ethics

,science , here found their

most subtle exponents and professors . Nobranch of literature

,an cient or modern

,wa s

neglected , but the study of Greek wasconsidered of paramount importance , andtook precedence of that of any other language .

Pope Leo X.,himself a brillian t m an of

letters , was a patron of the University ofPadua , and in Pole

’s day to have studiedthere was the highest distinction obtainableby any scholar .

The city, with its picturesque , cobbled ,arcaded streets , its many- arched bridges

,

and.massive walls and towers , has probably

changed but little Since the days when theyoung Engli sh student , enthusiastic andsensitively receptive , rode with his wellappointed retinue through the fertile country

8


of northern Italy,where Antony the Miracle

Worker,dead for 300 years , lived as the

Saint,in the hearts of the people j ust as

he lives , a vivid reality , to-day .

It must have been a j ourney quick withstrange new impression s . After the giganticbarrier of snow- capped Alps behind themhad faded into the clouds

,and the beautiful

mountain- country , richly wooded , or greyand barren

,furrowed with the stony beds

of rapid- rushing rivers had been left behind ,the road ran for many miles across a richlycultivated plain which a few mon ths laterwould be thick with leafy vineyards andmiles of fl ower -meadows and c om -fields

and which even then in early spring musthave been a fragran t sea of floweringorchards

,rosy apple-blossom and snowy

pear ; and leagues of pale pink peachbloom beyond the cold brown fields— a

feast of colour .I t was the country that he loved

,and to

whi ch his thoughts , un til hi s death , continually turned . Here and there would bea little brown red- roofed town

,clustering

round some ancient hoary castle,whose

turrets were visible far across the plain ;and everywhere , like the masts of distant

9


ships rose the Slender shafts of the vi llage

And then at last the grey walls of thecity

,with its fortress- like Duomo , and

two vast Basilicas ; in whose picturesquestreets and market-place gaily dressedpeasants met an d mingled with studentsa nd scholars from England and France ,Germ any and Spain , Greece a nd the LowCoun tries—men of all ranks and of almostevery nation under heaven .

No wonder Pole , from the beginning , feltat home there . He carried introductionsto the heads of the university , and hisarrival seems to have created a certainsen sation in Padua which was in nowiselessened during his sixyears’ residence there .

He took a suitable house and, as wa s

customary amongst wealthy students, es

pec ia lly those of noble blood , he set aboutforming a household of learned men

,

by whose conversation and companionshiphe could profit daily , and whose instructionwould be most valuable in hi s studies .

The chief of these was Longo lius ,a young

and brilliant Fleming , one of the mostgifted m en in the un iversity

,a genius who

made his mark on his age,though he di ed

I O


when on ly thirty- four , before the grea twork of his lifewas finished his dying m es

sag e , in a touching letter , being to ReginaldPole

,to whom he left his library . He had

undertaken to refute the heresy of theapostate Luther , but only one of the fivegrea t volumes of the treati se was completedbefore his early death . He had an absolutemastery of the Latin tongue

,which even

in the days when itwas the common la nguageof the learned

,ma rked him out as the most

bri lliant orator and faultless writer ofLatin pr ose and verse in the university .

Under another great professor, Leon icus ,

Reginal d Pole studied hi s beloved Greek ;and a third member of the household wasThom as Lupset, the young secretary ofthe English Ambassador at Venice

,with

whom Pole formed a warm friendship .

Here , too , were Thomas Starkey,who

became a few years later so conspicuousa feature in Pole

’

s life ; John Bo namico and a young Venetian noble

,Coun t

Bembo , perhaps Pole’s greatest friend in

Pa dua .

For his character and personality wereunusually attractive all Padua consideredhim as a member of the English royal

11


bri lliant attai nments , but his personal charmand character . He seems to have impressedevery one who kn ew him .

On March 26,15 23, we find an entry in the

annals of the Council of Ten to enj oin theirGovernors of Padua to permit theMost Illustrious and Reverend ReginaldPole

,British-born

,a student in our Uni

versity to carry weapons there he andfour of his servants , for the security of his

person according to his request madethrough the English Ambassador .” Thisambassador was an old friend

,Dr . Richard

Pace,of whom we hear more two years later ,

when on February 6,15 25 en r oute for

Venice he visited the King 5 nephew atPadua and it was with him that Polestayed when he visited Ven ice the followingJune . It is Corpus Christi Day

,and the

Doge , clad in Cloth of gold ,with a crimson

satin mantle and crimson ducal cap,came

to Mass in St . Mark’s Church,with the am

bassador s from the Pope,England

,Austria

,

Milan , Ferrara and Mantua . Behindthem , with the councillors , was the nephewof the King of England

,who is studying

at Padua , and who wal ked with [the]" Letter s and P aper s o f Henry VII I . " Vol. v. p . 12 .

I 3


Bishop of Paphos,

” A year la ter , inJuly 1526,

after his visit to Rome , we findhim at Venice again ,

on the occasion of themagnificent pagean ts organised at the public ation of the Holy League . The only"personage in the [Doge

’s palace was thecousin of the King of England , by nameReginald Pole . He is studying at Padua ,and came hither to the house of the Englishambassador to see thi s pageant which wasa very beautiful one . 1

“ In Septemberof the same year he was still at Padua

,for

the English ambassador has gone toPadua [from Venice] to visit the relation o f

the King who is studying there .

”I

In 15 24 Dr . Fox made him a Fellow ofthe new college of Corpus Chri sti at Oxford

,

of which he was the founder ; and thisdistinction gave at least as much pleasureto his Italian friends as to Pole himself .In 15 25 he paid a Short visit to Rome ,

setting out with a small retinue,and ih

tending to travel very quietly,as became a

pilgrim to the Holy City . But to hissurprise he found himself féiedand honour edwherever he went . When he arrived at

“ Venetian Calendar . Vol . i i i . 1042 .

( I bi d. 1343. 1 I bid. 140 5 .

I 4


Verona Monsignor Ghiberti , the bishop , apersonal stranger to him , came out andwelcomed him with great courtesy andaff ection

,and Pole discovered that it was

to this prelate that he owed the receptionwith whi ch he had met at every haltingplace on his

"

j ourney . He was deeplytouched by Ghiberti

’

s kindness , and thebishop became one of his closest friends ;one indeed to whom he turned a t aE timesfor sympathy and encouragement .His stay in Rome was short . After

visiting the Holy Places he returned toPadua by way o f Verona without beingpresented at the Papal Cour t , probably forpo li tica l r easons . At the close of 1 526

he returned , by the king’s wish

,to England

and at his comm and,to Court .

His publi c career was nowHenceforth Reginal d Pole was to help tomake English history .

15

CHAPTER II

THE BATTLE I S ARRAYED1 5 26

—15 31

N what was probably the first occasion on which Henry VII I . sawReginald Pole after his return from

Italy he told him openly that in all hi stravels he could not have met the equal ofBlessed John Fisher

,Bishop of Rochester,

for virtue and learning —a statement whi chshows that at that time this prelate hadnot lost all hi s influen ce over his formerpupil

,and that Henry was not yet dead to

all honour and gratitude .

But the Court of England was becomingrapidly demoralised . The king’s privatelife was a constant source of scandal to alland of bitter grief to the queen . At themoment of Pole ’s return Henry ’s fickleaffections were violently engaged by AnneBullen

,a young lady- ih -waiting to Queen

Katherine ; of great personal beauty ;whose selfishness wa s only equall ed by her

16

THE BATTLE IS ARRAYED

ambition . She had no inten tion of becomingthe laughing- stock of the Court , and Henryhad been given to understand plain ly thatunless She became hi s wife She could have

nothing to say to him . Finding it impossibleto move her from this position , the king ,while retaining her in great state in his

wife ’s retinue,

a nd taking advantage ofevery opportun ity to be in her company ,

set his mind to that task which was to endin the upheaval of the Catholic Church inEngland .

In such an atmosphere Pole found itimpossible to breathe . Making his excuseswith some difficul ty to his royal cousin hewithdrew

,under plea of continuing his

studies,to Sheen

,the home of his happy

childhood . Here,within the enclosure , Dean

Colet had built a handsome house , intendingto end his “ days among his Carthusi anfriends . He died , however , almost before i twas finished , and the house as i t stood wa snow gran ted to Pole by Henry , and herefor nearly two years he lived in greattranquill ity and peace , continuing his studies ,and leading a semi -monastic life . I t wasthe calm before the storm— the storm which

,

outside the Cloister , was beginning to blacken17 B


the whole horizon , causing men’

s hearts tofail and their minds to reel at the mereprospect of the yet inconceivable terror ofit . And even now , as the Sky grew steadilydarker

,the first drops fell .

Henry ’s conduct during the latter partof his reign is, perhaps , the most wonderfulof all instances in history of a m an ofungoverned will— which has become un

governable— overriding heart , conscience,j udgmen t , decency , laws both divine andhuman , and at the same time deludinghimself with the idea (at any rate up toa certain point) that he is doing perfectlyright and acting according to his conscienceand the will of Almighty God . His wholecareer was in fact a sort of apotheosis ofthe Nonconformist Conscience .

But at first that difficult conscience ,which took some time to ki ll , led him toseek sympathy— and , if po ssible, justification for hi s actions—from the men whoseopinions he respected .

Unfortunately for Pole , he was one ofthese . The king did not in the least wantthe advice he asked for , and only desiredpeople to agree with what he had alreadydetermined . He had by now decided to

18


divorce the queen , whose husband he hadbeen for twenty years and as even Henrycould find no excuse for such a deed in theblameless life of that unfortunate lady itoccurred to him that perhaps val id oh

jecti on might be taken to the fact thathe had , under dispensation , married his

brother Arthur’s wife .

That Katherine had been only nominally ,

not actually married to his brother (whowas in a very precarious state of health atthe time) that Henry

’s union with her hadbeen blessed by Pope Julius I I . that forthe greater part of their long wedded lifeduring which several children had beenborn to them , of whom the Princess Maryalon e survived) - they had lived on mostaffectionate terms ; all these things wereresolutely set aside by Henry

,whose con

science now began to affl i ct him sadly ;moved thereto , as be publicly announced ,by hi s dread of having contracted an illegalmarriage ; but in reality , as the wholeCourtwas now perfectly aware , by hi s insanepassion for Anne Bullen . In 15 27 Henryapplied definitely to Pope Clement VII . fora di vorce , to enable him to marry again , onthe ground that there was no heir-male to

I 9


lay the destinies of England,Thomas

Cromwell , at that time in Wo lsey’

s service .

Very cautiously and cleverly did thatastute statesman seek to fathom the mindof the young student

,but Pole was quite a

match for him,and has left us a 'delightful

account of the interview . Cromwell askedhim his opinion of a political work by anItalian writer

,and finding Pole had not read

it , fell into a disc ourse on the necessaryqualifications of those who are called to thecouncils of princes . Pole saw at once thathe wa s to be sifted on the question of thedivorce . My answer was that I thoughtit the duty of every such person

,above a ll

other considerations,to advise what was

most conducive to hi s prince’s honour and

interest,and enlarged myself

,from the

dictates of reason and the best authors,on

the nature of Virtue,in which both Honour

and Interest are grounded .

”

Cromwell , . quite unmoved by these considerations repli ed that these notions werevery plausible when delivered in the Schoolsor from the Pulpit , but were of little use inthe Cabinets of Kings , and,

if much insistedon

,would create Hatred and Aversion to

the Adviser,as they seldom fall in with the

21


Prince ’s inclina tions , and are quite foreignto what is practised in courts .

” Prudenceand experience , continued the future Vicegerent ,were the qua lities that reallymattered ,for without them many promising statesmen had forfeited their prince’s favour andbecome useless —a delicate but necessaryeuphuism—o r had ruined themselves andtheir families .The ingenuous speaker then gave several

examples to pr ove his assertion , and concluded that the chief concern of a personin this station should be to study his prince

’

sinclinations , in which much sagacity wasrequired , as they sometimes lie disgui sedunder appearances o f a very differentimport : that it became kings to use thespecious nam es of religion

,equity

,and

other virtues , though their designs weren ot always regulated by them : that trueability lay in discovering what their realin tentions were ; and then , in managing insuch sort that they may attain their ends ,and yet no open failur e in religion or probitybe observed : and that this ability was seenin proportion as the m inister could reconcilethe appearances of virtue

,which princes

were unwill ing to give up,with the sub

22


stantia l interests of the State . That thiswas a compendious way to secure favourand authority with them

,and to be useful

to oneself and others .Thus the principal adviser of Henry VI I I . ,

of whom his auditor remarks tha t “ if hereally thought as he spoke and had beenNero

’

s counsellor when that monarch wasanxious to murder his mother

,Cromwell

would have been “ at no loss to justify the

parricide .

” Pole,however made no reply

to thi s barefaced impiety ,though Crom

well , in repeatn the conversation to theking , put his own constr uction upo n theyoung man ’s silence . The views which he

had expressed,he told Pole

,were most ably

set forth in the work to which he hadal ready alluded

,and he begged to be allowed

to lend him the book . Pole refused diplom atic al ly ,

but borrowed it from a friend,

and studied it carefully,unknown to Crom

well , coming to the conclusion that itis such a performance that if Satan himselfwere to leave a successo r I do not well seeby what other maxims he would direct himto reign -an opinion certainly justifiedby subsequent events .

*

r “ Li fe o f Ca rdin al Pole.

" T. P hilhps . Vol . i . 42—44 .

23


The book upon which this judgment waspassed was no other than 11 P r incipe, byone Niccolo Machiavelli .In 15 28 the terrible sweating- sickness

visited England for the last time . Thewitty French ambassador (Du Bellay ,Bishop of Bayonne) gives us a vivid pictureof Henry ’s uneasiness during the plague .

He at once sent Anne Bullen to her father ’shouse at Hever

,and then

,with the queen

and Court,moved about from place to

place for fear of infection,confessing every

day , and commun icating on great feasts .Thus Henry

,while the Court laughed in

its sleeve,and fresh

,frantic efforts were

being made to move earth— as heavenseemed impregnable— to secure the divorce .

Into the long and complicated political ,social and religious questions of Henry

VI I I .

’

S divorce we cannot enter here ; butit is necessary ,

in writing the li fe of thefuture cardinal- legato to outline clearly themai n facts of that appalling sin and scandalwhich changed Pole ’s whole career

, andwasthe lever by whi ch the temporal power ofthe Church was overthrown in England andthe authority of the Holy See set aside ;while the king took the place of

,the Pope

24


as Supreme Head of the Church in thiscountry .

On May 31 , 15 29, the commission ap

pointed by the Pope to sift thoroughly thedetails of Queen Katherine ’s first andsecond marriages

,met at Blackfriars

,under

the two cardinal- legates,Wolsey and Cam

peggio ; and was in session until July 23.

Eight or ni ne sittings were held ,during

one of which the cause of the queen wasnobly and eloquently defended by BlessedJohn Fisher ; but nothing was effected ,

and Clement VII . summoned the case toRome . Wolsey had failed to carry out theking ’s wishes

,and from that moment his

downfall was secure . The fall of Wolsey ,”

says a modern writer,

* was only dela yedtill Henry assured himself that his oldminister’s ruin was more profitable thanhis future service He was stripped ofhis dignities and offices

,and Sir Thomas

More was made Lord Chancell or . MyLord of Norfolk

,writes the French am

bassador , is become president of the

Council : my Lord of Suffolk vice- presidentand above them both is Mistress Ann e 1”

A. Galton .

“ Character a nd Times of ThomasCromwell , p . 43.

25


Pole , horrified at the turn a ffairs Weretaking

,sought and obtained perm ission

from the king in the autumn of 15 29 totake up his residence at the University ofParis

,to pursue his studies in theology.

Here at least he would be free from the

sordid vulgari ty of Court intrigue , andthere was little use in his remaining inEngland if the king would not listen tosuch advisers as Sir Thomas More and theBishop of Rochester.A month after Pole ’s arrival in Paris

Cromwell (who had managed most successfully to exchange the service of the disgracedcardinal for that of the king) counselledHenry plain ly to take over the supremacyof the Church . Little , it was clear, couldbe expected from the Pope ; indeed itseemed certai n that he would never declareKatherine ’s marriage with Henry to havebeen null and void from the beginningthe on ly possible means by which he couldever hope to marry Anne Bullen . Why not ,therefore , Simplify matters by substitutinghimself as supreme judge ? England ,

”

remarked the minister,

“ is a monster withtwo heads —a suggestion which mightfairly be left to a monarch of Henry VI I I .

’

s

26


taste for capital punishment . On November

3, 15 29, the Parliament for the enormitiesof the clergy assembled , heard High Massof the Holy Ghost , and proceeded to debate .

The king was present ; Audley was speaker ;Cromwell sat as member for Taunton andthe new Lord Chancellor (who did notsurvive this Parliament) opened the sessionwith a bril liant , ironical speech , construedby his enemies into a bitter atta ck uponWolsey—which it was not . In this Parliament the schismatic suggestion of Cromwell

- now Chief secreta ry—was first breathedabroad and caused a thrill of horror.Pole had not been long in Paris before hewas , to use his own expression , thunderstruck to receive a message from Henryrequesting him to obtain the decision ofthe Sorbonne as to the legality of hisfirst marriage This wa s, of course , thedirect fruit of a suggestion by one ThomasCranmer , then a private tutor at Cambridge ,to the effect that a consensus of opinionshould be taken from the European universities on the question of the divorce

j The un iversi ties consulted were those of France ,which yielded to threats ; N . I taly , whichwas b ribeda nd Protestan t Germany . The Lutheran d ivines were

27

THE BATTLE ‘

IS ARRAYED

long ago have ceas ed , and that a separation on any terms must have been far moreagreeable than to live as his wife with a manwho caused her nothing but the most intensesuff ering . Nor do they ever grasp the factthat the sacrament of matrimony beingindissoluble

'

no such thing as divorce— inthe Protestant sense of the word— is , or everhas been , recognised by the Catholic Church .

It is , of course , true that in some casesmarriages are annulled

,even after a long

lapse of years , upon the Simple fact thatthey have never really been marriages at allowing to some informali ty or Obstacle , suchas kinship

'

or afl in ity wilfully concealed ,a

previous unacknowledged marriage on thepa rt of husband or wife

,or the '

f a ct that oneof the contracting ‘ parties was compelledby fear , or force . The invalidation of hismarriage was exactly what the king wasaiming at . But even if Katherine hadactually lived with his brother as his 'wife ,Clement VII . would doubtless not haveannull ed her subsequent m arriage withHenry . Julius I I . had especially providedin the dispensation for thi s contingency ,

though as a matter of fact- which the kingmoved heaven and earth in vain to disprove

29

THE ANGELICAL ‘ CARDINAL

— her first mar riage had never been anythingbut a formal contract , owing to the ill

heal th of Prince Arthur .

'

,Upon these facts

,with which Pole wa s

perfectly acquainted,the whole question

turned .

On November 29, 15 30 ,Cardinal Wolsey

died—a n event which Anne Bullen’s fathercelebrated by a magnificent banquet andentertainment to the king ; at which wasperformed a realistic play representing thecardinal’s descen t into hell , and his receptionthere . At Henry ’s command Pole returnedto England , to his retreat at Sheen , and wasat on ce offered the Archbishopric of Yorkby the king . There was no obstacle

,

said Henry , to hi s accepting it,except

that (insignificant) matter of the divorce .

It was , perhaps , the crisis of Reginal dPole’s life .

‘

The king did not hesitate totamper with the young man ’s family ;promising them riches—and what was farmore valuable

, personal security— if onlyPole would accept the bribe " It wasa mere question of policy , he remarked infact , the reason he wanted Pole to bearchbishop was that he might always beguided by his advice in Spiritual matters .

30


The Duke of Norfolkwas sent to intercedewith him ; he wa s to ld that York andWinchester would bo th be kept open forthree months ,

and he might accept either.The revenues were vast ; the king wasanxious to secure Pole by any means ; hisfamily implored him the dazzling prospectof a ca reer equal to that of Wolsey , butmarred by none of that prelate ’s mistakes

,

lay before him . He told the king at lastthat he would take a mon th to consider .It is evident he scar cely knew what to say ,

for there is no doubt that he hoped , asarchbishop , to be able to stem effectuallythe steadily rising tide of schi sm which nowthreatened England .

In the meantime Parliament met , onJanuary 3, 1531 , and Convocation assembledat Westminster eighteen days later . Clearlyand definitely now , Henry demanded thetitle of Supreme Head of the Chur ch

,and

sought to compass his end by involvingboth assemblies under the Statute ofPraemunire , by which their liberty andentire possessions were forfeited to thecrown . Terrified bey ond measure , Co nvocation off ered a spontaneous oblationof nearly a million pounds, current value ,

31


to escape what they too clearly foresaw .

This was exactly what Henry wanted . He

refused to accept the gift unless the bishopsand clergy would accept him as SupremeHead of the Church . It was an awful moment .

“ The clergy,

” says a Protestant historian ,

*

had defied the li on ,and the lion held them

in his grasp ; and they could but strugglehelplessly

,supplicate

,and submit .”

On February 9 a royal message was sentto know if Henry ’s terms were acceptedand a futile attempt was made to softenCromwell

, and later on , the king . Henryrefused to see the deputation . Then theyknew it was a ll or nothing Pope or king ,life or death . But schism and openrupture with the Church un iversalthey dared not risk it " Better, after al l ,

to lose their lives than their souls . Theking

,privately ‘ advised that they were

stubborn ,

” made a significant c oncessron .

The admission now ran :Ecclesiae et cleri Anglicani Singula r em

pr otectorem et unicum et supremum Dominum ,

etquantum per lege Chr isti li cet, etiamsupremum ~ caput ipsius Ma jestatem ag

nosc im us.

” We acknowledge his Maj esty

Froude. Vol . i . 298.

(32


as the only protector , as the sole and sovereign

lord , and a s fa r a s the lawof Chr ist a llows,even as the Supreme Head of the Churchand Clergy of England ”

)On February 1 1 , this amendment , read

by the aged Archbishop Warham , passedin sullen

,furious silence . At a later session

Convocation discussed it , and nearly alldeclared they had saved their consciences

Henry accepted the Spontaneous oblation with dignity ; dismissed Convocation ;granted the pardon (which the Commons ,only j ust in time , discovered did not includethemselves) ; and before Parliament wasprorogu ed on March 31 , 1531 , the Lordshad sent to the Pope a letter instructinghim as to his duties , and detai ling at somelength the merits of the divorce .

There was not much doubt as to whatPole’s answer woul d be , now . Henry sentfor him to Greenwich palace in the firmconviction that he would accept the Archbishopric . But the moment they came faceto face the Spirit of God seemed to descendupon the future Cardinal

,and for the first

time for many years Henry VII I . listenedto the truth from the lips of one whom be

respected in spite of himsel f. All Pole’s

33 C


doubt and hesitation were gone ; he feltno fear of the great passionate man , whowalked up and down the long gallery ,

fingering his dagger, with whi ch , he afterwards declared , he was strongly temptedto stab the Speaker . Nothing , he confessed ,

but his fearlessness and Simplicity savedPole, who spoke as one delivering a messagefrom God ; and who afterwards drew uphi s reasons for declining the dignity in aletter to the King which caused Henry tosay his cousin had added in sult to in jurythough he retracted this later , and certainlyrespected Pole more than ever.But the defin ite step was taken he had

made his great refusal ; privately ,at least

he had made an enemy of the King,and

the King was supreme n ow. On ly exileremained—he must leave England withoutloss of time .

But if he had sacrificed his brilliant future

at leas t'

he had not sacrificed his soul .

34

CHAPTER II I

THE CHALLENGE AND THE ANSWER1 531—15 36

EGINALD POLE spen t the first yearof his exile at Avignon

,a town

directly under the jurisdiction of thePope

,and at a safer distance from England

than Paris . Here, however, he found thewinter so cold and bleak that he decidedupon returning to Padua , and the sunnier Skiesof Italy . In 1532 he set out for his oldUniversity by way of Carpentras , where heremained some time as the guest of the bishop

,

Monseigneur Sado let, a well-known man ofletters

,who was charmed with him . All

through his life Pole seems to have possesseda unique gift for making and keeping friends ,for which he may well be envied

,and which

he largely owed to his unselfishness anddeep humility . Sado let wrote to Ghiberti

,

Bishop of Verona , whose friendship Poler enewed on the next stage of his j ourney ,

35

THE CHALLENGE

Aloysius Priuli . Together they plannedexpeditions to the distant islands acrossthe lovely lagoon and explored the wondersof the City in the Sea—the magical beautyof San Marco ; San Giovanni ePaulo of theDominicans

,where the Doges lie in solemn

state ; and all the treasured riches of theglorious Venetian churches .At the mouth of the wide Giudecca

Canal stands,on a small island , the great

Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio ,with its famous campanile ; and this placewas a favourite resort of Pole ’s

,who had

formed a warm friendship with the abbot,

Don Gregorio Co rtesio ,a learned and

saintly man ; and also with a r eligions ofthe order

,Don Marco . Of the latter , Pole ,

writing five years later,said “ There is no

one to whom I more readily listen,dis

coursing on In a letter toCardinal Contarini at Rome— a friend of hisuniversity life— he says Ven ice is Edenand we only want you to make a fourth .

He revelled in the beauty by which he wassurrounded , particularly in the wonderfulVenetian gardens ; such as that of the oldPalazzo Bembo , on a waterway between

Augu st 10 , 1 5 36.

37


the Grand Canal and the Giudecca ; in whicheven at noon the black ilexes and yewsmake a cool retreat of the narrow shrubberywhere a tiny brook trickles and tinkles overthe mossy stones

,below a fem - fringed

winding walk ; while through the greendim ness dazzling masses of flowers riotunder a burning sun .

At Venice,too

,Pole first met Caraffa ,

the founder of the Theatines,the fiery

Neapolitan who was to become Pope PaulIV . ; the man who was first his friend , thenhis rival , and who ended by breaking hisheart .Perhaps these four years

,taken alto

gether,are the happiest of Reginal d Pole

’

slife . But it says much for his strengthof character that in spite of all his friends,of his easy circumstances

, (for the Kingstill continued his allowance as Pole hadnot publicly declared himself his enemy) ,and the temptations to idleness of all kindsby which he was surrounded

,he never

gave up his systematic course of study ,

and that his reputation as one of the foremost scholars o f the university steadilyincreased .

Meanwhile in England the logical couse

38

THE CHALLENGE

quence of the events of 15 31 had come to pass .

On January 15 , 1534, Parliamen t met andentered upon the fin al stage of the separationof England from the church universal .

To the King,it enacted

,were to belong all

the jurisdiction and offices of the Pope inEngland

,and—what was at lea st as impor t

ant to Henry— all the tithes and offeringsbelonging to the Holy See . Peter

’

s Pencewere abolished

,Annates made payable to the

King , also a yearly tithe on all clericalincomes . The bishops were required toswear that they abj ured the Pope .

” Itwas made treason to speak against Henryor Anne

,or to call the former infidel

,tyrant ,

heretic or schismatic—no doubt a wi se precautionThe statute concluded by asserting that

the country was not separating from CatholicUnity

,but on ly from the Papacy . How

the King differentiated between the CatholicChurch and its Visible Head was not stated .

This also was pruden t,a s Henry continued

to proclaim himself a good Catholic .

Shortly after , an Act was passed cutting o ffthe Princess Mary from the succession andrequiring from the nation an oath of alle

giance~ to Elizabeth

,daughter of Anne

39


Bullen ; and a recognition of the King’

smarriage with that lady

,whi ch had

taken place on January 25 , 1533.

On November 3, 1534, Parliament r eassembled , and on the 4th the act was fina llypassed whi ch distinctly and definitely cutthe last link . The Supreme Headship ofthe Church of England was conferredabsolutely on the King . Be it enacted ,says the statute

,that the King our

Sovereign Lord , his heirs and successors ,kings of this realm

,shall be taken

,accepted ,

and reputed as the only Supreme Head inearth of the Church of England , calledAngli cana This act was followedby another making it high treason to denythe Royal Supremacy in the King or hisheirs .

The blow had fallen " Catholic Englandhad been deliberately driven into the drearydarkness of schism by the furious passionsand ungovem able will of one unhappy man .

The honour of heading the glorious roll ofmartyrs who sealed the truth with theirblood belongs to the three Carthusian Priors ,who , with two other priests , on May 4,

1535 ,

were butchered at Tybum for denying the

Act of Supremacy . 26 Henry VI I I . cap . r .

40

THE CHALLENGE

King ’s Supremacy,and refusing to take the

oath ; and who , dying , gave God glorythat they were counted worthy to sufferfor his name . Sir Thomas More and BishopFisher

,who had just been created cardinal

,

were already in the tower for the samecause . On June 19, three more Carthusianssuffered . Three days later , on June 22,

the aged Bishop of Rochester,Blessed John

Fisher , King Henry’s former tutor

,was

beheaded on Tower Hill ; and on July 6,Blessed Thomas More , Lord High Chancellorof England , suff ered there for the samecrime .

All Europe thri lled and sickened at thesavage barbari ty . God is my witness

,

”

said Pole,writing of the death of More

,

that involuntary tears fall from my eyeswhich blot out what I have written

,and

almost hinder m e from going on with thesubj ect . The horrible murders were notan outrage to the Holy See only , but to thewhole civilised world . But the end was notyet .During the early part of 1535 ,

shortlyafter his assumption of the title of SupremeHead Hen ry , who had been soundingThomas Starkey (now his chaplain) a s to

41

THE CHALLENGE

country . He had hitherto kept silence ,though many thought he should have spokenout . But Henry— c haracteristically— hadwaited till it was death to oppose him , andthen asked for his Opinion . His orderswere that I should send him my opinionin terms so clear and explicit as to avoidall ambiguity and subterfuge ; and if Ifailed in so doing that I should in cur hishighest displeasure . Fisher and More hadbeen quoted to terrify him

,but : “I saw

(in their deaths) the strongest motives tosupport with an unshaken resolution thecause for which they had laid down theirlives .

” He goes on to say that he wouldrather renounce everything than compromisewith the King

,and what strengthened him

most in this attitude was the blood of themartyrs . That divine truth has alwaysso manifested itself we are assured , first byHis death who was very truthThese con siderations banish all my dread

,

arm me with generous confiden ce,and give

me to understand wha t are the true obj ectsof fear and He decided to answer

Apol . R . Pol i ad Ca r o lum Caes : super quatuorlib ris a se sc r iptis :

‘ f‘De Un itate E cc lesiw.

”(N o . 2 ,

etseq. )

43


Henry ’s questions at length . On April 12,1535 , Harvel , the English ambassador atVenice

,writes to Starkey that he will try to

influence Pole as the King wishes,and make

him return to his native country,but that

he [Pole] delights more in study than in lifeor glory

,which has always been contemned

by him . He consumes his perpetuallife at letters .” It is true that the sweetness of learning is so great that with difficultya man greatly inflamed with virtue can bewithdrawn from study , but between youand me and others

,I hope we sha ll remove

him from that ardent mind without anydubitation .

” Starkey ’s Opinion of Pole ,written about the same time to Cromwell ,in connection with his expected answer tothe King ’s message

,is : “ There lives n ot a

more sincere m an on earth than MasterPole , and whatever he thinks in thesecauses the King will be sure to knowshortly . j

"

Harvel writing again to Starkey on April21 says The performing of [Mr . Pole’s]book will somewhat slake him

,for his study

is too fervent in that work . It will be an

Letters a nd Papers of Henry VI I I ix ., ( i . ) 5 35 .

1 I bid. ix ., (i . ) 57 5 .

44

THE CHALLENGE

able monument of his wit and virtue . Thegreatest discomfort he could have wouldbe to leave it imperfect , which he thinkshe would do if he did not finish it in thisquiet li fe .”

Pole was indeed working hard at his replyat Venice , and the greater part was probablywritten among his Benedictine friends atSan Giorgio .

In May, Starkey , who was exceedinglyanxious as to the nature of his friend ’

sanswer , wrote to him : I am glad to see,

by the few words you wrote , that you willapply yourself to satisfy the King’s request ,which was, in few words , clearly and plainlywithout colour or cloak of dissimulationto shew your sentence in his lately definedcause . This I am sure you will do gladly ,

for you will not dissemble with a King ,from which dissimulation I have never seena mind more abhorring " He describesat great length the death of the Carthusians ,referring to them as persons who , as

much as in them lay , have rooted seditionin the community ; and ends by expressing Henry

’

s wonder that Pole should prefera retired and scholastic life and by a fine

Letters a nd Papers of Henry VI II ix . ( i . ) 579 .

45


dose of flattery as to that monarch’

s imtentions towards him .

* Starkey’

s view ofthe Carthusian martyrdoms , however , wasscarcely that of his friends abroad , forHarvel tells him in a letter dated Jun e 15 ,that they were considered here to be ofextreme cruelty , and al l Venice was ingreat murmuration to hear it .theyconsider their execution as against all honestlaws of God and man I never sawItalians break out so vehemently at anything.

”

jPole seems to have reassured the King’s

cha plain as to the fact of his writing a replyfor I did not doubt of your will ,

” writesStarkey , “ but your long silence made mefear that the cause little liked you .

”

In August , 1535 , we hear of Pole in Venice ,befriending a certain Mo ryson , a poorscholar and notorious beggar , whose boo ksand even his clothes had been seized fordebt by the Jews . Writing to Starkey

,

Mo ryson says that he is now wearing thelivery of Mr . Michael Throgmorton

,Signor

Polo’

s servan t , and that his master’s kind

nes s had rescued him from misery

Letters a nd Papers of Hen ry VI I I ” ix . , ( i . ) 80 1 .

1 I bid. ix. ( i . ) 874,

46

THE CHALLENGE

hunger , cold and poverty I shall lovehim ,

” he adds, as long as God gives me

life ; a sentiment which did not howeverprevent thi s estimable man from writingnext year of Mr . Trai tor P o le.

”

j'

An amusing letter from Pole’

s butler,Sandro , to Starkey from Venice (October1 , informs us that Priuli is as muchin love with my lord as ever whilewe were at Sta . Croce he came to stay there ,and never ceased till he drew I l Signore tohi s house at Padua . j: It is expensiveenough to keep house here , he adds feelingly but much more to move aboutThe Bishop of Verona (Ghiberti) sent theother day to II Signore 25 0 gold crowns ,praying him to accept them to buy horsesto visit him at Verona . I l Signore hassent them back , promising to go and staya few days with Three weeks laterSandro says : We have a fine house on

Letters a ndPapers ofHenr yVI I I . , IX . ( i i . ) 10 1- 2 .

1' I bid. xi . 1481 .

1 This butler wa s, he tells us, writing a book ofB as ilio,” by Pole

’

s desire, which is almost printe da nd which he was collating with texts in St.

Mark ’s library —evidently a n unusual sort ofservan t.

Letters and Papers of Hen ry VII I ix . ( i i . ) 5 12 .

47

THE“Bi l l“


the Grand Canal,between the house of

Fosca r i a nd the ferry of St . Barnabas ;and speaking of a friend of Pole

’s : “His

present house is so smal l and cold and foulthat it drove away I] Signore .

”

But the most delightful account of Polewhich we have from Venice is in a letter toStarkey on December 1 from one JohnFriar. Pole is studying divinity , anddespising things merely human and terrestrial . He is undergoing a great change ,exchanging man forBy thi s time Henry ’s request had become

publicly known,and Pole’s answer was

eagerly looked for. The King ,” says

Cha puys, the Imperial ambassador inEngland , on December 15 ,

“has written

expressly to Reginal d Pole who is atVenice , to send him hi s opinion in writingde pr im ata pontificis. Would that the Kinghad done it to hear the simple truth , and notto have a pretext for injuring Pole , who isone of the most virtuous persons in theworld , and who will do a great deal whenthere is any tal k of putting affairs hereright j

“ a prophecy most literally fulfilled .

Letters andPapers of Hen ry VI I I . , ix . ( ii . ) datedDec . 1535 . T I bid. ix. ( i i . ) 988.

48

THE CHALLENGE

Master Pole,writes Harvel at Venice ,

is in vehement study of writing to satisfythe and on December 28, 1535 , headds : he is writing to the King afair work which will be wtem um m onu

m entum etingeni i etvi rtutis sure. He keepsit secret to himself

,for he wishes the King

to be the first reader . 1' And again

,on

January 18, of the next year : Mr . Poleis continual in wri ting of his work , andthat with extreme study , which breakethhim much

,especially in these sharp colds

which have reigned many days . IThis was the great treatise which was to

set Christendom on fire,Pole

’

s masterpiece ,De Un itate Ecclesi az. I t wa s divided intofour parts . In the first the writer boldlyrefutes the error of the King in proclaiminghimself head of the Church of England ;rebukes him for the sin of schism and makesshort work of Bishop Sampson ’s treatise onthe matter . In the second , he declares theSupremacy of the Apostolic See of Romeover the whole world

,and answers obj ections .

The third book is a solemn warning,remind

Letters a nd Papers of Henry VI I I . , ix . ( i i . ) 927 .

1 I bid. ix . ( i i . ) 1029 .

3 I b id. x . (Jan .

49

THE CHALLENGE

friends were still of the same opinion whenthey had read the whole carefully , he wouldmake the alterations they recommended .

To Priuli Pole wrote that it was utterlyagainst his nature to blame the King , butthat Henry could not possibly succeedunless he was aware of his own fai lures ;and that from his own close relationshipand the fact that Henry had po intedly anddirectly appealed to him to do so

,no one

could point out those failures with greaterright than he . There was no sacrifice , hesaid , whi ch he could not make to promotethe King ’s happiness

,which he set above

all earthly considerations . He warns Priuli ,however

,of the danger of treating Henry

wi th anything but firmness . Soft wordsare of no use

,for gentleness and dissimula

tion have driven him to this madness .”

Lenity he mistook for cowardice misplaced softness has cast him into an abyssof exemplary vice ;

” and in this opinion ahistorian of very differen t calibre— theagnostic Hume—will be found to upholdthe author of De Um

'

tata Ecclesiw.

The work was eventually printed withoutalteration . Priuli begged that Contarini

Poli Epist . I . 437 .

5 1


might show the treatise to the P ope,butPole

refused , as in the present highly strainedstate of affairs Henry would not unnaturallybe very angry if the treatise

,addressed to

himself, were first read by the Holy Father.He spent Easter at Padua ; and there

followed a few weeks of anxious delay ,caused by the dread of the vengeance whi chHenry would certain ly take on Pole

’

sfamily . However

,in May

, 15 36, the newsof Anne Bullen ’s execution decided him tosend his treatise to the King at once .Five mon ths earlier

,on January 8 of the

same year,the tragedy of the life of Kathe

rine of Aragon had closed . Like herdaughter Mary

,she passed away while hearing

and answering the Mass which was beingsaid near her deathbed—her last act , toreceive Viaticum .

Her death was celebrated by a greatfeast , at which Henry rej oiced publicly ,

brilliantly clad in yellow . On the day ofthe funeral a dead son was born to the deadwoman’s husband and Anne Bullen . Disappointed o f an heir

,and weary of the

woman for whom he had sold his soul,

Henry found n o difficulty of any kind indisposing of her . Hideous charges were

5 2

THE CHALLENGE

brought against her . She was tried ; condem ned, with five men ; and executed onMay 19, 1536. Henry spent that day withone of her ladi es - in -waiting

,Jane Seymour ,

to whom he was betrothed on May 20 , andwhom he married ten days later , by aspecial dispensation from Cranmernow Archbishop of Canterbury—grantedon the very day of Anne Bullen

’s execution .

Pole wrote to a friend that the death ofAnne Bullen would mean one of two thingseither that the King would repent andsubmit or that he would harden his heart ,and be lost . On May 27, 1536, directlythe news reached him

,he dispatched his

treatise by the hand of his trusted servant ,Michael Throgmorton , from Venice

,com

mending it earnestly to God . It was delivered to Henry by Sir John Russell , a gen tleman o f the King ’s Privy Chamber . Henryreceived it eagerly , glanced through it , andsent back Throgmorton post-haste to Veniceto command Pole’s in stant attendance atcourt , in order to explain certain diffi

culties which , he sai d , occurred to him ,

immediatelyThis invitation Pole declined , besides

an even more pressing one from Cromwell .

53


I despair of England ,” he wrote to

Contarini, on June 8. With a certain

quiet humour he remarks in the letterto the Emperor that he was wily enoughto see like the cautious animal in thefable the footprints of those creatureswhich had gone in to the lion ’

s den ; butnot one of those whi ch had returned 1

'

He wrote a polite refusal to the King ,explain ing that he had expressed himselfin language too simple and clear to bemisunderstood . But Henry had not yetreceived thi s when another royal expressarri ved at Ven ice with letters from Cromwelland Bishop Tunstall of Durham ; thelatter refuting Pole

’

s treatise—which he hadnot read— and Cromwell (who in 15 35 hadbeen created Vicar-General and held a stallin Salisbury Cathedral ; and was now ,

asLord Privy Seal and Vicegeren t of the King ,presiding in Convocation and taking precedence of the Archbishop) , taking it forgranted that Pole was on his way to England

,

and informing him of the change inTunstal l ’sviews ; a prelate , he added ,

of whom Polehad always thought highly . Lest their

Letters a nd Papers of Henry VI I I . x . 1093.

1 Apol . ad Car . Caes. , tom . i . ep . xl i . R . Pol i .

54

THE CHALLENGE

meeting should cause Pole shyness andsurprise

,

” the great man thought well towarn him of his change of front , for theavoiding of uneasiness .”

Henry,foreseeing that Pole would proba

bly not return at the first summons , wrotethrough Tunstall that he would allow himto remai n abroad on condition that hewould destroy all that he had written ;and promise to write no more against theKing and his edicts , under a signed andsealed engagemen t .* Tim sta ll

’

s letter , wrotePole , was rather a volume than a n epistle .

This prelate had taun ted Pole with thebenefits he had received from Henry

’

shands, and the education he owed to theKing . To this Pole replied that no benefits ,whatever gratitude he might feel to theirgiver

,could buy his conscience ; and he

came at on ce to close quarters with Tunstallby addi ng that argumen t between themwas useless , as they had n ot the commonground of obedience to the Holy See. Myzeal for his Maj esty ,

” he adds with dignity,

shall be the return which I make to him formy education and above all

,of what I

owe to my own character as a Christian .

Ep . R . Poli ad Ed. VI . Ang. Reg. Cap . 2 5 .

5 5


To his mother he wrote , on July 15 , 1536,

a most touching letter , full of the deepesttenderness

,begging her not to greve that

he could not return home .

“ Remember ,”

he added , that ever you had given meutterly unto God . And though you hadso done with all your children , yet in meyou had so given a ll right from youthat you never took any care to providefor my living but committed all toGod , to whom you had given me . This

promise now , madam ,in my Master

’

s nameI require of you to maintain the

which you cannot keep if you nowbegin to care for me . When you see m e

complai n of my Master , then will itbe time for you to care for me so

that if you will enj oy in me any

comfort the readiest way is tolet me and my Master alone knowingto what Master you have given me

(which) shall be to me the greatest comfortI can have of you .

”

But these letters had not been sent whenon July 19, 1536, an urgent message fromPope Paul II I . summoned . their writer toRome .

Letters and Papers of Henry VI I I . xi .

56

CHAPTER IV

THE FIRST LEGATION1 536

- 15 37

OPE PAUL III . , who had for manyyears desired to bring about athorough reformation of discipline in

the Church , had finally decided to assemble asmall , representative body of men at Romewith whom he could consult on the matter .Those whom he invited were distinguished

either for scholarship and brilliant literaryachievements , or for emin ent saintlines s oflife— in several cases for both . ThoughReginald Pole was still young , and yet alayman , the Pope had heard too much ofhim from Cardinal Contarini not to beanxious to secure his cool j udgment andweighty advice on certain important anddifli cult questions .But it was with very mingled feelings thatCardinal Con tarin i , in 15 36, wa s created B ishop

of Bellun o, a bea utiful provi nce in the Dolomitecountr y . (Cardella , v . , p .

5 7


Pole received the Papal command . Besideshis genuine humility he felt deep concernthat the summons should come at the verymoment when , by obeying it , he wouldseem to be definitely siding against Henry ,who would not fail to misconstrue his action .

He wrote a very careful letter to the King ,informing him of the circumstances , and ofhis own surprise at the summons to Rome,

enclosing a copy of the Pope’s mandate .

This he sent without delay, together withhis letter to his mother, and the replies toCromwell and Tunstall ; earnestly h0pingthat the King would receive it beforelearning from a hostile source of the j ourneyto Rome . On July 27, he wrote to thePope , expressing his wonder at the call ofone who had no other desire or expectationbut to live in a private station explaininghow anxious he was to avoid unnecessarilywounding Henry’s feelings , or rousing himto anger ; and that his coming to Rome atthe very moment when he had refused topresent himself at the King’s court couldscarcely fail to do both ; as Henry wouldcertainly take it for granted that the visitto Rome was a political one . He adds thathe cannot yet despair of Henry

,however

58

THE FIRST LEGATION

others may ; and hopes England may besaved by the proposed Council .*

Pole left Venice at the end of September,15 36, with Caraffa , Archbishop of Chieti ;the Abbot of San Giorgio , who was to haveaccompanied them having gone on in ad

vance to visit the Bishop of Salerno , anothermember of the Council . At Verona Poleand Caraffa were j oined by Bishop Ghiberti ,and here an express post-haste from Englandvery nearly stopped Pole’s j ourney altogether. Michael Throgmorton brought himfurious letters from Henry himself , as wellas from Starkey , Cromwell and Tunstall ,threatening dire penalties not only onhimself but on his family should he perseverein his intention of going to Rome . Henry ,

with his usual astuteness , easily sawwhata tremendously important political situationmight be created were his determinedcousin and the Pope to meet ; and didnot for a moment hesitate to threaten thelives of a number of innocent people inorder to prevent the meeting a pleasant

method of elementary simplicity muchaffected by HenryStarkey wrote an angry but stately letter

Epist . R . Poli . vol . i . , p . 467 .

5 9


- the last , he said , that Pole shoul d everreceive from him , expressing his disappointment and disgust with De Un itate, andwith the writer for making the test ofCatholicity union with Rome . More [and]Rochester suffered by their own folly .

They only died for a superstition , as , I think ,no wise man shall doThese letters Pole might have disregarded ,

but there were others . His brother, LordMontague , and his aged mother, both sentmessages which must have been bitter toread .

“ Son Reginald ,” wrote Margaret

Pole , I send you God’s blessing and mine ,though my trust to have comfort in you isturned to sorrow . Alas , that I , throughyour folly , should receive such message asI have late done by your brother. Tome his Highness has shewn such mercyand pity as I coul d never deserve .

And now , to see you in his Grace’

s indignation . trust me , Reginald , there wentnever the death of thy father or of anychild so nigh mine heart . Upon my blessingI charge thee to take another way, andserve our Master,1

‘ as thy duty is , unless thou

Letters a nd Papers of Hen ry VII I xi . (i .) 402 .

1 Henry.60

THE FIRST LEGATION

wi lt be the confusion of thy mother Youwrite of a promise made by you to God .

Son,that was to serve God and thy prince ,

whom if thou do not serve wi th a ll thy wit ,with all they power, I know thou cannotplease God . I .will pray God to give theegrace to serve thy prince truly, or else , totake thee to His mercy .

”

Gentle Reginald ,” wrote his eldest

brother, whose fears were only too wellgrounded “ let no scrupulosity so embrace

[you] but that we , which be so knit innature , and so happily born under so noble aprince , may so j oin together to serve him asour boun den duty requireth . I t is incredibleto me that by reason of a brief sent youfrom the Bishop of Rome 1

“ you shoul d beresident with him this winter. I f you shouldtake that way then farewell a ll my hope

and then farewell all bonds of nature .

But utterly without hope I cannotbe that you would so highly off endGod without the devil have so muchpower over you ; from the which to keep

Letters and Papers of Henry VI I I xi .(w) 931' It wa s forb idden to speak of the Pope except a s

the Bishop of Rome, at the end of 1 5 33.

61


you I shall as heartily pray as I would bea partner of the j oys of Heaven .

”

Reginald Pole’s very soul was wrungwith anguish . Again he stood at the partingof the ways . It was a small thing to bedenounced by the King but his ownmother" All that was human in hissoul ; patriotism , fami ly honour, loveabove all the unquenchable dread of thedanger incurred by these helpless pe0pla danger which he was by his present actionconverting into a deadly certainty ,— roseup within him , clamouring that he shouldgive up the j ourney to Rome— insistingthat he should yield . He asked himselfin agony of spirit if he were not calledupon , at least for the sake of those others ,to obey his King’s command— after all amerely negative one , and to plead the lettershe had just received as an excuse to thePope, who would surely understand that asa member of the English royal family hecould scarcely be ca lled upon to take aprominent part in any scheme of papal policy .

And , on the other hand , there was thedefinite call of the Vicar of Christ to work

“ Letters a nd Papers of Henry VI I I .,dated

September 13, xi. ( i . ) 4 5 1.

62

THE FIRST LEGATION

which he knew was not political ; and heknew, too , that nothing in the world was anexcuse for refusing that call . He consultedCaraffa and Ghiberti . Very tenderly theyreminded him that spiritual authority mustcome before temporal— had he not writtenin defence of that very principle himself,and could he lose so glori ous an opportunityof vindicating it There was no doubt atall as to what he ought to do . And so , aftera struggle

,of the bitterness of which we

dare not think,Pole decided . To Contarini

he wrote that the letters from his brotherand mother, written in a miserable strain ,

”

had touched him so deeply that he hadnearly succumbed .

* To his mother he

wrote a letter full of tenderness, remindingher of his duty to God , rather than man ;begging her to believe that he had actedaccording to his conscience , and that hecould not do otherwise. He told Cromwellthat his threats did not terrify him ; andpatiently explained Tunstall

’

s diffi culties,

writing to each in terms which could not bemistaken .1

’

Letters and Papers of Hen ry VI I I xi .2 56.

1 Epist . R. Pol i , pars. m , p . 470 .

63

THE FIRST LEGATION

practical working form various theories ofthe Holy Father on matters of discipline ,and the interior government of the Church .

Contarini laid the subj ects in order beforethe Council

,requesting every one to give

his opinion on each question , in writing ;but Co rtesio begged Pole , who was the greatCardinal ’s intimate friend , to request himto allow each man to take a different subj ectfor though , as an old biographer* delightfullyputs it the candour of all was suchthat they would j udge of each other’s perfo rm an ces with perhaps greater impartiality than their own

,

” still , so as notto break perfect un ity , it was deemedadvisable to adopt Co rtesio ’s suggestion .

An eloquent Dominican Cardinal , comprehending more clearly than the others thevastness of the reform s involved , beggedthe Holy Father to postpone their discussionto a General Council and this , in fact , wasdone a few years later at the Council ofTrent .Meantime it was evident that Pole

,

though by far the youngest member of theCouncil , was by no means the least practicaland his opinion was sought by all . It was

Bec c adell i .

65

THE ANGELICAL CARDINAL”

indeed to him that the plan of reformationwas finally entrusted , and published laterin his name alone , without those of anycoadj utors .The Pope was deeply interested in the

question of the reform of the lives of theclergy and , of all the subj ects laid before theCouncil , he had this most at heart . Keenlyalive to the importance of the influence ofthe Sacred College , he was determined to fillup its ranks with none but men of saintlyand blameless character, who could be trustedto carry out his principles of reform . Therewere several vacancies to be filled at thenext Consistory, and the Pope had from thefirst determined that Reginal d Pole shouldbe one o f the new Cardinals . Bec cadell i ,

(afterwards Archbishop of Ragusa) Pole’s

friend and biographer, who had accompaniedhim to Rome , tells us that , as he was still alayman , many had considered it possiblethat he should eventually marry the PrincessMary— an allian ce at one time contemplatedby her father, Henry VII I .— as he had beenher friend from childhood , his mother havingbeen appointed as her governess and chieflady- in -waiting by the King and Queen .

The two had not met for years , and there is66

THE FIRST LEGATION

not a particle of evidence to prove that Polehad thought of marriage , even with MaryTudor, for a moment . Still , it was generallyfelt that his elevation to the rank of Cardinalwould eff ectually silence these suspicions .Pole , however, was deeply distressed

when the Pope’s intentions became evident ,and earnestly begged the Holy Father toconsider that Henry could not fail to believethat Pole had known all the time the truereason of his summons to Rome , and haddefied him , secure in the knowledge of thePope’s protection and the dazzling prospectof the Cardinalate .Paul II I . was moved by his passionate

protest , and promised , says Becc adelli , tostrike his name off the list of Cardinalselect—to Pole’s intense relief and gratitude .However, on the very morning of the Consisto ry , the Holy Father, having deeplyconsidered the question , sent abruptly forPole , whose dismay was indescribable but

,

finding the Pope absolutely determined , hesurrendered himself “ like a sheep into thehands of her shearers , says his friend , whowas present . He received the tonsure , andwas with twelve others , amongst whomwere his friends Sado letand Caraff a , created

67

THE FIRST LEGATION

Among the dozens of letters of congratulation which he received , not one wasfrom his own country , and this caused himbitter grief— but one from the Doge ofVenice must have encouraged him greatly .

The writer says that he and all Venicer ej oiced at the news ; and that the wholeof Christendom is indebted to the Pope forthe new Cardinal and that as he could notpossibly say all he felt in a letter he hadinstructed his ambassador to wait uponPole, and tell him all that was in his— theDoge’s— heart . Pole replied that Venice ,his second home , was dearer to him thanperhaps any other city , except Padua and

at the close of a most grateful letter tellsthe Doge that he has a right to consider himas a Venetian subj ect .Meantime there were many obstacles in

the way of his mission to England . Hisinstructions were to keep in touch with theNorthern Catholics , who , goaded to madness ,had j ust attempted a rising in Yorkshire.

The Legate was to encourage them , and , ifit was impossible to cross to England

,to

,

remain as near as possible—in France , or onthe coast of Flanders .England wa s indeed in a pitiable plight

,

69


The last year , 15 36, had seen the dissolutionof all the smaller religious houses , and mostof the greater ones while at the present timeCromwell’s tools , Legh and Layton , wereproceeding with their second visitationof the remainder. When the new Parliamentmet on June 9, there was a new Queen ;and Anne’s marriage had to be declared nulland void , and her daughter Elizabethproclaimed illegitimate, as of course she

was. Convocation , assembling at the sametime , had to listen to a sermon from Latimerin which he roundly abused that timeserving body , and inveighed furiously againstrelics, images , purgatory and the Sain ts .Convocation , not unnaturally, was neitherflattered nor edified, but by its own act , itwas powerless to check heresy , and Protestantism had been spreading widely sinceWo lsey

’s death .

Under the Vicegerent Cromwell’s direction ,it passed a Confession of Fa ith, in whichthe Bible , the three Creeds , and the firstfour general Councils were mentioned asthe general grounds of belief. Three Sacr am ents—Baptism , Penance, and the HolyEucharist—were referred to as worthy ofacceptance ; and the Confession upheld the

70

THE FIRST LEGATION

doctrine of the Real Presence . Saints ingeneral , it was announced , might be invoked with advantage but not individualsai nts— a slightly illogical tenet for which ,prudently, no explanation was offered .

Superstition was to be discouraged ,and , no doubt to this end , a copy ofthe Bible in Latin and English was o r

dered to be set up in every parish churchby August 1 , the Feast of St . Peter inChains .Discontent , ever smouldering, burst into

fierce flame in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire ;and at Louth , on October 1 , 1536, a generalrising took place ; the people clamouringfor the abolition of the Protestant bishops ,and the restitution of the ancient order,particularly of the monasteries and claimingtheir right to seven sacraments . TheNorthern peers , ready to die for their faith ,

were in communication with the P ope andthe powerful Emperor Charles V . A Catho

lic alliance was planned . between theEmperor, Francis I . of France , and James V .

of Scotland , to bring back England to herallegiance . And though the Pilgrimage ofGrace was within a fortnight extinguishedin blood , the North rose again under Roger

71

THE FIRST LEGATION

blameable ; and who were in reality intolerable

,sacrilegious scoundrels , whose very

servants made rich apparel out of the stolenmass vestments in which they paraded theKing’s highway Everywhere was openpillage and robbery which could no longer becloaked under the conven ient name ofreform .

”

Into this terrible state of things it was thenew Legate’s duty to inquire. As it wasperfectly certain that his head would notbe safe for an instant should Henry hear ofhis landing , he wa s advised to remain onthe Con tinent , and use every endeavour topromote a solid peace between the Emperorand the King of Fran ce

,in view of the

Catholic Alliance which seemed the onlyhope of saving England . I t may be saidhere that the bitter political jeal ousy between the two rival monarchs was so greatthat all thought of touching Hen ry throughthem had to be abandoned

,to their ever

lasting di shonour .The Legate was also bidden to inform all

the Princes through whose domains he passedof the Holy Father’s intention to summona Genera l Council , and to beg their c o

Rolls House M .S . M isc ell Ser . i . , p. 402.

73


operation . If he found it impossible tovisit officially the French court , Ghiberti ,who was appointed his companion , was commissioned to do it for him .

Credential s were given him to the Englishnation , who were bidden to reverence andassist him to J ames of Scotland, who wasexhorted to support him ; to the FrenchKing ; and to Mary , Dowager-Queen ofHungary , sister to the Emperor, and Regent

of the Low Countries .Pole , in a letter to the Pope , declares that

he fears that Henry , in order to escapedanger, and to put them off their guard ,would profess compliance with the wi shes ofhis Catholic subj ects ; and then take aterrible vengeance upon them—which wasexactly what did happen a few monthslater. Lest the nation should be terrorisedhe begs for active encouragement for thepersecuted , and the opening , in Rome , of afund for their relief .*

He considered the contract between theKing and the nation void

,by the breach of

faith of the former, and the renouncing ofthat supremacy which for 900 years bothsovereign and nation had professed ; for

Ep . R. Poli , pars. 2a , p. 274.

74

THE FIRST LEGATION

which Fisher and More had gladly died , andfor which he himself was an exile . Parliam ent, he added , was merely a tool inthe King’s hands .*

As he started on his perilous j ourney

(February, he received a letter signedby all the members of the King’s Council ,repudiatingDeUnitateEcclesiw and statingthat if he was not already a Cardinal theywould willingly confer with him in Flanders ,unofficially . To this Pole replied that hecould not have written otherwise , and thatas to the language complained of, only onecopy had been sent , and that to the King ,so no great harm had been done. j

' TheFrench ambassador in Ven ice wrote to himto say he had sent a letter to the Lord HighSteward of France , tell ing him what an illustrions visitor he might soon expect to receive .Priuli , whom Pole called his Achates,

and Bec c adelli accompanied the Legate , aswell as Ghiberti , and a small retinue . Theystarted in Lent , and the health of the newCardinal , far from robust , suffered greatlyfrom fasting , though at first he refused toyield to his friends’ remonstrances

, and

De Un itate Ecc lesi ce, lib . i .1' Apol . ad Augl . Parl. Ep . R. Poli . , pars. i ., p . 179 .

75

THE FIRST LEGATION

succeeded as few despots have done , inoppressing and slaughtering his subj ects togratify his own self-will ; without interference either from powers at home , orfrom abroad .

”

At Paris the first check awaited CardinalPole . He was almost within reach of theterrible claws which the royal wild-beaststretched across the sea . The clergy andpopulace came out to meet him with everydemonstration of honour, but the Kingwas conspicuous by his absence ; and laterin the day sent a private letter to the

Legate , begging him not to demand ana udience— which to his grief hemust refusebut to leave Paris next day , and France assoon as possible . He had been warned ,

he said , by an enemy of the Cardinal ,” to

whom he could not for his Kingdom’

s

sake ,” refuse to listen . His personal feelings

were very different , and the whole affaircaused him deep sorrow . Henry , in defianceof all national law and courtesy , had actuallyrequested Francis to deliver Pole into hishands as a traitor, and to send him inchains , a prisoner, to EnglandPole’s gentle spirit was roused . In a

l etter to the Pope he says such conduct is

77


an outrage on all the laws which governChristian Kings ; and had he been sent ona mission to a robber chieftain he couldscarcely imagine that the like would happen .

Francis, however, saw Ghiberti , and paidevery exterior mark of reverence and res

pectto the Legate . More he could not affordto risk . The Legate proceeded to the LowCountries , but was stopped at Cambray byorder of the Queen-Regent . Pole gives agraphic account of the event in a letter tothe Cardinal-Archbishop of Liege andin one to the Pope a few weeks later.1

' Themessenger whom he sent to the Regent’scourt was stopped at Valenciennes , and aftermuch delay, in response to his letter to theCardinal-Prince of Liege , a message cameto him from that prelate urging him tocome at once to Liege in disguise . Thereason for this was soon apparent . Henryhad been at work again . The Archdeaconof Cambray went to the Regent and broughtback a courteous message that she wishedpersonally to do the Legate every honour,but in the present terribly strained politicalsituation she dared not give him audience ,

Ep . R . Poli , p . 41. Apr il 27 , 1 5 37 .

1 I bid. , p . 46. Ma y 1 5 , 1 5 37 .

78

THE FIRST LEGATION

and thereby declare herself the open enemyOf England . For this rea son , and becauseshe could not be officially aware of hispresence

,the Queen begged him to leave

the Netherlands at once , and promised toconduct him to Liege with an armed escortif he would promise to -do so . Henry’smessenger, it seems , had just arrived atBrussels

,warning the Regent against the

Legate,and again begging that he might

be betrayed and kidnapped , as a trai tor.After weighing the reasons for and against

his immediate return to Rome , Pole goes onto say that he wishes to remain at his po st ,though the cause of England seems hopeless ;and mentions the price of set byHenry on his head , adding that he had nofear ; though if he had , the example ofGhiberti would dispel it . The letter endswi th these prophetic words : “ I f thepresent generation transmit their Opinionsto their children , England will be for everlost to the Church .

He spent a month at Cambray, where theair was rife with plots for his assassination

,

and messengers passed continually betweenthe Queen-Regent , the Bishop of Cambray ,and the Archbishop of Liege . The position

79

THE FIRST LEGATION

generosity . He mentions a plot for hisassassination by one of Henry’s emissarieswhich was very nearly successful . ‘ Onthe same day , June 10 , he wrote to theSacred College , begging for a letter ofthanks to be sent to the Cardinal of Liege ,on account Of his great kindness and hos

pita lity .

A few days later Henry sent an embassyto the Emperor , (in whose domai ns Polewas now living ) , offering himgolden crown s and soldiers to fightagainst France , as the price of the Cardinal- legate , whom he desired to be delivered up alive , as a subj ect alreadyattainted of treasonMeantime , at Liege , enj oying the princely

hospitality of the Cardinal—Prince , the littleband spent three peaceful months , livingalmost as religious . They remained intheir rooms , reciting the Divine Office inprivate until Mass at 9. Dinner followedabout 1 1 ; during which the Bishop ofVerona read aloud from the works of St .Bernard . After dinner Ghiberti again readaloud some theological work , and then alltalked for an hour or two . Vespers and

Venetian Calendar, v . , p . 64.

81


Compline, which weresaid in public , followeda rest of an hour and a half and then theLegate expounded the Epistles of St . Paulwith “ wonderful reverence

,humility and

j udgment ,” and the conference was followed

by supper . Then , in the sweet summerevenings , they went for a walk in the fieldsor country lanes and sometimes for a rowon the river .

Certe Deus n obis haec otz’

a fecit saidPole continually to Priuli

,never failing

,

says the latter, to add :“ Why is not

Contarini here to enj oy it with us 9 Thelittle household was an oasis of prayer andpeace in a wilderness of hatred and war .Nothing could be definitely effected for

England , however ; and on June 30 , thePope , most anxious for Cardinal Pole

’s

presence in Rome, recalled him as thereare at this difficult time many things onwhich the [Holy Father] needs his advice.

”

Before he left , the Regent receivedGhiberti very graciously , and sent manymessages to the Legate . But his best friendhad been the Cardinal Archbishop . Withexquisite delicacy he had insisted uponcancelling a note for crowns which

B ar on ius, xxxn . , p . 45 5 .

82

THE FIRST LEGATION

Pole had given while awaiting suppliesfrom the Papal exchequer, and added tothis a gift Of crowns as a token ofhis love ; and before his guest’s departurehe spent three days in planning out a routeby which Pole would be safe in travelling ,and in friendly country .

Pole was still hopeful of a third rising inEngland , and was loth to leave his post ofdanger. “Of indignity,

” he said to Contarini , ‘ who had expressed a doubt on thesubj ect , there is no fear, as nothing canbe more dangerous than to dare to remainin such perilous places where least of all theenemy of the cause would wish them to be . TOn the eve of his depar ture he wrote to theHoly Father, saying that he is always ofthe same opinion ,

” but submitting entirelyto the Pope’s j udgment . On August 22 ,

15 37, the Legate left Liege, riding solemnlythrough the city , giving his benediction tothe people , with a cross borne before him ,

and other ceremonies . He was accompaniedby the Cardinal of Liege , the Bishop ofVerona , and the Nounce du P appe.I

”

In a letter dated Liege, July 2 1 , 15 37 .

1' Venetian Calendar ,” v . p . 66.

I Papal Nuncio . Venetian Calenda r, ib i'd.

83

THE FIRST LEGATION

Sadolet, who wrote to console him ,reminded

him that in dealing with one absolutelydevoid of morals or conscience , like Henry ,who at the same time held the reins ofpower

,failure was a foregone conclusion .

But neither failure nor success meantanything to Reginald Pole , whose soul wasconsumed with two passions— zeal for theChurch

,and love of his country ; and for

their sake he was destined to accomplishgreater things than these .

85

CHAPTER V

THE SECOND LEGATIONI 5 38- 154 I

OPE PAUL III . , in pursuance of hispolicy of peace , had prevailed uponthe Emperor Charles and Francis I . to

meet him at Nice , during the early summer of1538. The outcom e of the conference was aten years ’ truce from June

,1538, and a

promise from both monarchs to hold nofurther communication with HenryVI II .

,but

to assist England to the utmost Of their powerto recover her lost faith . The Holy Fatherhad insisted on Cardinal Pole ’s presenceat the meeting— his unique position givinggreat weight to his advice— and the Emperorwas most anxious to meet the man who hadbeen the champion of Katherine of Aragon

,

whose nephew he was. Bec c adelli tells ushow on Charles’ first visit to the Pope hespecially inquired for the Cardinal

,and

86

THE SECOND LEGATION

received him with the cordiality of a

Out of this meeting arose his secondLegateship . Three years previously Henryhad been solemnly excommunicated , butowing to the lack of unity among the powers

,

the sentence had never been published.Now that Charles and Francis were at peace

,

and every one was growing weary of Henry ’

s

increasing blasphemy and impiety , it wasfelt that a further step might be taken . Onhis return to Rome , December 17, 1538, thePope renewed the bull of excommunication ofAugust 30 , 1s35 ,by whichHenry was deprivedof his kingdom his subj ects absolved fromtheir allegiance ; and all Catholic princesexhorted to combine against him as anenemy of God and man . The immediatecause of the renewal was the outrageoussacrilege committed by Henry upon theShrine of St . Thomas of Canterbury

,whose

bones he burnt and scattered to the windsand whose tomb he had stripped of severalcart- loads of gold and j ewels—a crimereported in Consistory on October 25 , 15 38.

All the other great Shrines had already been

Bec c adelli . Life of Cardinal Pole, p. 5 2.

(Edu.

87

THE SECOND LEGATION

of holy orders by the Cardinal ; a matterwhich is passed over entirely by his bio

gr apher s . Pole was , as a matter of fact ,still ignorant of the fate of his haplessfamily , but when the news of the desecr ation of the Shrine and the impending bullreached him he hastened to Rome , wherethe Pope urgently required his presence .

Paul II I . was well aware that without theco -operation Of the Emperor and KingFrancis , the bull would have no effect uponHenry , and he intended to send Pole , whowas eminently fitted for so delicate a mission ,to Charles at Toledo

,and thence to Francis

at Paris , to remind both monarchs of theundertaking they had given

,and to require

them to carry it out .On December 20 ,

1538, the day on whichDavid Beaton

,Bishop of St . Andrews ,

was raised to the Cardinalate as specialadviser to King James of Scotland ,

* CardinalPole received his final instructionsxl

' Hewas to point out to the Emperor the urgentneed of an active alliance with France tobring Henry to his senses , in which he wouldbe backed up warmly by James V. and his

Letters and Papers of Henry VI I I x i i i i i .P 465 1 I bid. , 1 110 .

89


new Cardinal ; and that he should no longersuffer Henry to rage with impunityagainst God and the saints hitherto worshipped by him and a ll the realm . Commerce with England was to be prohibiteda blow Henry could not fail to feel . AS

regards the Emperor’s expedition againstthe Turks , the crusade against Henry beingfar more important

,it would be better for

the Holy League and the King of Franceto make a truce with the former

, and turntheir attention to England . He was topoint out , too , that , in case of the Em

per or’

s absence against the Turks,the

Lutherans assisted by England might makea very successful expedition against his

own dominions .I t required a diplomatist to undertake

such a mission,but its success main ly

depended upon the disposition of theEmperor . Pole made the mistake , commonto all generous n atures , of judging othersby himself . With so glorious an oppo r

tun ity before him for the triumph of HolyChurch it was impossible for the Cardinalto believe that Charles Should not seize it .

The Holy League was signed at Rome, againstthe Turks, by the Pope, the Emperor a nd the VenetianGovernment, N ovember 3, 1 5 38.

90

THE SECOND LEGATION

Thi s , however , was not the Emperor’s

intention . Both he and Francis were menwho put their visible kingdoms a very longway before the visible Church . Proud andobstinate

,the man who held the balance

of the power of Europe in his hands was onlyto be swayed by self- interest ; and Francis ,weak and vacillating , but well-meaning ,dared not act al one or do anything whichmight Offend the Emperor , or Henry ,

orboth . Each

,terrified of playing into the

hands of the other , contented himselfby marking time vigorously , and loudlyproclaiming his loyalty to the Church

,

and his hatred of heresy . The result ofa legation to such men was again a foregone conclusion .

Before leaving Rome,at the beginning

of January,15 39, Pole wrote to Cardinal

Beaton a most tender and touching letter ofencouragement in what promised to be forhim the path of martyrdom—as indeed itproved to be . After reminding him of thespecial privilege of the successors of theApostles to Shed their blood for Christhe refers to the scarlet Cardinals ’ robeswhi ch are worn so that Should any ask

,

as the prophet did : why is thy garmentred ? the [wearers] may answer as Christ

91

THE SECOND LEGATION

messenger,was strictly questioned . Father

Holland had certainly seen the Cardinal atLiege , and his account of the interview ispathetic . At the end the Cardinal said :Commend me to the lady my mother bythe same token that she and I looking upona wall together read this : Spes m ed in

Deo est and desire her blessing for meCommend me to the Lord* my brother , bythis token : ‘

z'

n Dfio . confido ; and bid mybrother Sir Geoffrey meddle little, and letall things a lome.

”

TSuch charges as could be proved against

Lord Montague were that he had saidReynold Should do . good some day ;and that he himself had never loved theKing from childhood . The charge actuallybrought against him , and his cousin LordExeter , was that of conspiring to placeReginald Pole on the throne of England "That they had sent money to the Cardinalthey did not attempt to deny .

In October , 1538, Geoffrey Pole , under fearof torture and death , revealed in his sevenappearances enough evidence of sym

Mon tague.

1 Letters and Papers of Henry VII I ., xii i . , (11p. 310 .

93


pathy , letters , and money having beensent to his brother to make the case for hisfamily hopeless . On November 4, LordMontague and Lord Exeter* were comm ittedto the Tower as traitors , and Margaret Pole ,Countess of Salisbury , was placed underarrest about the same time . On November14, Lord Southampton and the Bishop ofEly wrote to Cr omwellj

' yesterdaywe travailed with the Lady of Salisbury allday till almost night ; but for all wecould do She would confess nothingTo-day we repaired to her again . Butfirst

,as instructed , we called her men

servants before us we then entreatedher with all sorts , sometimes with doulxand mild words now roughly and asperly ,

by tr a itor ing her and her sons to the ninthdegree

,yet will She nothing utter

surely if it like your lordship we supposethat there hath not been seen or [harde of a]woman so m an liquej: in continuance and soprecise in words that wonder is to be .

Next in succession to the throne if Henry diedchildless, through his mother Katherine, daughter ofEdward I V . He wa s Hen ry VI I I .

’

s first cousin .

Reg inald Polewa s his second cousin .

1 Letters a nd Papers of Hen r y VII I xi i i . , (ii-l:345 . tMan ly.

94

THE SECOND LEGATION

For she behaveth herself so andall thing [so] sincere , pure and up [right]on her part that we have c onceyved andneeds must deem and think the one of twothings , that either her sons have not madeher privy and participant or else Sheis the most errant traitress that ever lived .

”

Two days later Blessed Margaret Pole wroteto her eldest son in the Tower “ SonMontague,

. I send you God ’s blessing andmine . The greatest gift I can send is todesire God ’s help for you , for which I perceive there is need . My advice , in the caseyou stand in

,is to endeavour to serve your

prince without disobeying God’s commandments .She was removed in custody to Cowdray

and her house at Warblington searched byCromwell’s orders . Copies of papal bullsand private documen ts were discovered ,sufficient in themselves to incriminate herhousehold .

On December 3, 1538, Montague andExeter went through the mockery of atrial , and on the 9th were beheaded onTower Hill with as many others as Cromwell could implicate . Geoffrey Pole received

Letters andPapers of Henry VI I I . x i i. , 357 .

95

THE SECOND LEGATION

the only grief he expressed was for thepublic calamity which had befal lenEngland .

From Carpentras , with four attendants ,Pole and Ghiberti went on to Barcelona ,which they reached at the end of January ,1539, only to find that Henry had beenbeforehand with ' them again , and hadwritten to the Emperor a letter“which iscertainly cha racteristic . He had heard , hesays , that Cardinal Pole is on his way to sowdiscord throughout the Empire , and knewhis nature “to be SO ungrateful that no goodcould come of it . While shedding crocodile

’

s tears he would Shed , if he could , thevenom of his viper nature He was atraitor , and had conspired to destroy thewhole royal family " He concludes bybegging for Pole ’s extradition . To thiseffusion Charles replied that even if Polewas a traitor to himself he coul d not refuseto receive him if he came as Papal Legate ,and Henry ’s request was impossible . ButPole soon saw that the Pope had beenmisinformed as to the Emperor ’s dispositionsand that he had not the slightest intention

Letters and Papers of Henry VI I I x iv.p. 108.

97


of allowing the censures to be published inhis domains .He received the Legate coldly

,but with

every ceremony due to his position ; andinformed him that the present time wasunseasonable for carrying out the Pope’swishes adding that the bull Should not havebeen published in Rome if there was nocertain ty of its execution . And in spite ofall the arguments Pole advanced , in answerto the Emperor’s excuses

,it wa s perfectly

clear that nothing was to be hoped fromCharles . The Legate pointed out that thePope did not wish for war

,but that he

hoped that by an alliance between Charlesand Francis commerce with England wouldbe SO affected that the nation would riseas one m an and compel Henry to submit .The Nuncio , who was present , remindedthe Emperor that he had previously agreedto this

,and even more ; but Charles was

decided . Pole,on leaving , said with

great charity to the councillors that“His Majesty had much more goodwill to assist the cause of England thanhe Shewed in words and that whenthe reason for reserve was removed he

Letters and Papers of Henry VI I I xiv . (i .) 236.

98

THE SECOND LEGATION

would no doubt Show his “ good religiousmind .

”

The Cardinal - legate was now in a mostdifficult position . If the King of Francereturned the same negative answer as theEmperor , it would , as he says be a verygreat wound to Mother Church

,and make

the enemies of Holy See more insolentthan ever . On the other hand , if Francisagreed to publish the censures the trucebetween the two monarchs on whom thepeace Of Christendom depended would bebroken , and there would be no remedy.

He left Barcelona at the beginning ofMarch , and instead of going himself di rectto the French court

,sent a messenger,

Vincenzo P a rpaglia ,Abbot of San Salute in

Turin , to find out the King ’s wishes privately , and bring word to the Legate atCarpentras . On March 16, he wrote to theConstable of France explaining his action ,and begging him to obtain for the abbot agood audience .

* Spain was no longer safefor him . Wyatt , the English Ambassador ,had openly proclaimed his intention ofassassinating the Legate “

so soon as he

Letters and Papers of Henry VII I xiv.536.

99

THE SECOND LEGATION

occurs , amongst Cromwell’

s Remembrances “ a Bill of Attainder to be drawn

for the Lady Of Salisbury . Anotherto be drawn for the false traitor Reynolde

Pole and his This was Henry’

srevenge for the Emperor ’s refusal to yieldup the Legate . On March 30 ,

Palm Sunday ,

a sermon was preached by Tunstall beforethe King , bitterly denouncing the action ofthe Pope in moving war against England ,and in getting Reynolde Pole to stir upother nations against England , whosetreasons have been disclosed by his own

brother.Henry was very nervous at this time ,

for in spite of the Emperor’s refusal , theoutlook was very serious . Ireland hadrebelled

,and appealed to the Pope . He

could by no means depend on the neutr a lity of James V. of Scotland . A largefleet was in preparation off the coast ofHolland

,where a number of English ships

had been arrested .

” He went himselfto inspect the coast defences . His late queen ,Jane Seymour , had died October 24, 1537,

twelve days after the birth of her son ,

Letters a nd Papers O f Henry VI I I . » Xi“ ("l

101


Prince Edward ; and from the day of herdeath , Cromwell had been urging him tostrengthen his hands by a Protestant marr iage

—which,however , was distasteful to

Parliament . A Protestant League wasone of Cromwell

’

s favourite plans . Hisinfluence

,however , wa s waning . His work

had been done so thoroughly that Henrycould gain little more from him . Nearlyall the monasteries were confiscated tothe tyrant

,and the few which were left

would fall immediately . In June one sweeping Act of Attainder was passed , includingin its meshes living and dead ; LordsMontague and Exeter , Margaret Pole , andher son Reginald , with many othersmost of whom were executed at once .

That Henry recognised the Pope and theLegate as his chief dangers is abundantlyshown by contemporary MSS . In a commission for musters* dated May 8, 1539,

we have such words as these : the realmof which his Highness alone is King

and Supreme Head , under God [has latelyheard that], the cankered and venomousserpent , Paul , Bishop of Rome , by that archtraitor Reygno ld Pole

,enemy to God ’s

Letters a nd Papers of Hen ry VII I xiv . ( i i . )102

THE SECOND LEGATION

word and his own natural country , hadmoved

,excited and stirred divers great

princes and potentates of Christendomnot alonely to invade this realm of Englandwith mortal war

,but also by fire and sword

to extermine and utterly to destroy thewhole nation and generation of the Same .

”

In another state paper * speaking of theEnglish abbots

,we read : I think

our Mother Holy Church of Rome , hath notSO great a jewel of her own darling Rayn o ldePoole, and later , his crafty cardinality .

”

Could a m an wish Poole greater wretchedness

,which , the longer he lives , the greater

his shame ? In April, 1539, the Papal

Ambassador at the French court wroteprivately to the Legate at Carpentras ,warning him that it wa s useless to hope fordefin ite help from Francis , who would donothing without Charles .”

To this disappointment was added thecrushing blow of the Attainder . As formyself

,wrote Pole to Con tarini

,I am

compassed with such a variety of afflictionsthat I scarcely know how to extricatemyself . 1

' He was now , with Bembo and“ Letters a nd Papers of Henry VII I xiv . ( i i . )

1' Ep . R . Poli , i i . , 149 .

103

THE SECOND LEGATION

greatly redounded to the credit of Holy Seefor foreign countries to note that such menwere placed at the helm .

Pole left Carpentras in October, 1539 .

Between Aix and Marseilles he visited thegreat Shrine of St . Mary Magdalene at Ste .

Beaume , to pray there for the conversion ofHenry VIII . and for England . But hefound no consolation there . Like the prophet of old

,he seemed to hear a voice

which said : “Why dost thou intercedefor him whom I have cast o ff and hewent on his way heavy-hearted . He passeda few weeks with the Bishop of Verona .

The air was ri fe with the rumours of hisassassination . Henry was even then doinghis best to bring about the removal of them an he feared and hated by mean s Of hiredmurderers , and his intended victim seemedto think it likely he would be successful .Though safe at present

,I never feel

secure Especially did he dread the returnto Rome , where a plot was known to belaid . He was evidently still sufferingseverely from nervous and mental strain

,

and the thought of hi s heroic mother inprison must continually have haunted him .

He was annoyed on reaching Rome,

105


to find that De Unitate was on the pointof being published without his knowledgeor permission . He prefixed , however, tothe edition , an open letter to the Emperor ,as the most powerful Catholic sovereignin Europe

,explaining his reasons for having

written the book .

*

Meanwhile in England , Henry ’s fourthwife

,the Protestant Princess Anne of

Cleves , landed in December , 1539, and wasregarded with much disfavour by thatmonarch ; though in truth She was but anecessary factor in Cromwell

’

s pet scheme ,the alliance of Protestant Princes

,which

eventually wrought his ruin .

About Christmas- time Cardinal Pole wasappointed by the Pope Governor of Viterbo ,the most important of the Papal provincesSituated in the heart of Italy ; Viterboitself being on ly twenty miles from Rome .

It was a mark of great confidence , andPole was Sincerely grateful for the oppor

tun ity it afforded him of returning tohis quiet life of prayer and study . Hewrote to the Holy Father, thanking himwarmly .1

'

Apolog ia ad Ca r olum Ca esar em .

t Venetian Calendar , ” v 81 .

106

THE SECOND LEGATION

On the Feast of the Epiphany , 1540 , aformal alliance was contracted betweenHenry VI I I . and Anne of Cleves andfrom that moment Cromwell’s downfall wassure ; though Henry masked his intentionswith hideous cunning , heaping him withtitles and honours . The blow was Sharpand sudden . On June 10 , he was arrestedat the council-board on a charge of treason .

He dashed his cap on the ground in a passionof fury

,but was stripped of his decorations

and conveyed to the Tower . Followinghis own precedent for Blessed Margaret Polea bill of attai nder was passed against him ,

from which he was not heard in his owndefence . As he lay in prison Parliamentpassed the Bill of Divorce between Henryand Anne on July 12 , 1540

— no referencebeing considered necessary , this time , to thePope . Cromwell had been actually broughtout of prison to give evidence in Henry ’sfavour , but even this could not save him ;

nor the abj ect letters he wrote and whichHenry read with tears —letters writtenwith the heavy heart and trembling handof your Highness’ most heavy and mostmiserable prisoner and poor Slave

,Thomas

Cromwell . Most gracious Prince,I cry

107

.THE SECOND LEGATION

life had now been made by Henry ’

s hiredassassins ; the ruflians being caught in bothcases . In the first instance at Viterbo ,they were tried and released by Pole ;in the

,

second , at Capranica , he sent hiswould-be murderers— two of whom wereEnglishmen— to the galleys for a few days .When remonstrated with by his friends ,who were terribly anxious as to his safety ,he said that as the Offence was solely againsthimself the punishment ought surely to beat his own discretionThe men were nominally Lutherans ,

and , incredible as it may sound,upon his

leniency towards them was based theabsurd charge of heresy

,actually brought

against the Angelical Cardinal a few yearslater.On May 28, 1541 , at 7 A .M . Blessed

Margaret Pole , the King’s cousin

,then

seventy years old,was martyred on Tower

Hill , after an imprisonment of two years .When the letter containing the awful

news reached Cardinal Pole,says Bec cadelli ,

who gave it to him , he sat for a time inSilence and then said quietly that he hadthought himself blessed by God in havingso noble and virtuous a mother but from

109


henceforward he could call himself theson of a martyr . Henry , he added , hadthus recompensed one

,who after his own

children was nearest to him in blood,for

the care of his daughter ’s education,lasting

many years and for all the care and a ffec

tion the countess had lavished on thePrincess Mary . Then , seeing Beccadelli

’

s

horror the Cardinal added with deep emotion ,Be of good cheer—we have one patron themore in heaven"” On August 1 he wroteto the Cardinal Archbishop of Burgos inreply to a letter of condolence , that he wasnow the son of a martyr

,which is certainly

grander than to be born of any royal racethat his motherwas the cousin of Henry VIIIworthy of all honour from piety and age

a nd such death was no ignominy , Since tosuffer as Christ

,the apostles , virgins and

martyrs suffered is no disgrace : and thatthe less consolation can be hoped fromnature, the more can be expected from

To Cardinal Marcello,afterwards Pope ,

he wrote at the same time a touching letter,saying that if the Shedding of his own bloodwas necessary to fill up the measure of

Venetian Ca lendar , v. ,108.

110

THE SECOND LEGATION

Henry ’s iniquity,and bring about his con

version,he (Pole)

“ desires nothing morethan that the deed be done forthwith .

”

On the Fea st of the Assumption he wrote tothank Vittoria Colonna for the prayers ofher convent , by which he had been greatlysustained .

His heroic fortitude and detachmentmade a vivid impression on all whoknew him . All his natural sorrow wasdrowned in supernatural j oy . His motherwas in Heaven , and he too was readyto follow

,by the same road of tears and

blood .

His firmness in the matter Of the King ’sdivorce

,says an old chronicler ,* was the

cause of “ the death of the virtuous ladythe c ountes of Salysbery his motherSur ely thys cruelty was great , but thatwhyche exceeded all the rest : thys oldeladye being at least IX and x yea res of age ,cosin to the king , and beyng (as is saied)most innocent and giltles , was withoutj udgement or processe of lawe

,drawen by

John Elder. A b reve overture of the

lega c io n Of the moste reverende father in God , lordeca rdinall Poole, from the Sea Apo sto lyke of Rome.

”

c i r ca 1 5 5 5 . Republ ished by Camden Society,1850 .

I I I


the bo re heres to the blocke, not knowyngany cause why , to dye .But even yet the King

’

s vengeance wasunsatisfied .

Hoar hairs.

I I Z

CHAPTER VI

THE GENERAL COUNCIL1542

- 1547

N 1542 the long talked- o f Council was atlast called . The positionwas a cri ticalone . Reforms , both internal and ex

ternal , were terribly needed . Luther’s heresy

hadoverrun Germany,and called for definite

action ; while England , as the natural c onse

quence of Henry VI I I .

’

s schi sm was fastfalling under the same dangerous influence .

On the other hand,the discipline of the

Church needed strong enforcement , especiallyin individual cases , and it was felt that aGeneral Council could no longer safely bedelayed .

In January , 1542, a Diet of the Empirewas held at Spires , at which the PapalLegate moved the holding of such a councilat Trent in the following November and

Sta te Papers, 34 Henry VI I I ix . , 1 5 5 .

113 11

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

had died while on his way to theEmperor

,as Papal Legate , to attempt to

make peace between Charles and Francis ;but his personal sorrow was whelrned inthe intense grief which he felt at the apparent failure o i the Council . He retired tohis domain of Viterbo ; and there , a fewmonths later

,learnt of the death of another

close friend,Bishop Ghiberti of Veron&

Thi s prelate had been one Of the first torecognise and appreciate Pole ’s extraordinarygi fts of mind and character , nearly twentyyears before , and had sympathised withand encouraged him in a ll his troubles Aman of charming personal ity

,and eminent

sanctity,Ghiberti was kn own throughout

Europe a s a brilli ant scholar,and his death

was a terrible blow to Pole , who , within afew months , had lost two of his best friends .The next three years passed quietly at

Viterbo ; while in England , Henry, havingby now squandered the revenues andpossessions of the religious houses , proceeded to sequestrate and appropriate thecollegiate churches , chantries , guilds , andeven hospitals ; SO that nothing was nowleft un touched except the bishoprics . In

3‘ Span ish Calendar , vi . , ( ii . ) p . 50 .

115


1545 , peace having been temporarily arranged between France and the Empire ,the Council of Trent was again summoned .

Pole , now Cardinal-Deacon of St . Mary inCosm edin ,

was again chosen as Legate ,together with Cardinal del Monte , Bishopof Palestrina

,and the future Pope Marcellus

I I . ,Cardinal-priest di Santa Croce- in

Gerusalemme . Three other ecclesiasticswere sent with them by the Pope

,and all

arrived at Trent in the beginning of March ,except Pole

,who appeared a month later .

This was on account of a simple,but in

gen ious device by Henry VIII . to assassi

nate him,whi ch made it necessary for him

to travel incognito and by a circuitousroute . The Bishop of Trent had writtento warn him that two Italian ruflians, acertain Count Bonifacio

,and the notorious

Ludovico dell ’ Armi , had been hired tomurder him on the road . A most interesting account of the exploits of the lattervillain is given by the Venetian Governmentat this time to their secretary in England .

He was the hea d of a band of thirteen hiredassassins , maintained by Henry VIII . inItalian and Venetian territory

,

* earning

See “Venetian Calendar , v . , pp . 334—35 3.

116

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

(the word is significant) a monthly pensionof 200 crowns in time of peace , and 50in time of war . At this very time hewas outlawed for brawling and murder inVenice

,and on repeating the crime at

Treviso,he was sentenced to death in

August , 1545 . He escaped ; was recaptured ,and beheaded on the Piazzetta di San Marco ,at Ven ice , between the two great colum ns ,a couple of years later . The VenetianGovernment

,anxious not to offend Henry ,

requested their secretary to represent thesefacts to the King— the English ambassador having told them that they wouldgreatly displease his Maj esty

,to which

the Council of Ten replied with dignity thatthe King ’s friendship could not sufferhurt from the misdemeanours of such

Such were the tools whichthe King

’

s conscience now allowed him toemploy .

Pole , however , thanks to the warning ,escaped unhurt , and came by way of Mantua ,employing his enforced leisure in writinghi s celebrated Treatise on General Couneils ,

”

T in whi ch he Shows that a ll have

Venetian Calendar , v . , 348.

1' The work was not publ ished till 1562, some years

117

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

legates walking at the end , before the ambassado rs of the King of the Romans . Theypassed through the town to the Cathedra lof St . Vigilius , and there the chief legatesang pontifica l High Mass , giving a plenaryindulgence to a ll those present , and enj oining them to pray for the peace of the Churchand the nations . An eloquent Latin sermonwas preached by a Franciscan friar

,the

Bishop of Bitonto ; after which certainprayers were recited , and the legate blessedthe whole assembly thrice . The Litany ofthe Saints was then sung , and Cardinaldel Monte

,the President

,asked if al l were

agreed that the Council was opened , towhich all replied , P la cet. He then askedthem

,whether

,in View of the holy season

of Christmas now close at hand , they wouldagree to fix the first session for January 7the day after the Feast of the Kings . Andall replied

,P la cet. After formal record

had been made of questions and replies ,a solemn Te Deum was sung ; the legatesunvested

,and wearing their cardinals ’ robes

,

preceded by the great silver cross at the headof the long procession of bishops and priests ,proceeded to their lodging .

At this solem nity there were present119


besides the three legates and the CardinalBishop of Trent , four archbishops , twentybishops , the general s of five religious orders,the auditor of the Rota , and the imperialambassadors .Great rej oicings took place in Rome ,

where Pope Paul III . published a Bull ofJubilee . During the suspension of thesessions at Christmas , the legates sent toa sk his guidance as to the direction of theCouncil

,and the manner of discussing the

various questions . On January 7 , 1546,

after several informal meetings the firstsession was held ,* the Bishop of Castellamare Singing High Mas s , and the Bishop ofSt . Mark

’s preaching ; after which thesecretary read al oud

,in the name of the

legates,an exhortation written by Pole ,

chiefly on the necessity of preparing for thedescent among them of the Holy Ghost bytrue contrition , compunction , and an exem

platy life . The officiating bishop then readaloud the Papal constitutions and decrees ,and the work of the Council was begun , i tbeing henceforth declared sacred and m en

m en ica l . At the fifth session,on June 17,

two decrees were passed concerning Faith

H istoire du Conci le de Tren te,

” livre vi . , p . 44.

120

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

(in which heresies were condemned) , andconcerning Original Sin , in which greatprominence was given to the Doctrine ofthe Immaculate Conception . Cardinal Polewas engaged in a discussion as to the Fi lio

que clause , which he said was not usedbefore the first Council of Ephesus , andquoted St . Thomas Aquinas to prove thatthat Council declared that : the thirdperson of the Trinity proceeds from theFather and the Son and that the creedwas first read with this addition at the firstCouncil Of Toledo , probably prior to thatof Chalcedon . He wrote from memory ,

without books of reference .

A few days afterwards he fell ill , and wasobliged to go to Trevill a ,

Friuli ’s villabetween Padua and Venice

,the climate of

which always suited him . His illness appears to have been acute rheumatic gout ,to which he was a continual martyr. Hewrote to the legates to say that his leftarm and shoulder were almost useless

,and

his eye gave him ceaseless pain . He was ,however , better , he said , but two Paduanphysicians had told him that he must takecare lest he Should have a stroke ofpalsy ; and had advised his consulting

121

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

swarmed,too

,with Lutheran troops ; and

the Emperor,who considered himself politi

cally Slighted,was behaving in a domineer

ing and disagreeable manner . However ,in July 1546, the French delegates, whohad been withdrawn , were sent back ; andthe Pope dispatched to Trent two of thefirst companions of St . Ignatius , FathersLaines and Sa lrner on , S.J . On July 17 thedecree concerning Justification began tobe discussed . It was this particular discussion which Pole ’s enemies had said he wasanxious to escape ; some going so far as

to accuse him indirectly of leanings towardsLutheranism on this question . In a dignifiedletter the cardinal explains his attitude onthe subj ect ; pointing out that St . Pauland St . James , the respective expo nents ofj ustification by faith and by works , are notto be privately interpreted , put in oppositionto each other , or understood singly ; butsolely in the light and by the teaching ofthe Church which combines and unites theirdoctrine ; an advantage only to be gainedby submission to her authority

,and reliance

on that foundation which is the base oftruth .

If his enemies needed a further refutation123


of their ridiculous charge they found it inthe fact that the Council so missed thewisdom of the Angelical Cardina l in theirdeliberations that they sent a copy of theirresolutions on the question of Justificationto Pole , at Padua , for his criticism andapproval . He was too ill to express anopinion at the time , butwr ote a line of gratitude and acknowledgment ; and four dayslater sent Priuli to Trent

,to express his

views on the subject ; with which theCouncil declared itself satisfied .

A few weeks before,on May 29, 1546,

Cardinal Beaton (whose unflinching courageand enthusiasm had caused Henry VIII .

much uneasiness , as to the attitude of Scotland in his regard) was assassinated in theCastle of St . Andrews by the instigationand with the unfeigned approval of thatmonarch . The sign ificance of this crimewas by no means lost upon Cardinal Pole ,who had foreseen it from the fir st .On October 4 we have a charming letter

from him to the Marchesa di Pescara , inthe Orvieto Convent expressing the pleasureit gave him to receive a visit from her sonLelio (a boy of Sixteen) , and describing ,with a good deal of quiet humour , how the

124

THE GENERAL COUNCIL

boy had scolded him for his want of returnfor all his mother ’s affection . He , Polecontinues

,said nothing , intending Lelio

to draw his own conclusion but he explainsto his adopted mother that in some friendShips one has to be content , like him whobade the poor to a feast , to give , but notto receive , and such love is not the leastblessed .

” He speaks , too , of DivineCharity which , though not reciprocatedby its obj ect , does not , however , weary ofcontinuing its goodness . Describing hisha ppiness in Cardinal Bem bo

’

s palace,at

Padua , where he was then a guest , he sayshe feels as if it were his father’s house

,and

that here were two things in which I havealways greatly delighted , a study , and agarden ; both of which I have found insuch perfection here that to my taste Ishould be unable to find more beautiful

The death of Cardinal Bembo,

one of his oldest and dearest friends,a few

months was a blow which he feltwith the whole of his gentle

,affectionate

nature . But while he was mourning hisloss , the Council of Trent , which had again

Venetian Calendar, v . , 172 .

1' January 15 , 1547 .

125

CHAPTER VI I

THE CONCLAVEI S47-4 5 5 3

DWARD VI . , a little boy not ten yearsOld, was brought from Hertford toLondon , upon the death of his father ,

by his mother’

s brother, the Earl of Hertford ,who

,immediately after HenryVI I I .

’

S funeral,

took the title of Duke of Somerset,and became

Lord Protector of the realm . To this man,

a peculiarly bigoted Protestant , were duenot only the continued exile of CardinalPole

,but the lapse into hopeless heresy

into which the country now fell . One ofhis first acts was to issue , in the King

’sname

,a general pardon , from which , how

ever,four names were excluded , one being

that of Reginald Pole .

The year 1547 was a year of deaths .

Upo n that of Henry VIII . Cardinal Polewrote with equal generosity and charityIn his words and most unjustifiable actions

127


he never fa iled to allege the motive of conscience andNo one else attempted to say more , or

even as much ;Tand the terrible man whosevery death no one had dared to proclaimfor three days after it had taken place , so

greatly was he dreaded,went to his account

amid the unspeakable , if unspoken , reliefof his entire kingdom . Pole wrote to PaulIII . advising him of the great opportunitywhich seemed to be presented now inEngland

,and of the certainty that the

Emperor would help in the establishmentof peace and true religion and saying thatfrom his personal knowledge he felt surethat the most acceptable legate for thismission would be the Cardinal of Trent ,who never thinks he has done anythingtill he has brought it to a conclusion . 1:He wrote

,too

,to the Privy Council of

England,freely forgiving the injuries done

to his fam i ly , saying that the Holy Fatherproposed sending him as legate to his

Ep . R . Poli , 1a . , p. 145 .

1 Sir Wal ter Raleigh wrote, later : I f all the ex~

amples of a merciless Prince were lost, they could befound in him .

”

1 Ep . R . Pol i , 4a , pp . 38, 39 . The Pope, however,preferred Cardinal Pole.

128

THE CONCLAVE

country and begging them to receive him ,

in the Pope ’s name .

* Thi s letter , however,was refused

,not being read , or even opened

by the Council . Feeling was evidentlystrong against him . Not losing heart , Polesent two of his household to England to

ascertain the state of affairs . They spentsome time on the way thither at the Em

per or’

s court,where they consulted Father

Soto, hi s Dominican confessor , as to what

they Should do— the influence of Charlesbeing at this time great in England . Thiswas in April 1547. At the same time Polewrote a Treatise to the young King , whichhe intended to prefix to a new editionof De Unitate explaining the writer

’

sattitude to Henry VIII . , and the reason swhich had compelled him to write thatwork . The tone of the letter was manlyand digni fied , and Should have impressedEdward ; but it is more than probable hewas never allowed to see it . England now,

under Somerset ’s rul e , was given up to

Protestantism . The last gleanings of theShrines and holy places— the rich harvestreaped by Henry VIII .

—were now gatheredin ; and the doctrines of the German

Ep . R . Poli , 4a , p. 42.

129

THE CONCLAVE

was in the habit of writing to her when ' hewan ted prayers for any special intention ,

which She obtained for him in her convent .His letters to her are very beautiful . OnMarch 9, 1547, the Council met once moreat Tren t ; when a decree concerning thereform of the clergy was passed

,and then

the Pope adj ourned it to Bologna . Charles V.

was excessively angry , and withdrew hisrepresentatives . As temporal rulers healways distrusted the Popes , and suspectedPaul III . of some political design in rem ov

ing the Council from n eutral into Papalterritory—a suspicion absolutely unj ustifiedby facts .Pole was kept at Rome by the Holy

Father , who during the acute diplomaticcri sis

,felt the urgent necessity of his wisdom

and tact,in dealing with the infuriated

sovereign ; besides which , the affairs ofthe Council pressed heavily , and of these ,no one understood the details like Pole .

He was too honest and straightforward tobecome a great diplomatist— at any ratein those days— but the deep respect whicheven Charles felt for him , and his universalreputation for sanctity , as well as knowledgeand wisdom , gave his advice great weight .

131


Much time was consumed over the negotiations with Mendoza , the Imperial ambassador , and at last Pole drew up his final pronounc em ent to the Emperor, in which hewarned him that n o heresies—nor eventhe Emperor himself—could overthrow theCatholic Church or impeach its authority

,

Jesus Christ having said that the gates ofhell should not prevail against it .He was so far successfu l that two Spanish

delegates sat at Bologna on January 16,

1548 but Charles , whose pride was deeplyhurt

,and who was very angry at the delay

of the Council—which was entirely causedby his own action—c hose to draw up forthe benefit of his subj ects , a con fession offaith , call ed the I nter im , in July , 1548.

It was to be in force until the GeneralCouncil came to a decision upon the pointsin question . It was an unheard- Oi thingfor a Catholic sovereign to do , and Charleswas perfectly aware of the fact . Neverthe

less , itwas received at the Diet of Augsburg .

It consisted of thirty-Six articles , two atleast of which (as to the marriage of priests ,and commun ion in both kinds) were displeasing to CatholicsCardinal Pole was desired to write against

132

THE CONCLAVE

it,which he did

,from Viterbo , plainly setting

forth its evil tendency,and Speaking the

truth quite fearlessly to Charles , who hadenough generosity in his character to appre

ciate his courage .

Meanwhile little was done at Bologna .

Both French and Imperial representativeshad been withdrawn

,and only the Italian

ecclesiastics were present . Paul III . , indespair

,decided to prorogue the Council

indefinitely ; and this was done on GoodFriday , 1549, to the intense grief of Pole ,who shed bitter tears at what seemed the

downfall of a ll his hopes for reformationwithin and without . The Pope had declaredhis intention of establishing a congregationin Rome , to deal with matters of reformand discipline

,but that did not comfort

Writing to a friend he Speaks of the greathopes he had had of the work of the Council ,but that in spite of the present cruel disappointment he trusted implicitly in God

after the example of the disciples, who

hoped in Him against hope itself .” Hepoints out , in describing his own feelings.

the analogy of the day : I was no otherwise affected than if I saw my Saviour

’

s

I 33

THE CONCLAVE

Prayer book of Edward a far moreCatholic production than the second ,

whichwas published in 15 5 2 ,and is still used

in the Church of England,though wi th some

Slight modifications in a Catholic direction .

On September 7 Pole replied* to this

effusion,1

' which he said he should rathertake to be the work of some ignorant secretary than that of a gentleman of Somerset ’sundoubted birth and breeding . He wroteto the Protector what is practically aTreatise

,in which with infinite patience

he once more described his dealings withHenry VIII . ,

and the utterly unjustifiableanger with which that monarch receivedhis conscientious Opinion about the Divorceand Royal Supremacy . Yet , says theCardinal

,the King , a fter ha ving r ead it,

had said to Lord Montague , when walkingwith him in a privy garden thatI had Spoken the truth

,nor could

[he] ever feel any anger against me,

as although the writing was very contraryto his wi ll , he nevertheless recognised in itmy love for him , and the sincerity withwhich I had written it .

Venetian Calenda r ,” v . , 241- 267 .

1 Somerset’

s letter.I 3S


The’ Cardinal declines the invitation sentby the Council to return and become oneof their number

,in spite of Somerset

’

sinformation that through that enlightenedbody the purity of the Word of God , andthe doctrine of Christ [was] sent fortha nd taught more purely now than ever itwas before . He speaks most powerfullyabout the title natural and supremeLord , assumed by Edward , whi ch he doesn ot deny may be true in one sense .

”

The Treatise is too long and deals withsubj ects too important to be paraphrasedeven in outline

,but every word is of the

deepest interest,and it amply repays careful

study . In conclusion , Pole warns Somerseto f the great and terrible dangers to whichEngland is exposed—which the Protectorwill not see ; desiring no other grace ofomnipotent God than what is for [its]safety and for the Honour of his DivineMaj esty , whom may it please to have underhis merciful protection

,you

,and the whole

kingdom .

The Cardinal wrote from Rome,where

stirring events were about to take place ,of which we have a most vivid—and veryoften a most amusing—picture in the letters

136

THE CONCLAVE

to his government of Matteo Dandolo , theVenetian ambassador in the holy city . Heseems to have been a delightful , but slightlyirreverent person

,with a keen sense of

humour ; and was also evidently a man ofconsiderable influence and importance .

On November 10,1549, Pope Paul I II .

died,and his successor was not declared

until February 7 , 15 50 ,after the longest

conclave (then) on record . On the day ofhis death Pole—whose name was in themouth of every one as the future Popebecame titular Abbot of Sta . Maria diGavello , on the Polesine Dandolo tellsus* (though the epigram is necessarily spoiltin translation ) his Right Reverend Lordship is styled Angelical rather than Anglican (porta pin pr esto nome di Angel i ca che

di Angli co) , or , as another puts it : non

A nglus sed Angeli ca s.

He had been the head of the late Pope ’sCoun cil , and necessarily took a leading partin affairs when the Con clave was assembling

,

though not after it was , on November 30 ,

closed ,”i .a walled-up in the Vatican .

He spent the long weeks almost entirelyin his cell

,wri ting a very important treatise

Venetian Calendar , v . , 5 87 .

I 37

THE CONCLAVE

did arrive , however, they voted againstCardinal Pole

,on political grounds as the

Emperor was known to be keenly anxiousfor his election .

Of the three methods of electing a Popeby scrutiny

,acclamation

,and adoration

the first was followed for some time withoutany direct result . No cardinal had adistinct maj ority of votes .* Never werethe times more per ilous , or the Conclavefuller or more divided . 1

' Cardinal Farnese ,a member of the late Pope ’s family , wasmost anxious for Pole ’s election . On oneocca sion , when but two votes were wantingin his favour , hewas perfectly calm ,

unmovedeither by the prospect of the P ontific ate,or the calumnies which , even in the Vatican ,

were whispered again st him . Such werethe old absurd charge of heresy

,especially

in his len iency as Governor of Viterbo toLutherans and another wicked and gr oundless accusation , arising out of his great andsecret charity

,which was dissipated by

inquiry . A cardinal who was against himobserved to a friend that Pole had no more

I n a scrutiny eac h cardinal records his vote onpaper , which is folded a nd sealed in a special manner .1 itVenetian Calendar, v. , 599 .

I 39


feeling than a log—being affected neitherby ambition

,nor by the intrigues against

him " On one occasion , when two—thirds

of the votes had been given in his favour ,Cardinal Farnese came to his cell , andbegged him to receive the P ontific ate byadoration . I t was late at night . Polerefused

,saying that night and darkness

wa s not the time for such a ceremony , butthat it must take place in the morning ,after High Mass— always provided that theConclave was still of the same mind .

* Norcould his friend’s entreaties move himwisely

, as it turned out for in the morning ,for some unexplained reason

,the imperial

delegates voted against Pole , as well as theFrench representatives , and there could be

I n election by A cclam ation the principal Cardinalpresent, addressing the whole Conclave—the scrutin ieshaving failed— asked them to receive a s Pope o ne oftheir members who had received a large number ofvotes, a nd who wa s generally popular. The Cardinalssign ified their agreement by greeting thePope- designateo n the spot.Election by Ador a tion was practically the same, but

in thi s case the assemb led cardinals, in order, paidtheir homage to the new Pope- elect a s the first intim atio n of his election . It was this thi rd method ofsettling the difficulty which wa s suggested by CardinalFarnese.

140

THE CONCLAVE

then no question of his election . Almostall the cardinals on thi s day voted forCardinal Morone, who , after a scrutiny inwhich he failed by two votes , begged theConclave to elect Pole . But Pole , whothought far too much time had been lostalready

,refused a second time . They might

now,he said

,be more than certain that the

Holy Spir it had not elected him ; and inorder to leave them greater freedom intheir deliberations he would retire , prayingand beseeching them to lose no more timeover him , but make this holy and necessaryelection in some other person . His fellowcardinals besought him not to make certainyet that thi s was God’s wi ll . A Conclavewas always long, and he could neitherassume nor divest himself of the P ontific ateat his own wi ll , but only according to thatof the Holy Spirit , who alone could guidethe election aright . Nevertheless , Pole wa snow certain that it was not God ’s will thathe should be Pope ; though he refusedmore than once to give to another cardinalthe votes which had been given to him . Hehad never sought them , nor wanted them ;

but he did not think it right to transfer themto some one else .

141

THE CONCLAVE

to have been admitted to attend one ofthe cardinals

,who was ill , threatened the

whole Conclave with plague , or fallingsickness

,

”on account of the in sanitary

condition of the building . Most of themappear to have suffered greatly , but it wasnot until February 7 , 15 5 0 ,

that Cardinaldel Monte was elected Pope , with the titleof Julius I I I . This pontiff , the formerpresident of the council of Trent , had forsome reason opposed Pole

’

s election ; butas soon as there was a prospect of his beingchosen himself he received Pole

’s warmsupport . Thi s generosity aff ected PopeJulius so deeply that he was accustomedto refer to his hostility to the Angeli calCardinal as the great Sin

’

of his life.

The next three years were Spent peacefullyby Pole between Viterbo , Capranica , andRome . In 15 50 , the new Pope commissionedhim to draw up the bull for the reassemblingof the General Council , but he took very littlepart in publi c aff ai rs . The case of Englandj ust now was hopeless , he could only prayand wait . He had lost , too , several of hisdearest friends , amongst them being Sadolet,and Abbot Co rtesio of Venice . AtContar ini ’sdeath in 1542, he had succeeded that prelate

I 43


as Cardinal-protector of the BenedictineOrder, to which he had always been muchattached . During this interval of quiet hesought and obtained permission from JuliusI II . to retire to Maguz z ano , a monastery ofthat order, Situated upon Lake Como andto resign his govem orship . Here he livedlike a religious , delighting in the peace andtranquillity of his beautiful surroundings .Here he revised once m ore

’ his monumentalwork De Unitate, with the prefaceintended for Edward VI . here too

,he

gained a measure of health,while leading a

life of austerity and strict retirement,in

preparation,though he knew it not

,for

the last great endeavour of his life .

It is in connection with thi s time that anold writer * says of him : He was muchaddi cted to prayer, and the con templationof divine matters . Before he entered HolyOrders he received the Blessed Euchariston all Sundays , and his chaplain usedto relate of him that at Capranica andelsewhere he assisted the priest at the altar,and even put on and took Off his vestmen ts ,and rendered him

,both before and after

the sacrifice , a ll the off ices of a menial

Phill ip’s Life of Cardinal Pole, p. 234.

144

THE CONCLAVE

clerk . His accuracy in all the ceremoniesand rites of the Liturgy was as observableas the collected air with which he performedthem ; the very tone of his voice , his countenan ce, every gesture , spoke of the awe withwhich he was penetrated , and the attentionwith which he offered to Almighty Godthe great sacrifice of atonement and praise ;of impetration and thanksgiving .

145

THE THIRD LEGATION

The bitter hostili ty between the Em perorand the King of France threatened at anyminute to break into open war ; and asCharles V. desired and intended to marryMary to his son Philip I I . , King of Spa inand Naples

,and Pole was believed to be

unfavourable to the match ; as al so Henryof France regarded him as a partisan of theEmperor , whose friend he had always been ,it was abundantly evident that the j ourneyto England would be fraught with diffi cultyand danger. The Cardinal had to passthrough the Emperor’s dominions as wellas through France he was entrusted wi tha mission of peace to both monarchs andHenry II . was as morally weak as his fatherhad been . In the end , through politicalj ealousies

,the Legate ’s j ourney

,as will

appear,was delayed seventeen months

during which England was in the throes ofrebelli on

,and an unrest which almost

amounted to civil war .Before beginning the history of this

eventful j ourney , one letter, most importantin view of future events must be noticed .

Cardinal Gia npetr o Caraff a (who two yearslaterwas to become Pope Paul IV. ) had beencreated Archbishop of Naples

,his native

147


city , in 1549. He was a furious politicalpartisan , and in Naples political hatred r an

high against . the Emperor and his son

Philip , King of Naples . It is eviden t fromthi s letter of Pole’s to the DominicanMaster of the Sacred Palace

,on August 6,

15 53, in which he expresses hi s j oy thatCaraffa is again on affectionate terms withhim

,and had expressed a wish to read

De Unitate, that a very serious m isunderstanding

,fomented by Pole ’s enemies

,had

arisen between them .

* It seems probablefrom the close of the letter

,that Caraffa

had actually paid some attention to theridiculous charge of heresy

,of which mention

has been made,though the estrangement

was originally, and mainly , political—Polebeing known as a friend of the Emperor,to . whom the Neapolitan Cardinal wasviolently Opposed .

On ‘August 7 Pole replied at length to thePope

’s letter,1

' proposing to come to Romefor an audience before starting on hismission . On August 13 he wrote the fir stof three important letters to the Queen ofEngland

,1: congratul ating her warmly onI

Venetian Calendar, v . , 763.

1 I bid, v . , 765 . 1 I bid., 766.

148

THE THIRD LEGATION

overcoming so many obstacles and enemies— rather by supernatural than naturalmeans

,for : Spir itus Sanctus snfiervenit

in corde hom inum .

” He points out howall the evil had originated in the King

’

sdivorce ; and speaks of himself as onewho of all these yet living has suffer ed

the most , both on this account andfor the Queen ’s cause He then tells herplainly of the necessity of reunion with theApostolic See

,of which he has been ap

poin ted legate ; asking her pleasure as tothe time and place of the reconciliation

,

for in this point of obedience to theChurch consists the establishment of hercrown , and the entire welfare of her kingdom .

” On the same day he received hislegatine commission , through the hands ofP arpagli a ,

and wrote to Cardinal Dandino ,

Papal Legate at Brussels , asking hi s adviceas to the probable attitude of Charles V .

toward hi s mission .

At that moment , however, Dandin o hada secret envoy of his own in England

,the

future Cardinal Com m endone ; and on thatvery day—August 13, 15 53—hewas witnessof the scene at Paul’s Cross , where anexcited mob threw missiles—one of which

149

THE THIRD LEGATION

earth to him to whom the Supreme Headboth of Heaven and earth has given itand reminds her of those who had shedtheir blood for the primacy ; and her ownyouthful sufferings , in the same school inwhich the Divine Providen ce which educatedyou

,educated me likewise ; I entering at

the same time as you , and learning the samelesson from the same Master .

” He conc ludes by urging her to seek , at all costs ,the reconciliation of her kingdom .

He wrote,too

,to Gardiner 1

'

(now LordChancellor) , referring in most generous termsto that prelate ’s lapse during the last twounhappy reigns , n ot having well learntat that time the mode of resistingschism , and insisting upon the fundamental truth o i papal supremacy . Atthe same time he begs Gardiner’s assistance in the Council , in the great workto which he has been called : For this ,I hope , the Lord God will have electedyour lordship as His great and powerfulinstrument .

”

On August 30 P a rpaglia wrote from

The Act of Royal Supremacy wa s not repealed tillJ an uary. I 5 5 5

1 Venetian Calendar, v . , p . 399 .

15 1


Rome to say that the Pope left everydetail of the mission entirely in Pole’shands , with absolute confidence in his

powers and thought of recalling his Frenchand imperial legates , in order that Polealone , on ll l S j ourney to England

,might

treat for peace between the two rivalmonarchs whose dissension s were the despairof Chr istendom . A week later , the Legate ,replying to the Pope , says that he considersit extremely unfitting that the first sessionof the English parliament should passwithout reference being made to r e-union ,

so that the need of a legate is evident andhe asks permission to proceed at once tothe imperial court , en r oute for England .

To his Dominican friend at the Vatican,he

adds,that even if the moment has not yet

come for him to be in England he can atleast be “ in the neighbourhood and herepeats this to Cardinal B andino at Brussels

“"in a letter flavoured with gentle sarcasm .

He has seen and heard Com m endone, hesays ; and is quite agreed on the necessityof proceeding prudently ; but much ex

per ience has shewn him the fatal eff ects of

Venetian Calendar , v. , p . 40 3.

1 I bid. v . , p. 410 .

1 5 2

THE THIRD LEGATION

human respect in a case where the honourOf God was involved ; and in Short , he isready to face any danger in order to carryout his mission . On September 10

,Queen

Mary , in an audience with the Venetianambassador , * lethim know very earnestly ,that the cardinal Should by no meanscome hi ther , either as a legate or as a privateindividual , unti l a m o re fitting tim e. Shebegged him to assure the Holy Father thatthi s was not because she had changed hermind , or that She did not wish to see theCardinal , but out of Sheer necessity . Andindeed , a woman has seldom been placedin a more difficult or delicate position .

Before any law could be passed , or repealed—even that affecting the legitimacy of herown birth—Parliament must meet ; andin order that it might , She must first becrowned . At that ceremony , which tookplace on October 1 , 15 53, She promised toprotect the rights of the Holy See . Shewas perfectly aware that in order to do thiseffectually she must make an importan tpolitica l marriage , and that the husbandproposed by her cousin and adviser CharlesV. was unpopular with the nation as a

Venetian Ca lendar , v . , 789.

I S3

THE THIRD LEGATION

defer his mission—which is the advice of aprudent prince , and such as he could r e

commend Mary to follow , did he not seethat She has always been guided by agreater light than could be given to her byhuman prudence .

” He entreats her not tolet the first session of Parliament passbefore introducing some definite measureof reunion .

To Courtenay,the Marquis of Exeter , he

also wrote on the same day,in terms which

might perhaps be construed into a wish tosee him Mary ’s husband ; which indeedat one time seemed the desire of the nation .

On October 8, Mary at length replied to hergood cousin and most blessed Father inChrist , thanking him almost passionatelyfor his kindness and patience , and promisingto do all that he wished , as soon as it Shouldbe possible to manifest the whole intentof her heart in that matter .” She desiresthat Parliament may do away with thein iquitous laws whi ch have been the originof all their afflictions ; and then hopes toobtain a general pardon from the Pope .

Itwas doubtless Pole ’s generally suspecteddislike to the Spanish match whichcaused his detention at Dillingen on his

15 5


way to an audience with the Emperor . Hewrites thence * pathetically to the Popeof the stormy sea on whi ch he has nowembarked and of the main land offriends left behind him ; recommendinghimself earnestly to the Holy Father’sprayers.

About this time , Pole’s secretary , Pening ,

whom he had sent with his last letter to theQueen , met the Cardinal at Dillingen ,

andin formed him of the success of hiS mission .

Thi s the Cardinal drew up in the form of areport

,which Pening took to the Pope .

It informs him that Peni ng had seen QueenMa ry , j

' who Spoke very freely to him ,

telling him of her desire to be absolved byCardinal Pole

,and that She knew that her

coronation ought to be preceded by theGeneral Reconciliation ; but as the latterceremony was not yet possible She beggedPening to send an express to the Cardinalinforming him of her desire , before hercrowning , so that she might

“ remain withher conscience at ease and believe herselfabsolved .

”She promised that Parliament

should carry out the wishes of the Holy

October 2 1 , 1 5 53.

j About the middle of September .1 56

THE THIRD LEGATION

Father , so far as she had any power , butthat it could not assemble till after hercoronation , for which she begged Pening towait . Thi s he did and at the open ing ofParliament Gardiner made a fine speechon the unhappy schism of the country .

Her Maj esty’s final decision was that hisRight Reverend Lo rdship was to comeleisurely towards Brussels

,where he should

await further news .”

This was excellent,and Pole ’s spirits

revived . He was n ow fifty- three ; his

health , never robust , had lately begun tofail , and he suffered acutely from rheumatismwhich often took the form of inflammationof one eye . He must have longed for thepeace and tranquilli ty of hi s beautifulBenedictine monastery during the nextyear .

On October 24,the Emperor sent Mendoza

to the Legate,to request him to remain for

a time where hewa s. Pole wrote to Charlesto remonstrate and also to Pope Julius ,*

to whom he says that , being his legate andowing him his first duty , he will even at hiscommand

,disregard the Emperor’s wish

and go forward . To Mendoza he laid great

Venetian Calendar , " v 820 .

I S7

THE THIRD LEGATION

a cordial and honourable recepti on inhis kingdom .

*

A month later Pole wrote a charmingletter to Queen Mary ,

again warning her ofthe danger to the country as long as it isunreconciled

,and reminding her that St .

Peter’s ship could neither go to pieces norfounder. That as far as England is concerned she is now in the position of thepilot , and responsible for al l . It is no timeto hesitate . On January 23,

15 54,Mary

answered this letter , begging Pole to usehis legatine powers in providing priests forthe realm , confirming in their benefices suchas are not heretics and married priestsamong whom are certain prelates . Sheassures him of her longing to see him inEngland

,and has sent the Bishop of Norwich

to him,with this letter

,to Brussels . A

few days later,on January 28, the Cardinal

was able to tell the Pope that the Emperorhas offered him audience

,describing his

honourable reception at Brussels,at which

Norwich assisted . They had entered inprocession

,the Bishop of Arras having

interviewed the Emperor a s to the formalaudience ; and making many apologies

Venetian Calendar, v . , 82 5 .

I S9


a s to Pole ’s detention at Dill ingen,to which,

however, the legate did not make muchrej oinder . Bec cadelli tells us that theCardinal , however, replied : I own that Iwas a little surprised that I

,who have access

to God every day on behalf of the Emperor,Should find it so difficult to gain adm ittanceonce to the Emperor in the cause of God .

”

Pole says himself that he was really gladthat the Emperor had so far refused to seehim

, as he had been suffering so terriblyfrom rheumatic gout . He was roused fromsleep by the Bishop of Norwich, during thenight of February 5 , with sudden despatchesfrom England about Wyatt ’s rebellion .

Five days later he had an audience of theEmperor which left matters much as theywere . This he describes in a most interesting letter to Cardinal delMonte,1

' in whichhe refers at great length to the Papal absolution which the Holy Father longed tobestow on England , and to the form ofReconciliation . He shall , he says , requestthe Queen to send him some one whoevinces piety to ask for absolution inthe name of the whole nation

,so that he

Life of Cardin al Pole,

” p. 145 .

1' A near relation of the reign ing Pope.

160

THE THIRD LEGATION

may be empowered by England to bestow

it .On February 12, Mary took the definite

step of presenting twelve of the mostCatholic bishops She could find in herrealm to the legate , begging the Pope toinstitute and confirm them in their seesPole in the meantime giving them license totake possession should the Pope ’s bull notarrive in time . She calls the Cardinal herproctor .

”

At Easter Pole was in Paris , where hehad an audience of Henry II . at St . Denis ,and consulted with the great ecclesiasticsand statesmen as to the prospects of peace.He dined with the King on April 2 ,

15 54had another audience , and found Henrymost desirous that hostilities Should cease .

On April 8 he made his public entry intoParis

,at the King

’

s request,when he

published the Jubilee . He was back atBrussels again on April 19, and saw theEmperor a couple of days later ; but onMay 25 came a serious check . The Popehad been much annoyed by the information that the Emperor

’

s objection to theLegate

’

s j ourney arose from P o le’

S antipathy

Venetian Cal endar , v ., 859.

161

THE THIRD LEGATION

of the grass through which the reptileglides .The royal wedding took place in Winchester

Cathedral on July 25 , 15 54, and at thebeginning of Jun e the Cardinal wrote to theQueen to know if it was her wish that one ofhis attendants should assist at the ceremonycharging her at the same time to use a ll herpower to make peace between the King ofFrance and the Emperor , who would nowbe her father- in - law . The Venetian am

bassador , Michiel , was eventually chosento represent the Legate ; and on July 11

Pole wrote a courteous letter of c ongr atulation to Philip ,

* reminding him of hi s newresponsibilities , and of hi s

“ inherited titleof Catholic .

”

Of the most serene Madame Mary,

Queen of England and Defendress of theFaith , the retiring Venetian ambassadorgives a vivid picture about thi s time .1

‘

She is of low stature , with a red andwhite complexion , and very thin ; her eyesare whi te bi a nchi ) and large , and her hai rreddish ; her face is round , with a noserather low and wide , and were not her age

Venetian Calendar,” v . , 9 17 .

1' I bid, v ., p. 532.

163

THE THIRD LEGATION

reminding him it is now a year since heknocked at his palace gates , and had beenrefused admittance . Were the King toa sk who knocks ? he would reply : Iam he

,who in order not to exclude your

consort from the pal ace of England , enduredexpulsion from home and country andtwenty years of exile .

” But this is nothing .

He comes , not as a private person , but inthe name of the Vicegerent of the King ofkings, the successor of St . Peter or ratherof St . Peter himself

,who has long been

knocking at the royal gate,which , though

open to others is closed to him alone .

The letter,too long for insertion

,is perhaps

one of the most beautiful of this princeof letter-writers . It wa s followed on September 28 by one to the Emperor , earnestlydesiring him , now that the marriage isan accomplished fact , to open the roadto England without further delay .

If he Shall return [to Rome] withoutsaving his country ,

” the English ambassadorhad just written to Queen Mary fromBrussels, like as he shall return a sorrowfulman , so sha ll the realm have lost the fruition

State Papers of Queen Mary . Foreign Series,p . 268. October 5 , 1 5 54.

165


of such a one as for his wisdom,j oined with

virtue , learning , and godliness,all the

world seeketh and ador eth. In whom itis to be thought that God hath chosen aspecial place of habitation

,such is hi s con

versation , adorned with in finite godlyqualities above the ordinary sort of menand whosoever within the r eahn liketh himworse , I would that he might have withhim the talk of one half-hour— it were aright stony heart that within a small timehe could not soften . If it be his fortune todepart without Shewing the experiencethereof in the realm , his going away Shallbe , in mine opin ion ,

like the story in thegospel of such as dwelt in r egione Geresen

orm n ,who upon a fond fear , desired Christ ,

off ering Himself unto them , a t discea’

eret

a fini bns i llorn rn .

His patience was on the poin t of beingrewarded . On October 15 Queen Marywrote to her good cousin Pole by thehand of Simon Renard , the imperial am

bassador in England , hoping for his Speedyarrival by God’s grace .

” Philip alsowrote

,and Pole met Renard at Brussels, to

discuss final details ; particularly withregard to the legate’s instructions as to the

166

THE THIRD LEGATION

restitution of stolen church property , aboutwhi ch the Queen was deeply concerned .

Everything being satisfactorily settled , Polewrote on October 27 to Philip and Mary ,informing the latter that his frequentappeals to her ought rather to have beenmade to the Pope .

There was still an official delay of somedays , as itwas thought well that the Legateshould travel attended by the Englishambassador but on November 9 theBishop of Arras came to Pole from theEmperor . He exulted and rej oiced

,

”

holding in his hand letters from Philip tohis father the Emperor

,in which he requested

that the Legate might set out on his j ourneyat once , but begging him to arrive un

o ffic ia lly though he should be subsequentlypublicly recognised as Legate by King ,Queen and nation . The King earnestlyrequested him not to go into detail as to thedistribution of church property , but toannounce good intentions to a ll in generalterms .The first stipulation was a disappointmentsuch as is wont to happen in all the affairsof God but Pole promised to fall in with

Sir John Masone.

167

CHAPTER IX

THE RECONCILIATION1 5 54- 1S56

FTER a prosperous voyage the legatewasmet at Dover byhi snephew

,Lord

Montague (son of his eldest brother ,beheaded the Bishop of Ely

,and a train

of noblemen who were commissioned to escorthim with all state to the King and Queen .

All along the road to Canterbury peopleflocked to see him and receive his blessingthe streets of all the villages were lined withmen and women

,kneeling and weeping .

At Rochester his friend Pate, Bishop ofWorcester

,who had preceded him by some

weeks,met him with a message from Mary

(who was evidently reassured as to the stateof the country) , beseeching him to a sumehenceforth the state of Papal Legate

,for as

such she intended to receive him .

At Gravesend , on November 23,he was

approached by a great deputation of nobles,

169


who handed him the copy of an Act,sealed

with a golden seal,passed only the day

before , * by which the Attainder passed onhim and his family was reversed , and allhis rights and privileges of nobility restoredto him . His letters-patent to exercise hislegatine commission in England were alsohanded to him . The Cardinal was deeplymoved . We can on ly dim ly guess what hishome- coming was to Reginald Pole— thereaping in j oy of what he had sown insuffering beyond all tears . He entered theroyal barge , which was in waiting . At theprow was fixed his silver legatine cross ,surmounting a tall staff . All the way upthe river

,where the crowded craft left a

broad way for the legate’s triumphal progress

,the people welcomed him with cheers .

There could be no doubt as to the passionatethankfulness of England as a whole .

So swift was his progress on a favourabletide that , before it was expected , the clustering thousands lining the banks at Lambethand Westminster sawthe silver cross shinefar down the river in the misty dimness ofthe November afte rnoon . Philip and Mary

It passed through the House of Commons threetimes in one day.

170

THE RECONCILIATION

awaited the legate at Whi tehall,and as the

royal barge swung up amid a roar of welcome

,the King

,the Chancellor

,and a

retinue of nobles descended the steps tothe water’s edge to meet him .

Your Maj esty is going to wait on yoursubj ect said one of the lords - in -waiting .

The King is going to receive the Legateof the King of kings

,replied Philip gravely .

At the head of the stairs the Queenawaited him , and saluted him with feelingswhich can be imagined rather than described .

After a Short con ference,during which some

presentations were made,and the Legate

displayed his credentials from the Pope ,he r e-en tered his barge, and was conductedin state by the Chancellor to the Archbishop ’s palace at Lambeth

,on the opposite

bank of the river (vacated by Cranmer , now inprison as a traitor) , which had by Mary

’s command been prepared for him and his suite .

Bec c adelli and hi s devoted friend Priuliwere with him , together with a largeretinue , and the former gives us somegraphic details of the events of the nextfew days . From his descriptions and fromthose of another eye-witness we c an forma vivid picture of what took place .

171

THE RECONCILIATION

ducedby the Lord Chancellor,who concluded

by begging for attente,and an in c lynable

care to him .

”

When his lordship had thus made anend, my lord Ca rdina ll , taking the occasiono ffred, without any studye as it seemed ,spake in effect as fo lowethReferring in touching words to his five

andtwenty years exile he thanked themfor reinstating him in his rights of nobility .

Yf the offer of my service might have beenr eceaved, it was never to seke and wherethat could not be taken you never failed ofmy prayer , nor never shall .

” Yet thisnobility , he reminded them , was but earthly ,

and he was there to reinstate them ascitizens o f

'

a Heavenly country . After asketch of the benefits which England hadfrom the beginning received from theApostolic See , and a review of the miserableevents of the past

,in which he pointed out

that heresy inevitably results from schism,

he came to the purpose of his mission .

When all lyghte of true religion seamedutterly extincte, as the churches defacedand aulter s overthr owen

,the ministers

corrupted ; even lyke as in a lampe thelyghte being covered , yet it is not quenched ,

I 73


even SO in a few remained the confession ofChrist ’s fayth . And therefore it maybe sayd ' Da glor iam Deo .

” He Spokefeelingly of the Queen , and her Catholicmarriage in which respecte greate causeyou have to gyve thankes to AlmightyGod that hathe sent you such Catholyke

govem our s ; and most gracefully andcharitably of the King’s father , the Emperor .

He Spoke of the twofold division of power,

Spiritual and temporal,the Author of all

power being Almighty God . The “ Kingand Quene ’s Maj esties represented thepower temporal , committed to them im

m ediatelye from God . The other poweris of m in istr a cyon , whyche is the power ofthe Keies, which is by the author itie ofGod’s worde geven to the Aposto likeSea of Rome . From which sea I amhere deputed legate and have thekeyes committed to my hands . I confessto you that I have the keyes not as mineown keyes

,but as the keyes of him that

sent m e, and yet cannot open , not for want

of power in me to gyve , but for certayne

im pedim entes in you to r eceave, whichemust be taken awaye before my commissioncan take effect . I cum not to destroy

174

THE RECONCILIATION

but to build . I cum to r econcyle,not to

c ondem ne. I cum not to compel but to callaga ine. I am not cum to call anything inquestion already done , but my commissionis of grace and c lem encye for touchingeall matters that be past , they shal bee asthinges cast into the sea of fo rgetfulnes.

But the meane wherby you Shall r eceavethis benefit is to revoke and repeals thoselawes and statuteswhiche be im pedym entes

,

blockes , and barres to the execution of mycommission . He compared hi s own position , unable to return to England until theAct passed against him was revoked , totheirs , who could not receive the Papaabsolution until the abr oga c ion of suchlawes whereby you have disjoyned anddissevered yourselves from the unity ofChriste ’s Church and he concluded bybegging them lyke true Christians and

pr ovydente men to consider their positionand take such steps to remedy it as mighttend to the glory of God and the welfare oftheir country .

This was the substannce of my lord

ca rdina lles oration,or rather hi s tale ,

whi ch he pr onounsed in such sort as no mancould judgeI- it any studyed matter , but a

I 7S

THE RECONCILIATION

laws Should be repealed . The motion wascarried through both Houses , with onedissentient in the Commons and ar esolution Twas passed to beg the Cardinalto bestow upon them the pardon of thePope .

The next day was fixed for the Reconciliation of England . It was St . Andrew ’

sDay ,1 November 30 , 15 54 ; a day sub

sequently ordered to be kept for ever sacredin England .

A dazzling company of prelates andnobles—Six bishops and Six knights of thegarter—escorted the Cardinal- legate across

Sir R . B agnall , who consc ien tiously objected o n

the ground of having sworn to the laws of Henry VI I I .1’ A Supplicati on , whereby this rea lm a nd do

min ion might be again un ited to the Church of Romeby means of the Lord Cardinal Poole, ’ from Lords andCommons.

”( Journal of House of Commons. November

1 Ultim o N ovem br i s i n P esto Sa ncti Andr ew. A tAfternoon , before the K ing’s a nd Queen ’

s Majestiesat the Palace, the Lords a nd Commons being presen t ,the Supplication wa s read in L a tin , and exhib i ted bytheir Majesties to the Lord Legate ; who, mak ing a n

Oration of great j oy, that was for the return of the lostsheep , did , by the Pope’

s Holiness’s Authority , g iveAbsolution to this whole realm, and the Domin ion O f

the same.

"

(Journal of the House of Commons.

November 30 , 15I 77


the river to Whitehall,where

,in the great

Chamber of the Palace,says Bec cadelli ,

the House of Lords was bidden to assemble,

and the Commons summoned .

There under a gorgeous canopy of jewelledcloth of gold

,upon a dais magnificent with

hangings of royal tapestry,Philip and Mary

awaited the Cardinal- legate,whom they

received with the deepest respect , as hearrived in full pomp

,in his Splendid

crimson robes— all the insignia of his Legateship , the Silver cross , pillars , and axes beingborne before him . No pageants , as it hasbeen often said

,can equal those of the

Catholic Church . He took his seat on theQueen’s right hand

,the King being on her

left,and rather nearer to her ; and there

wa s a moment ’s Silence , as the murmur ofwonder and welcome died away , and theChancellor rose to make his speech . Theyremembered , he said , what had been agreedupon the day before . Were they still of

the same mind ; and did they desire toratify it P And then arose a heartfelt cryWe do—we do .

Then Gardiner , turn ing to the King and

Queen,presen ted a petition from the nation

declaring the sorrow of the people for their178

THE RECONCILIATION

schism , and for the enactments againstRome

,all of which they now purposed to

annul,beseeching from the Legate pardon

and restoration .

Philip and Mary read it— the Queenthrough blinding tears— and then the Chancellor read it aloud so that all could hear.Then the whole assembly rose as oneman to its feet and advanced as near aspossible to the Legate , while the Queen ,

kneeling , besought him in her name and theKing’s to grant the pardon for which theysued .

Again there was a Silence,choked with

sobs , while the Legate, with a gesture ,motioned them all to their seats

,and then

proceeded to address them . How thankfulShould they not be , as Englishmen , forGod

’

s mercy to their country , to which Hehad given so Signal a proof of His love

,in

sending repentance to the whole kingdom .

If the angels in Heaven,said the quiet

voice , rej oice over the conversion of asingle Sinner , what must be their j oy to- dayat the sight of a whole kingdom whichrepenteth 9

Then as he rose to his feet,the whole

assembly fell on their knees,and a threefold

I 79

THE RECONCILIATION

nomine Patris >I< et Filii >I< et SpiritusSancti >I< Amen .

”

And,as they wept , the people cried

again,Amen. But no one— not even those

who receive the hundredfold now in thispresent time— can know what that suprememoment wa s to Reginald Pole .

They sang Te Denm afterwards , in theChapel Royal

,tears of j oy running down

their faces .

The Supplyc a c ion for pardon , fromthe nation to the Legate , is too interestingto be overlooked . It begins by a declarationthat Lords and Commons , representing the

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who with H is most preciousblood ha th redeemed and washed us from all our sinsa nd in iquities, that He might purchase unto H imselfa glorious spouse without spot or wrinkle, a nd whomthe Father hath appointed Head over all H is ChurchHe b y H is mercy ab solve you . And we, by the

Apostolic authority given to us by the most holyLord Pope Julius I I I . H is Vicegeren t o n earth, doabsolve a nd del iver you , each and all, together withthis whole realm a nd the domin ions thereof, from allheresy a nd schism , a nd from all a nd every j udgment

,

censures and pains for that Cause incurred . And

also we do restore you again un to the un ity O f ourHoly Mother Church, a s in our letters more plain lyit shall appear . I n the name of the ofthe So n 41 and of the Holy Ghost 44 Amen .

181


whole reahn, beg the King and Queen to

present their petition to the Cardinal,and

continues , we dooe declare ourselves verysorye and repentante of the sc ism e anddisobedyence agaynste the SeaAposto lyke, either by making laws againstthe supremacy of the sayed Sea

,or other

wise dooing or speakynge that might impugu the same . They promise

,to the

uttermost of their power,to abrogate and

repeal all laws against Rome ; beggingPhilip and Mary , as persons undefiled in

the offence of thys body towards the saideSea , so to set forth this their suit to theLegate that they may obtain “ from theSea Apostolike, by the saide most reverendfather

,as well pa rticula r lye as un iver sa llye,

a bsolution , r elea se, and discha rge from alldanger of such censures and sentences , asby the lawes of the church we be fallen in .

And that we maye , as children r epentaunte,

be received into the bosome and unif ie ofChriste ’s Chur che So as thys noble r ea lm e,

wyth all the membres thereof, maye in un itieand per fecte obedience to the Sea Apostolike,and popes for the tym e beinge , serve God andyour maj esties to the furder ance and advancemente of hys honour e and glorye. Amen .

”

182

THE RECONCILIATION

On December 1 ,the Lord Mayor of London

waited on the Legate,desiring him to make

a triumphal procession through the city ,which he did two days later .Then the fyr ste Sundaye in Advente

followinge, my lorde c a rdina ll came , attenne of the c locke

,from Lambeth by

water , and landed at Pole’s wharfe . And

cum m inge from thence to Pole’s chur che '

j‘

with a crosse,ii . pyller s, and two pollaxes

of sylver borne before bym ,he was there

r ec eaved by my lorde chaun celler , withprocession . Where he ta ryed untill thekynge

’

s cum m ynge ; whose hyghnes camefrom Westminster by lande

,and all hys

nobles before bym , to Pole’s also

,at a leven

of the c lo cke. And so the kynge’

s m a jestieand my lorde Ca rdin a ll , with all the lordesof the pr ivye counsell beinge presente , withsuche an audience of people as was neversene in that place before , my lorde chaunceller en tered P ole’

S crosse. And after thatthe people ceased , that so much as a whis

per inge could not be hea rde am ongest them ,

more than amongst those of whom the

Paul ’s .

1 The old Cathedral of St. Paul’s, destroyed in theGreat Fire, 1666.

183

THE RECONCILIATION

minority without the Pope ’s assistance "Lastly

,Queen Mary

,at her coronation , had

earnestly desired to restore the Pope ’ssupremacy , but the tym e was notthen .

”

These,wyth manye other notable , yea ,

lamentable lessons,to longe here to bee

reher sed, hys lo rdshyppe then declared ,

whyche moved a greate nombre of theaudience with sor r owq syghes andwepyngeteares to chaunge they r cheere.

” At theend

,after dwelling upon Cardinal Pole ’s

mission,and speaking with deep gratitude

of the action of the King and Queen,the

Bishop told the people that if they r e

membered their promises , a nd hartelyembraced and faithfully followed [them]they a l then m yghte synge with the angellwhiche apper ed to the shepherds at thenatyvytie and birth of oure Savioure,

JesusChrist

, Glor ia in excelsis Deo ci in term pax

kom ini bus. And finally to say with theprophet and psalmist David , Ha ec est dies

quam fecit Dom inus, exultem ns et laetem ur

in ea .

The sermon was preached after solemnHigh Mass had been sung in the presence of

the Cardinal- legate , the King , Queen , and185


the whole court . Syns the day of whichesermon all such thinges as were amis and

out of order here begin now to cum to ruleand square

,and o c cupye their auncyente

and accustomed places .On the following Thursday Convocation

assembled , and kneeling , humbly entreatingpardon ,was solemnly absolved . A fortnightlater the ancient Heresy Acts , which it hadsuitedHenryVIII . to repeal , were r e- enactedj ust after an act had been passed restoringjurisdiction to the clergy .

But the principal question which troubledthe kingdom was the restoration of abbeylands and church property . By far thegreater part— nearly three-quarters— o f thishad been confiscated to the crown byHenry VIII and this wholesale plunderPhilip and Mary gladly agreed to restore .But even then an enormous amoun t was inthe hands of private persons , to whom ,

andto whose fathers

,it had been gran ted by

the King for services rendered , or for somecaprice and such persons , though mostdesirous of returning to the church ,

were notin all cases equally desirous of giving uptheir wealth . It was this difficulty

,clearly

foreseen by Philip’

s acute mind , which had186

THE RECONCILIATION

Caused him to delay the Legate’

s receptionup to the momen t of his leaving Brussels ,whither he had sent Renard to treat fullyof the question . It would have been mostunwise to press the nation as to the Spoilsof the church

,j ust as it was returning bodily

to its allegian ce,and Pole gladly consented

to grant delay to allow of the matter beingarranged by degrees . A large number ,however

,gave up their lands and money to

safeguard those who did not wish to do soand by an Act passed on January 3 , 15 5 5 ,

such possessions were granted to theirholders , with the Legate

’

s full consen t .Pope Paul IV . subsequen tly , at Pole

’srequest , granted a bull confirming this , onSeptember 16, 15 5 5 .

His letters to the Pope (Julius III .) atthis time

,are alive with interest . On the

day of Reconciliation he wrote to him ,

giving a detailed description of all thathad taken place . Philip , too , who had beendeeply moved , wrote on the same day tothe Holy Father , whose delight at hearingthe news was expressed by public rej oicings

,

a fter a solem n Te Deurn sung in St . Peter ’s .King Henry of France wrote to congratulatePole , who had by no means lost Sight of the

187

THE RECONCILIATION

23, 15 5 5 ; and of the succession to theP ontific ate of Pope Marcellus II . ,

a mostholy and learned prelate

,and a personal

friend of Pole ’s , who unhappily only sur

vived his election by three weeks . Pole ’sown name had again been mentioned asthat of the future Pope , but owing to hisabsence or , more probably ,

Cardinal Car a ffa’

s

influence , he was not so near election asduring the last conclave .

When the ambassadors reached Rome,

two pontiffs having died during their longj ourney , they were received by Pope PaulIV formerly Cardinal Caraffa , enteringRome on the very day of his coronation .

Paul IV . embraced them publicly , a nd wasso delighted with the importance of theembassy

,and the graceful and eloquent

Latin oration of the Bishop of Ely , that hewrote himself to Philip a nd Mary , toexpress his pleasure and to send his blessing .

AS to the Cardinal- legate , nothing , saidPaul IV . , that he or Philip or Mary couldever do would be anything but unequal toPole’s marvellous virtue and heroic qualities .

In V iew of future events , it is well to remember

this .In the Spring Pole was very ill . The cause

189


may have been the damp climate,to which for

so long he had been unaccustomed , but onApril 15 the Venetian ambassador writesCardinal Pole ’s indisposition increased so

violently, a mal ignant fever having neverleft him for five consecutive days , that notonly his own attendants

,but the physicians

themselves despaired of his life ; and theformer being even more tender and appre

hensive than the latter,their extreme

a fli iction and dismay,especially that of

Monsignor Priuli,was too piteous a Sight ;

but through the aid andgrace of the Almightyhis right reverend lordship is not only better ,but out of danger

,having already passed

four days without fever , though so weakand exhausted that all who see him wellknow how much he must have suffered .

He is now inten t on taking rest and gainingstrength that he may be able , if necessary ,

to cross the Channel for this Conference .

”

This was part of his plan for peace , to whichreference has been made . In the same letterthe ambassador mentions the horrible outrageon Easter Sunday at St . Margaret’s , Westminster , when the priest , while giving HolyCommunion during Mass , was attacked by

Venetian Cal endar , vi ., 57 .

190

THE RECONCILIATION

a violent fanatic with a drawn Sword , whowounded him so terribly on the head andhands that his life was despaired of . Hisblood fell into the chalice .

A few weeks later the Cardinal was suffic iently recovered to preside at the Conferencewhich , after much preliminary negotiation ,Henry II . had agreed to hold at Marc , nearCalais

,with representatives of the Emperor .

To make peace between these monarchshad been one of the great endeavours ofPole

’

s life,and it was indeed part of his

legatine commission . Queen Mary was in

tensely anxious as to the result,and had

used all her influence with her father- inlaw , the Emperor , and the King of France ,to bring about the meeting . The first sessionwas held in May

,15 5 5 , and the Legate used

all his powers of persuasion and diplomacybut political j ealousy was too strong , and

on June 8, a month later , the Conferencewas broken up any hope of an agreemen tbetween Charles and Henry being out ofthe question , as both parties insisted on

concessions which neither side would grant . *

See letter of the Constab le of France to FrenchAmbassador, Venetian Calendar, vi . , 1 14,

a nd ofVenetian Ambassador, i bid.

, 204 .

191

THE RECONCILIATION

exception , at the beginning of the reign ,

were invited , and in some cases compelledto leave England , and not one was put todeath without repeated efforts to save himby reconciliation with the Church .

* At thesame time

,the heroic courage of these

martyrs to private judgment must in many

Fo r pol itical off ences m en were slaughtered byhundreds a nd thousands in the sixteen th cen tury ;a nd the very historians who compassionate those whowere slain for their religious principles, under the notionthat the rel ig ious party to which they a r e opposed isdiscredited thereby , a r e among the first to vindicatethe severity which they represen t as necessary to preservethe peace of society .

I f we credit [the utterly discredited] Foxe, themartyrolog ist, there wa s a parcel of b loodthirstym en at the head O f society, or rather at the head ofthe Christian Church in this coun try, whose on ly Ob jectwa s to delight their cruel hearts by witnessing the

agon ies of their fellow creatures . Such persons theremay have been butwe may doub t whether theyexisted in greater numbers in the sixteen th than in then ineteenth century . I fwe look to the facts of hi story,we find,

at the commencemen t of Mary’s reign ,tha t

there wa s no desire or in tention to deal harshl y withthe reformers, whether Protestan t or Calvin ist.[ their] number wa s smal l, they were aware of theirdanger [ a nd] every facility wa s a ff ordedthem for quitting the coun try.

”—Hook . L ives ofthe A r chbishops of Ca nter bury . Vol. vii i . , p . 358.

Such words a s these, from so intensely Protestan ta writer a sDr . Hook ar e worthy of careful consideration .

I 9S


cases arouse our admiration . Cranmer,

Ridley and Latimer had been allowed todispute at Oxford with certain Catholicdivines , one of whom ,

the Bishop ofGloucester , said Latimer leaneth to Cranmer, Cranmer to Ridley , and Ridley to thesingularity of his own wit .”

Cardinal Pole had exhorted the Bishopsin Convocation , in January , 15 5 5 , to usegentleness rather than harshness to hereticsbut they , who had suffered cruel persecution ,and been in danger at the hands of a kingwhose only law was his own will , can scarcelybewonder ed at for employing , to stamp outthe hated heresy which his acts had fostered ,means which were at least strictly legal .Had not they , too , tasted the bitterness ofseparation ? Heresy , implying wilful separation from the Church was mortal sin ,

and the death of the bodywas to be preferredto that of the soul .Latimer , an old man with a harsh and

bitter tongue, who had , to quote his ownwords to Cromwell, played the fool Tatthe burning of the Blessed John Forrest ,was burnt at the same stake a s Ridley at

51? Ga irdner . H istory of the English Church in theSixteenth Century,” p. 338. 1

' Preached.194

THE RECONCILIATION

Oxford , on October 16, 15 5 5 . Both thesemen were apostate , married priests ; andthough the Legate had on September 28

sent three Bishops to Oxford to examinethem , and if anyhow possible to obtai ntheir submission and consequent pardon

,

both were obdurate .

Three months before,on June 4, there was

published with the sanction of the Legate,

and of Convocation , a prayer book forgeneral use in the realm . It was calledan uniforme and Catholyke primer inLatin and Englishe, withe manye godlyeand devoute prayers , newly set forth byceartayne of the c lea rgye with the assenteof the moste reverende father in God , thelorde c a rdina ll Pole hys grace .

” It consisted of morning and night prayers , theJesus Psalter , and prayers of St . Bridget onthe Passion , Matyus of oure Ladye,

office of the dead , and form of examinationof conscience before confession , togetherwith Short meditations on the Passion .

At the end of August , 15 5 5 , King Philipleft England for Brussels , where his fatherthe Emperor was about to make over tohim formally his Spanish dominions . The

Queen felt the parting keenly, her onlyI 9S

THE RECONCILIATION

intervention revived in Paul IV.

’

S mind thedislike and distrust of Pole which he hadalready manifested as Archbishop of Napleswith results which very soon were to declarethemselves .

On November 4, the Legate convened asynod at Whitehall

,during which he ex

pressed his satisfaction with the fervourand zeal of the bishops and clergy

,and their

exemplary lives . After Mass of the HolyGhost sung in the chapel of the Palace royal ,they proceeded to discuss the redistributionof the abbey lands , according to the wish ofthe Holy Father

,to whom Pole wrote a full

accoun t of their proceedings .

* On November12, Gardiner died ; and Pole , in deploringhis loss to Philip and Mary , remarks hownecessary it is to supply his place wi th one

not merely a Catholic by name,one that

Should shew himself less harsh and stern,

but no less firm and ardent than the dyingBishop .

The anniversary of the Reconcilia tion ,

November 30 , 15 5 5 , wa s kept with greatsolemnity . The synod was still sitting ,and its chief work was the enactmen t onFebruary 10 , 15 56, of a new code of con

4: Venetian Calendar vi . 270

I 97


stitutions drawn up by the Cardinal, en

titled Reform ati o Anglia , ex Decreti s

Regina ldi P oli . There were twelve decrees .

(1) Concerning the thanks to be dailygiven to God in the celebration of the Mass

,

for the return of this kingdom to the un ityof the Church , and concerning the annualcelebration of the memory of that event .

(2) Respecting ordinances and opin ions ,the reception and rejection of books

,and

the public teaching of the Canon law .

(This dwells strongly on the Primacy ,and

treats very beautifully of the seven sacraments

,ordering Reservation in every parish

church .)(3) Concerning the residence of bishops

and other clerks . (Non- residence stronglycensured .)(4) That bishops and others exercising

the cure of souls Should preach to the peopleand that parish priests should instructchildren in the elements of the faith .

(5 ) Concerning the lives of the clergy .

(6) Respecting the examination of candidates for Holy Orders .

(7) Respecting the provision of ecclesiastical ben

‘

efices (which were not to remainempty) .

198

THE RECONCILIATION

(8) That there be no grants of the rightsof presentation or of advowsons permittedcontrary to the ordinance of the sacredcanon s .

(9) Concerning simony .

(10) Concerning the non-alienation ofchurch property ; making an inventory ofchattels ; not farming church appointments .

(11) Of the diocesan seminaries which itwas desirable to form at each cathedral .

(12) Concerning the visitation of churches .

(Strict orders were given as to parochialvisitations , especially as regards the BlessedSacrament . )The prelates , by a re-enactment of a

statute of Pope Innocent II I . , were tocorrect their clergy without appeal .”

Meanwhile on December 4, 15 5 5 , sentenceof excommunication was pronoun ced byPaul IV. against Cranmer , who had utterlyfailed to justify himself of the charges ofheresy which he had been allowed a periodof eighty days to answer . He was atOxford , and not then in prison . By Pole ’scourtesy he had been removed from Bocardo

A conven ient term for movables of almost everysort , including , accordin g to some Old writers, even aW ife, a s part of the household goods.

I 99

THE RECONCILIATION‘

He had been the chief instrument in dissolving the marriage between Henry VIII .

and Katherine and in declaring the presentQueen illegitimate . The natural weaknessof his character had been warped by his

ambition,and he had lent himself , a willing

tool in every new development of Henry ’smad ambition . He died a martyr ’sdeath ,

says his sympathetic historian,

Hook,who

,however , adds : “ but to die

bravely when death is inevitable is notsufficient to constitute a martyr . OnSaturday last

,

” writes the Venetian am

bassador ,* Cranmer wa s burned

,having

fully verified the opinion . formed of him bythe Queen

,that he had feigned recantation

,

thinking thus to save his li fe , and not thathe had received any good inspiration ; so

she considered him unworthy of pardon .

”

On the day before Cr anm er’

s death ,

Reginald Pole was ordained priest in the

Greyfriars’ Church attached to the palaceat Greenwich

,by the Archbishop of York ,

the Bishop of London , and five otherbishops of the southern province , the Queenbeing present , and the church filled with agreat congregation , all of whom were deeply

“ Venetian Calendar , vi . 434.

20 1


affected . The next day , Saturday,the

Feast of St . Benedict he said his firstMass in the same church

,with intense

devotion,and on the following Sunday

morning,March 22,

15 5 6, was consecratedby the same prelates Archbishop of Canterbury , o f which See he had already beenappointed administrator .On Monday , 23,

he took the oath ofallegiance to the Pope in the parlour ofthe convent

,and two days after , on the

Feast of the Annunciation , which fell thisyear in Passion week

,he received the

pallium in the parish church of Our Ladyof Arches

,at Bow

,which was hung with

cloth of gold and rich and splendidlydecorated . Entering with a procession ofclergy

,among whom were six bishops

,he

was presented by a member of the con

gregation with a petition begging for asermon

,to test—as many have supposed

his real powers of extempore preaching .

The Bishop of Worcester sang the Mass ,and after the Gospel the Cardinal-Archbishopturned to the people and spoke to themsimply and eloquently of three thingsmission

,apostolic succession and unity .

Hook .

202

THE RECONCILIATION

He explained to them what the palliummeant- made not of silk a nd j ewels

,but of

plain white wool,to sym bolise that all

power and authority came from the Lambof God . He who above all else loved peace

,

spoke of it with such intense feeling that heand all his audience were moved to tearsa s one of them relates .

* “ ‘ And thus

(he exclaimed) would ye but knowthe great grace God grants you by the missionof this peace " On uttering these wordshis right reverend lordship could not restrainhis tears , and after using that expressionwould ye but know

,he stayed himself

for a moment , and then adding whatGod grants you

,

” remained Silen t for ashort while

,his eyes being suffused with

tears .

This peace,then , which I am come to

offer you on the part of God,must be

received by those who wish for its enj oyment with great humility

,as did on this day

the glorious Virgin , who when the Angelannounced peace to her in these words“Ave M a r ia gr atia plena , B itus. tecum ,

”

replied ecce a nci lla Dom ini withoutany doubt at all , and with the utmost

Venetian Calenda r, ” vi . 432-

4 .

203

CHAPTER X

THE GREAT VICTORY15 56—15 58

EGINALD POLE did not die in ablaze of glory . God had yet in storefor him the greatest trial of his life

the final test by which his beautiful soulwas tried and perfected and released . Weare not called upon to understand , muchless explain , why these inexplicable eventswere allowed to take place . We can onlybelieve, a s he did , that they were permittedby Ahn ighty God for H is glory , and theperfection through suffering of His servant .Almost the first act of the new Arch

bishop was to set up with Black Friarsthe church of St . Bartholomew the Great ,in Sm ithfield. The return of the banishedreligious was a subj ect both he and Maryhad much at heart , and 15 56 saw manyrestorations . The great monastery of Syonwas r e-established , and the Priory of St .

205


John of J erusalem . The Benedictines, underAbbot Feckenham , came back to Westminster in November the Carthusians

,too ,

returned to Sheen , and there were hopesof restoring beautiful ruined Glastonbury toits Benedictine founders , but funds fell short .The Legate succeeded Gardiner a s Chan

cellor of Cambridge , and in October , 15 56,he was elected to the same office at Oxford .

There the shrine of St . Fr ideswide, patronof the university, had been grossly desecratedin the previous reign . The relics of theSaint

,which had rested there for centuries ,

had been actually removed from her tom bin Christ Church to make room for thebody of Peter Martyr’s wife , an apostatenun , who had expressed a desire to beburied there. The Legate ordered the bodyof the unhappy woman to be removed , andthe ashes of the Saint- which had beenhidden in a corner of the church by a fewpious Catholics- restored to their restingplace. At Cambridge , a few months later,on the petition of the whole university, thebones of two notorious , persecuting hereticswere removed from the churches in whichthey were buried , and interred in unc onse~

crated ground .

206

THE GREAT VICTORY

We touch now that period of Pole’s life,when , but for his perfect humility and obedience , the sea of suffering into which he wasplunged must have engulfed him . In orderto grasp the circumstances we must glancefor a moment at the reigning Pope, Paul IV. ,

now eighty years old—a fiery Neapolitanwhose ruling passion was hatred of thetyrant Span iard

,from whom his own

beautiful coun try had suffered so greatly .

His personally austere and blameless lifeand great qualities were vitiated by afierce and obstinate temper, a haughty andaspiring dispo sition , a mind incapable ofyielding to opposition and greedy, aboveal l things , of command ,

” says a Catholicpriest .* The great sovereigns who reveredhim as the Vicar of Christ and their Spirituallord

,disliked and despised him as a temporal

monarch— though it is perfectly clear, evenfrom the unedifying records of the time ,that the aged Pope wa s animated by buttwo ideas—the furtherance of God ’s Kingdom in the Catholic Church and thesal vation of his country ; though his j udgment was warped by his ungovem able

temper.

T. Phillips. Life of Car dinal Pole, Vol . ii . p . 198.

207

THE GREAT VICTORY

for such a loss . In conclusion he begs hisfriend to forgive Don Orsini , their execu

tioner , who was only acting under Papalorders . In this same month of Septemberhe conducted Queen Mary through thegrounds of Lambeth Palace . In January ,15 5 7, a further complication was made bythe open declaration of war between Franceand Spain , and Shortly after this Philipreturned from the contin ent in order toenlist England as the formal ally of thelatter . The Cardinal -archbishop at onceretired from court to his See of Canterbury ,where he would fain have resided always ,had the Queen , who desired his continualpresence and counsel , permitted it . Hecould not , as Papal Legate , appear inpublic at the court of Paul IV .

’

S politicalenemy ; but he paid a private visit toPhilip

,where his extraordinary tact and

delicacy stood him once more in goodstead .

Whatever may he said against Philip ,he at least treated Englan d well ; and hischaracter, in contemporary records , appearsin such a light that one is inclined to feelthat he has, on the whole , been rathermaligned by history " And then the blow

209 o


fell— a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky .

Paul IV . , smarting with the m o rtific ation

of failure , determined to recall all his legatesfrom Spanish possessions , as countriesrebellious to the Holy See. On May 15 ,

15 5 7, he cancelled both Pole’s commission

as Legate de latere, and that of Legatus natus,which he held in right of his archbishopricof Canterbury . There wa s universal horrorin England at this proceeding . Philip andMary, who certainly had a claim to be

heard , wrote strongly to the Pope , whoreplied on June 14, that though he couldnot revoke Pole’s recall a s Legate dc laterehe might still retain the title of Legatusnatus. But hewas still recalled .

Meanwhile the Cardinal , who had beendeeply shocked at the whole proceeding ,wa s so much missed at court that bothKing and Queen summoned him to takepart in the council and on June 7, he hadreluctan tly given his consent to the wa rwith France , during which England lostthe very last of her French possessions

Ca laisu

The King and Queen again wrote to thePope , pointing out the irremediable harmit would do the country , so lately returned

210

THE GREAT VICTORY

from schism , if the Legate who had been theinstrument of its restoration were recalledbefore his work of reform was finished .

But Paul IV . had already made up hismind . On June 14, he proposed in consisto ry a new cardinal , Friar Peto , QueenMary’s confessor, a Minorite observant ofGreenwich . He was a gentle and holy oldman , of humble origin , now eighty yearsold , and totally unfitted for the positionof Legate dc latere in England , in which PaulIV. most illogically proposed to substitutehim for Cardinal Pole .

To Mary, the Pope wrote that havingonce recalled the Cardinal he could notrevoke his command ; but that being quitea s aware a s She was of the necessity of alegate in England he had elevated FriarPeto to that dignity ; and his cardinal

’shat was even now on its way . This was inspite of the strongest warnings by SirEdward Carne , English ambassador in Rome,who , to j udge from his extraordinarilyinteresting despatches , seems to have spokenhis mind with perfect frankness throughoutthe whole affair. At the same time thePope sent an official recall to Pole , thoughhis acceptance of the archbi shopric O f

211

THE GREAT VICTORY

evident that Paul IV.

’S j eal ousy of Pole

’

sSpanish influence , and his desire to withdraw him at all costs, led him to prefer acharge which he could not have seriouslybelieved for an instant , but which Polecould not refuse to answer.That the Angelical Cardinal , ca rnifex et

flagellum ecclesi ce Angli cance, as he wasdescribed by his Protestant successorat Canterbury

,

* known throughout Christendom as a champion of the Faith , as well a sfor the purity of his spotless life, should bethe victim of such an inexplicable chargecan only be comprehended by consideringthose brought against his Master.A month later, on August 7, Queen

Mary’s remonstrance reached Rome , andwas presented by Sir Edward Cam e. The

Pope, who seemed at first inclined to treatthe matter j estingly, having read it stooda great while with a heavy countenance ,saying nothing.

”T At last , telling Carne

it wa s a weighty matter which neededdeliberation , he dismissed him . One cannotbut feel great pity for the aged Pope on

Parker .1 State Papers of Queen Mary . Foreign Series.

15 5 7

213


Whose Shoulders the burden of temporalpower weighed so heavily .

Mary pointed out clearly that his actionin recalling Pole wa s doing infinite harmamong heretics , and even Catholics ;amongst whom the incredible and infamouswhisper of heresy was fast spreading

,

so that m en were asking if the Cardinallegate himself was suspected who then couldbe safeNo one knew better than Paul IV. the

futility of the charge , which was manufa ctured out of the old story of Pole’slen iency to Lutherans and of his incliningat theGeneral Council , rather to the teachingof St . Basil and St . Chrysostom on the

question of j ustification , than to that ofSt . Augustine , whose opinion wa s moregenerally received . Paul had himself twicepublicly denounced these charges, the

second time when Pole be‘

came Archbishopa ndMary did not fail to remind him of this,saying that the heresy— if any —must haveoccurred within the last year when the

Cardinal was exercising legatine dutiesHis Holiness ,

” says Carne on August 14,is so wedded to his own Opinion , and soterrible to such as speak against him that

214

THE GREAT VICTORY

[the cardinals] hold their tongues , and lethim do what he will . He was all this tim ecruelly harassed and grieved about theterrible Spanish war proceeding in Italy .

However, a fortnight later the Pope discussed the Queen’s letter ih consistory ,but itwas an unfavourable moment . Thosecardinals fri endly to the Queen (saysCarne ) , perceiving his holiness to be incholer ,

” moved that they shoul d wait untilthe special messenger sent by Pole could beheard . This was his datary , MonsignorOrm aneto ,

* who was thereupon biddento wait on the Pope without delay ; butthough he did wait nearly twenty- fourhours , the Pope refused him audience,merely accepting Pole’s letter of explanation

,which had been delayed seven weeks .

His Holiness, says Carne,“is in a peck

of troubles , and his proceedings are such as

satisfy no man .

However, on September 12, 15 5 7, peacewas concluded with Spain , largely by Mary

’sinfluence and Paul IV . , overj oyed ,promised to consider Pole’s recal l in con

sisto ry but , doubtless because he thoughtit best to let the matter drop , he did not do

Bishop of Padua , 1 570 .

215

THE GREAT VICTORY

served , had ever received from any pontiff .He dwelt on the fact that no charge of heresyhad been made against him at his formalrecall . Even this letter , if the Pope eversaw it , made no impression though a fewm onths later (March 17, 15 58) Carne givesit as his Opinion that His Holiness issomewhat a c r a z ed. Possibly this is themost charitable solution .

At the end of March Pole wrote a lastdignified letter of appeal and remonstrance ,and henceforth , as far a s Paul IV . wasconcerned , the matter completely dropped .

But Pole’s gentle heart was broken . Thislast suffering had been keen enough to com

plete the martyrdom of the martyr’

s son .

His health, too , was failing , as was also theQueen’s . Writing to Phili p on September

5 , 15 58, and again on the 26th , he tells himhe is suff ering from a “ double quartanague ,

” which at his age and with hisconstitution seriously indisposes him . Heknew that the end was near.In his will , drawn up a little later, after

a touching allusion to the Pope, whoseblessing he asks , he leaves a number oflegacies—Priuli to be his heir, and c o

executor with certain ecclesiastics . We217


have some deeply pathetic details fromMonsignor Priuli on this matter A fewdays before the Cardinal’s death

,Geoffrey

,

the brother who had so deeply wronged hisfamily, died , leaving numerous sons anddaughters , and a small property scarcelysuffic ing to maintain them in poverty .

And these says his friend , are the poorrelations to whom his right reverend lordship desired that part of his propertyShould be distributed You must knowthat during his life time both in Italy andhere, the Cardinal never failed to succourthem , though he never asked or receivedanything for them or for any one else,either friend , relation or dependent on himin a ny manner .

” No one will ever knowall his beautiful , secret charity .

“ My belief ,”

says the compiler of theVenetian Ca lenda r ,T

“ is that he did moreto maintain the repute of his country forhigh breeding

,scholarship , integrity and

consistency,than any other Englishman I

ever heard of and this seems to havebeen the universal contemporary Opinion .

All who knew him ,loved him .

“ Venetian Calendar ,” vi . 1287 .

1 I bid. v . , p . xi . , pr efa ce.

218

THE GREAT VICTORY

Priuli , however, refused to accept anything from the Cardinal . His legacy

,he

said , wa s his friendship with Pole. Buthe asked for his friend’s diurnal and breviary

,

which he used until his death , scarcely twoyears later.At the end of September Pole heard of

the death of the Emperor and on October

4, he sent his chaplain to the Queen , to laybefore her an account of the temporalmatters of his legateship and archbishopric

,

and then gave himself wholly to preparationfor death . The common report of his vastweal th was dissipated when after his deathPriuli met the Earl of Rutland on behalfof Elizabeth and proved , by the careful andminute accounts kept oftheLegate’s expenditure, that all his revenues from his ownproperty abroad , a s well as the little he hadreceived for his expenses in England , hadall been Spent in providing for the expenseO f many ministers ,

”- to whom he had to

give board and stipend .

” Of the ecclesiastic al property ceded by the Queen andplaced unreservedly in his hands , theaccurate accounts kept by Henry Peningshowed that under the management ofseveral bishops , every crown had been dis

219

THE GREAT VICTORY

ground , and with many tears and sobs saidinwardly the Confiteor . When I saw himthus I thought I saw the picture of ourLord’s Blessed Mother as she is representedat the foot of the cross , supported by thetwo Maries

, ; and in truth I never witnessedin any other person such deep expressionof contrition and devotion , so true andcordial . He communicated several timeseven after this , and till the last day choseto hear daily not only the Mass , but alsothe office , and three hours before his deathhe heard vespers and compline .

”

On November 15 , both the Queen andCardinal received extreme unction ;

“ afterwhich

,

” says Priuli ,“ it seemed as if they

rallied , and were much comforted , accordingto the fruit of that most holy medicineand gave clear proof of increasing spiritualvigour, not less than corporal improvement .

”

Nevertheless on this day the hopelesscondition of the Queen was gently brokento him .

Next day he heard Mass of the mostBlessedTrinity, and communicated devoutly ,sending and receiving thereafter affectionatemessages from Queen Mary . He was growing rapidly weaker, burnt with the paroxysms

221


of the intermittent fever . On November 17,the Feast of St . Hugh of Lincoln , came theend . On the next morning the 17th]which was his last ,

” writes his faithfulfriend ,

“ he listened to the Mass of theAngel , who , we may verily believe , a c com

pan ied that sainted soul to Heaven .

” Oneof his Ital ian attendants broke to him

,

sooner than was intended , the news of thedeath of the Queen while hearing Mass ofSt . Hugh ; when She yielded her m yldeand glorious Spirit into ye Hande of herMaker at the very moment of the levacion of the Sacrament .”

He received the news in silence , remainingsome time in prayer after which he spoketo Priuli , and the Bishop of St . Asaph of thewonderful way in which God’s providencehad dealt with both Mary and himself,who were near relations , and had so muchin common- how both had suffered andlaboured for the same cause , and were nowdying together. He could not but fearfor the troubles coming upon the country

(for he was not unacquainted with itsfuture Queen) , yet by God’s grace ,that same faith and reliance on the Divine

Cotton MSS.222

THE GREAT VICTORY

Providence which had ever comfortedhim in all his ‘ adversities greatly consoled him likewise in this so grievous afinal catastrophe.

”

Then,for in spite of his serenity the

blow had entered into his flesh ,” he felt

that the end was close . Another cruelparoxysm Of fever left him with “ moreintense cold than he had hitherto exper i

enced .

” He asked that the Book ofPrayers for the dying should be placedat hand .

“ Now is the time to use it ,he said gently, when the bishop showed itto him .

He then , says his devoted friend ,had vespers repeated as usual , and thecompline , which part of the office thenremained for him to hear ; and this wasabout two hours before sunset .” I n m anus

tuas, Dom ine, com m endo spi r itum m eum”

were probably the last words he heard , onearth .

“ In fine it was evident that as inhealth that sainted soul was ever turned toGod , so likewise in this long and troublesome

infirmity did it continue thus , until his end ,which he made so placidly that he seemedto sleep rather than die .

”

His body lay in state in Lambeth Palace,

223

APPENDIX

AN ACT OF THANKSGIVING .FOR THE

RECONCILIATION OF ENGLAND

THE following remarkable prayers werefound by the 'Edito r written in the end of amagnificent copy of Pynson

’

s edition of theSarum Missal (15 20 ) whi ch is preservedamong the treasures of the famous PepysianLibrary at Magdalen e College , Cambridge .As far as is known , no other copy of these

prayers is in existence , a nd they ha ven ever

before been printed . They con sist , evidently , of wha t is known as an Or ati o

im per ata .with corresponding Secret and

Post communion , i .e. , special pr ayers o r

dered by a uthority to ; be said at Mass a fterthe collects for the day on som e particularoccasio n or for some special intention .

These prayers are headedOr ati ones di cende in m issis pr o agendi s

deo gr ati is de recon ci li ati one r egn i cum

225 P


ecclesia catholi ca that is to say, Prayersto be said at Mass , to give God thanks forthe reconcili ation of the kingdom with theCatholi c Church .

” They were , no doubt ,ordered by Cardinal Pole , under whosedirection they will have been composed (ifhe did not himself write them ) to be said orsung in solemn thanksgiving for the ‘

Rec on

ciliation of England on that great St .Andrew’s Day, 15 54. Probably they wereto be used every year on the anniversary ofthat . glorious . event . c They have thus anenormous and most pathetic interest forEnglish Catholics . They inevitably suggesta comparison with those that CardinalVaughan ordered to be recited year by yearin the Mass of the English Martyrs , inmemory of the Consecration of England toOur Lady and St . Peter.I t will be interesting if it is possible to

discover any allusion . to these prayers . in

Pole’s corresponden ce , and still more So ifthe order for their recital can be discoveredamong his papers .

D . B . C .

226

APPENDIX

ORATIO

Deus qui hoc regnum a c atholi ce“

ec clesie

un itate, et obedienti a , satane m a li c i a a liena

tum , ad candem sub phi lippo etm a r i a regibus,

per r om an i pontificis, et sedis apostoli ce

legatum , totius r egn i consensu, singula r i tue

ben ign itati s pr evi legi o‘

revoca sti , con cede que

sa m us, ut tanti benefic i i sem per m em or es ,

in vere r eligion is cultu, et catholi ce ecc lesie

un itate atque obedienti a te pr otegente con

sta nter per severem us, ntone r eliqui populi

qui a b ea recesserunt ad candem nostr o

exem plo revertantur : per dom inum , (Sc .

Deus a quo sa lvator n oster j esus chr i stus

ne fides petr i deflcere[t] or a ns, pr o sua r ever

enti a estexauditus, concede precam ur om n i bus

nobi s a‘

si sm ate et er r or ibus quibus im m er si

fuim us, tua c lem enti a m i r a bi liter li ber atis,

cam in fide c onstanti am que a b apostoli ca sede

nunquam nos liber are* (sic) sinat per eundemdom inum , (Sc .

P resta quesum us om n ipotens deus, ut nos

qui per im m ensam m iser i cordi am tuam ad

catholi ce ecc lesie unitatem ,cl v i ca r i i un i

This is apparently a corrupt reading for aber r a r e.227

APPENDIX

SECRET.

O God , by Whom our Saviour J esusChrist , praying that the faith of Peter mightnot fail , was heard for His reverence ;gran t , we beseech Thee , to all of us, who byThy clemency have been wonderfully delivered from the schism and errors in whichwe were immersed , that constancy in thefaith which may never permit us to strayfrom the Apostolic See : Through the

same , &c .

POST COMMUNION .

Grant , we beseech Thee, Almighty God ,that we who by Thy immense mercy havebeen brought back like erring Sheep to theunity of the Catholic Church and to theobedience of the Vicar of Thine onlybegotten Son , from which deluded by thecraft of Satan we had gone far astray, maySO by Thy grace increase in the fruits oftrue obedience, that by our example boththose who remain in it may be confirmedan d the rebellious may be inspired by Theeto return to the same ; Through the same, &c .

· prefatory note ihe history of cardinal pole is the history of the great schism and great recon...

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