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Transcriber’s Notes
Hyphenation and punctuation have been corrected and standardised.
Cromwell’s letters, however, have been fully retained according to the
original text; no changes in spelling have been applied here.
Numbered ranges have been expanded in full, i.e. 1595-6 is now
1595-1596. Dittoes in the Table of Contents have been eliminated by
insertion of appropriate text. Internal references have been adapted
to match the numbering scheme used in this electronic version.
The following passages have been changed:
p. 28: 'England and Francis' → 'England and France'
Footnote 240: 'Harl. MSS 6, 148' → 'Harl. MSS 6,148'
Underscores have been used to highlight _italic_ text. The caret symbol
(^) represents superscript characters; multiple characters have been
grouped using a pair of curly brackets (^{text}).
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[Illustration: THOMAS CROMWELL
FROM A PICTURE IN THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY]
LIFE AND LETTERS OF
THOMAS CROMWELL
BY
ROGER BIGELOW MERRIMAN
A.M. HARV., B.LITT. OXON.
WITH A PORTRAIT AND FACSIMILE
VOL. I
LIFE, LETTERS TO 1535
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1902
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
_PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD_
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK
PREFACE
This book is an attempt to present the life of Thomas Cromwell as a
statesman, and to estimate his work without religious bias. Though it
would certainly be difficult to overrate his importance in the history
of the Church of England, I maintain that the motives that inspired his
actions were invariably political, and that the many ecclesiastical
changes carried through under his guidance were but incidents of his
administration, not ends in themselves. Consequently any attempt to
judge him from a distinctively religious standpoint, whether Catholic or
Protestant, can hardly fail, it seems to me, to mislead the student and
obscure the truth. I cannot agree, on the other hand, with those who
have represented Cromwell as a purely selfish political adventurer, the
subservient instrument of a wicked master, bent only on his own gain. It
seems to me as idle to disparage his patriotism and statesmanship, as it
is to try to make him out a hero of the Reformation. He merits a place
far higher than that of most men of his type, a type essentially
characteristic of the sixteenth century, a type of which the Earl of
Warwick in England and Maurice of Saxony on the Continent are striking
examples, a type that profoundly influenced the destinies of
Protestantism, but to which theological issues were either a mere
nothing, or else totally subordinate to political considerations.
It has been justly said that Cromwell’s correspondence is our chief
source of information for the period immediately following the breach
with Rome. To transcribe _in extenso_ the letters he received would be
almost the task of a lifetime; for they form the bulk of the enormous
mass of material with which the editors of the Calendars of State Papers
for the years 1533-1540 have had to deal. But the number of extant
letters he wrote is, comparatively speaking, extremely small; it has
therefore been possible to make full copies of them in every case, and I
trust that the many advantages--linguistic as well as historical--that
can only be secured by complete, and as far as possible accurate
transcriptions of the originals, will be accepted as sufficient reason
for editing this collection of documents, twenty-one of which have
neither been printed nor calendared before. The rules that have been
observed in transcription will be found in the Prefatory Note (vol. i.
p. 311). The Calendar references to the more important letters received
by Cromwell, where they bear directly on those he wrote, are given in
the notes at the end of the second volume.
My warmest thanks are due to Mr. F. York Powell, Regius Professor of
Modern History in the University of Oxford, who has guided me throughout
in matter, form, and style; and to my friend and master Mr. A. L. Smith,
Fellow of Balliol College, whose advice and encouragement have been an
inspiration from first to last. It is not easy for me to express how
much I have depended on their suggestions and criticism. I am indebted
to Mr. Owen Edwards, Fellow of Lincoln College, for indispensable help
in the early stages of my work. The main plan of this book is in many
respects similar to that of his Lothian Essay for the year 1887, which I
regret that he has never published. My grateful acknowledgements are
also due to Mr. James Gairdner of the Public Record Office for
information about Cromwell’s early life; to Professor Dr. Max Lenz, of
the University of Berlin, for helpful suggestions in connexion with the
Anglo-German negotiations in the years 1537-1540; and to Mr. G. T.
Lapsley, of the University of California, for similar services in regard
to the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the reorganization of the North after
the suppression of the rebellion.
I beg to express my appreciation of the kindness of the Duke of Rutland,
the Marquess of Salisbury, Earl Spencer, Lord Calthorpe, William
Berington, Esq., and Alfred Henry Huth, Esq., in giving me access to the
manuscripts in their private collections.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the officials of the Public Record
Office, British Museum, Heralds’ College of Arms, and Bodleian Library,
for facilitating my work in every way; more especially Messrs. Hubert
Hall, R. H. Brodie, E. Salisbury, and F. B. Bickley, who have repeatedly
aided me in my search for uncalendared letters and continental
documents, and in deciphering the most difficult manuscripts I have had
to consult.
R. B. M.
BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD.
_February, 1902._
CONTENTS
VOLUME I
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE OF THOMAS
CROMWELL 1
APPENDIX. PASSAGES FROM CHAPUYS, POLE,
BANDELLO, AND FOXE 17
II. THE PARLIAMENT OF 1523 27
III. WOLSEY’S SERVANT 47
APPENDIX. THE WILL OF THOMAS CROMWELL 56
IV. THE FALL OF THE CARDINAL 64
V. THE CHARACTER AND OPPORTUNITY OF
THOMAS CROMWELL 77
VI. IN THE KING’S SERVICE 89
APPENDIX. THE SUPPLICATION OF THE
COMMONS AGAINST THE ORDINARIES 104
VII. INTERNAL POLICY 112
VIII. IRELAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, CALAIS 147
IX. THE MONASTERIES 165
X. THE PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE, 1536 180
XI. CARDINAL POLE 202
XII. THE FOREIGN POLICY 213
XIII. THE CATHOLIC REACTION AND THE ALLIANCE
WITH CLEVES 242
APPENDIX. REPORTS OF THE LUTHERAN
AMBASSADORS TO ENGLAND IN 1539 AND
1540 272
XIV. THE FALL OF THOMAS CROMWELL 281
APPENDIX. PASSAGES FROM FOXE: CROMWELL’S
SPEECH AND PRAYER ON THE
SCAFFOLD 303
XV. THE WORK OF THOMAS CROMWELL 305
PREFATORY NOTE TO CROMWELL’S LETTERS 311
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1523-1530 313
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1531 335
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1532 343
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1533 352
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1534 372
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1535 396
VOLUME II
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1536 1
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1537 50
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1538 111
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1539 166
CROMWELL’S LETTERS: 1540 244
AN ITINERARY OF THOMAS CROMWELL, 1523-1540 279
A LIST OF THE MINOR PREFERMENTS OF THOMAS
CROMWELL, AND A DESCRIPTION OF HIS ARMS
AND CREST 283
NOTES TO LETTERS 285
LIST OF AUTHORITIES 313
INDEX 319
ILLUSTRATIONS
PORTRAIT OF THOMAS CROMWELL _Frontispiece to_ vol. i
FACSIMILE OF A LETTER FROM THOMAS CROMWELL
TO LORD LISLE, AUG. 30, 1538 _Frontispiece to_ vol. ii
LIFE OF THOMAS CROMWELL
CHAPTER I
THE ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE OF THOMAS CROMWELL
The manor of Wimbledon comprises the parishes of Wimbledon, Putney,
Roehampton, Mortlake, and East Sheen, and parts of Wandsworth and
Barnes[1]. In West Saxon times it was one of the estates of the see of
Canterbury, but after the Conquest it was seized by Odo, the high-handed
Bishop of Bayeux: in 1071, however, it was recovered by Lanfranc, and
with one trifling interruption in the reign of Richard II., it remained
in the possession of the archbishopric until 1535. In that year Cranmer
surrendered it to Henry VIII. in exchange for the priory of St.
Rhadegund in Dover, and a little later the King granted it to Thomas
Cromwell[2], who was born there some fifty years before, the son of a
well-to-do blacksmith, brewer, and fuller. The early history of the
manor of Wimbledon is almost unknown, for we do not possess its Court
Rolls prior to the year 1461: they were probably lost or destroyed
during the Wars of the Roses. After 1461, however, they are continuous,
with the exception of the years 1473 and 1474.
An entry in these rolls, written in the year 1475, states that ‘Walter
Smyth and his father keep thirty sheep on Putney Common, where they have
no common[3].’ A number of subsequent mentions of this same Walter Smyth
shows that he was also called Walter Cromwell. The name Walter Cromwell
occurs more than ninety times in the rolls, and the name Walter Smyth at
least forty times. That both these names stand for the same person is
proved by one entry written, ‘Walter Cromwell alias Walter Smyth,’ by
two written, ‘Walter Smyth alias Cromwell,’ and by five written, ‘Walter
Cromwell alias Smyth.’ Who then was this Walter Cromwell, whence did he
come, and how did he acquire this double name?
The Cromwell family did not originate in Wimbledon. An entry in the
Close Roll of Edward IV. states that in the year 1461 John Cromwell, son
of William Cromwell, late of Norwell in Nottinghamshire, surrendered his
right in Parkersplace, Kendalsland and other property there to Master
John Porter, prebendary of Palishall[4]. Mr. John Phillips of Putney
further informs us that nine years before John Cromwell gave up his
lands in Norwell, he was granted the twenty-one years’ lease of a
fulling-mill and house in Wimbledon by Archbishop Kempe, lord of the
manor, and had moved there with his family[5]. It would be interesting
to know what Mr. Phillips’ authority for this statement is:
unfortunately he has given no reference for it. But whatever the precise
date and circumstances of their change of home, there can be little
doubt that the Cromwells migrated to Wimbledon from Norwell some time
before 1461. There is plenty of evidence in the Court Rolls to show that
Walter Smyth alias Cromwell was the son of John Cromwell, and the entry
of 1475 proves that they were both in Wimbledon in that year. The family
in Nottinghamshire from which they sprung was well-known and well-off;
both John Cromwell’s father William and his grandfather Ralph were
persons of wealth and position there[6].
Several entries in the Court Rolls indicate that John Cromwell’s wife
was the sister of a certain William Smyth, who is often mentioned as
‘William Smyth armourer,’ and sometimes as ‘William Armourer.’ It seems
probable that this William Smyth came with John Cromwell to Wimbledon
from Norwell, and the entries in the manorial records show that he lived
there with his brother-in-law. There is also reason to believe that the
latter’s son Walter was apprenticed to him during his younger days, and
so acquired the name Smyth.
Walter Cromwell grew up as a brewer, smith, and fuller in Putney. He had
an elder brother named John, who moved to Lambeth and settled down there
to a quiet and prosperous life as a brewer, later, according to Chapuys,
becoming cook to the Archbishop of Canterbury[7]. Walter, however,
remained in Wimbledon, and appears to have been a most quarrelsome and
riotous character. Most of the entries in the Court Rolls concerning him
are records of small fines incurred for petty offences. Forty-eight
times between 1475 and 1501 was he forced to pay sixpence for breaking
the assize of ale. In order to prevent the sale of bad beer in those
days, an ale-taster was appointed to pass, or condemn as unfit, all
brewing in the parish. Walter Cromwell did not go to the ale-taster
before he drew and sold his beer, and for failing so to do was fined as
aforesaid. There is also record that he was not seldom drunk. In 1477 a
penalty of twenty pence was inflicted on him for assaulting and drawing
blood from William Michell, and he and his father were very often
brought before the court on the charge of ‘overburthening’ the public
land in Putney with their cattle, and cutting more than their share of
the furze and thorns there[8]. But in spite of all these petty
misdemeanours, Walter Cromwell appears to have been a man of property
and influence in Wimbledon, and the Court Rolls in 1480 show that he
then possessed two virgates of land in Putney parish. To these were
added six more virgates in 1500 by grant of Archbishop Morton[9]. Walter
Cromwell was also made Constable of Putney in 1495[10], and his name
constantly occurs in the Court Rolls as decenarius and juryman[11].
Towards the end of his life, however, his character appears to have
become so bad that he forfeited all his position and property in
Wimbledon. In 1514 he ‘falsely and fraudulently erased the evidences and
terrures of the lord,’ so that the bedell was commanded ‘to seize into
the lord’s hands all his copyholds held of the lord and to answer the
lord of the issue[12].’ This is the last mention of the name of Walter
Cromwell in the Wimbledon Manor Rolls.
Walter Cromwell’s wife was the aunt of a man named Nicholas Glossop, of
Wirksworth in Derbyshire[13]. Mr. Phillips gives no reference for his
statements that she was the daughter of a yeoman named Glossop, and that
she was residing in Putney at the house of an attorney named John
Welbeck, at the time of her marriage with Walter Cromwell in 1474[14];
but we have no evidence that these assertions are incorrect. At least
two daughters and one son were born to Walter Cromwell. He may have had
other children, but as there was no registration of births, marriages,
or deaths in England until 1538, we can only be certain of these three,
of whom there are mentions in the Court Rolls and in other contemporary
records. The eldest daughter Katherine, who was probably born about the
year 1477, grew up and married a young Welshman named Morgan
Williams[15], whose family had come to Putney from Llanishen in
Glamorganshire. The Williamses were a very important family in Putney,
and John, the eldest of them, was a successful lawyer and accountant,
and steward to Lord Scales, who was then in possession of a residence
and some land in Putney parish. The youngest daughter of Walter Cromwell
was named Elizabeth. She married a sheep-farmer named Wellyfed, who
later joined his business to that of his father-in-law[16]. Christopher,
the son of Elizabeth Cromwell and Wellyfed, grew up and was later sent
to school with his cousin Gregory, son of his mother’s brother
Thomas[17]. We are now in a position to examine the many conflicting
statements concerning the son of Walter Cromwell, the subject of this
essay.
The traditional sources of information about Thomas Cromwell’s early
life are the characteristic but somewhat confusing stories of the
martyrologist Foxe, founded to some extent upon a novel of the Italian
author Bandello, the meagre though probably trustworthy accounts
contained in Cardinal Pole’s ‘Apologia ad Carolum Quintum,’ a letter of
Chapuys to Granvelle written November 21, 1535, and a few scattered
statements in the chroniclers of the period. To these were added in 1880
and 1882 the results of the researches of Mr. John Phillips in the
Wimbledon Manor Rolls[18]. Mr. Phillips has certainly brought to light a
large number of interesting facts about the ancestry and family of
Thomas Cromwell: it is the more unfortunate that he should have gone so
far astray in some of his statements concerning the man himself. He is
surely correct in assuming Thomas to be the son of Walter Cromwell; the
evidence afforded by the State Papers leaves no doubt of this. He is
also right in stating that the name Thomas Cromwell does not occur in
the Court Rolls. But it is more difficult to believe the theory which
Mr. Phillips has evolved from these data. As he finds no entry
concerning Thomas Cromwell in the manorial records, he seeks for some
mention of him under another appellation, and hits upon that of Thomas
Smyth as the most likely, owing to the fact that his father was called
by both surnames. He finds two entries in the Court Rolls concerning
Thomas Smyth, and assumes that they refer to Thomas Cromwell. These
entries occur in the records of Feb. 26, 1504, and of May 20 in the same
year. The first states that ‘Richard Williams came to the court and
surrendered into the hands of the lord two whole virgates of land in
‹Roe›hampton, one called Purycroft and the other called Williams, to the
use of Thomas Smyth, his heirs and assigns’; the second, that ‘Richard
Williams assaulted Thomas [Smyth] and beat the same Thomas against the
peace of the lord the King,’ and further that ‘Thomas Smyth came to the
court and surrendered into the hands of the lord two whole virgates of
land in Roehampton, one called Purycroft and the other called Williams,
to the use of David Doby, his heirs and assigns[19].’ Mr. Phillips has
made these entries the basis for an attack on the veracity of many of
the best-known stories of Bandello and Foxe concerning the early life of
our subject, but his whole case hangs on the assumption that Thomas
Smyth and Thomas Cromwell were one and the same man, and until he can
prove this ingenious but somewhat improbable theory his arguments cannot
be supported. He discusses at length the two entries in the Court Rolls,
adducing them as a proof of the falsity of the accounts which assert
Cromwell to have been in Italy previous to 1504, but concluding that the
record that Thomas Smyth disposed of his lands in Putney in May of that
year indicates that Thomas Cromwell left England at that time. To
corroborate this last theory he refers to the story of Chapuys that
Cromwell was ill-behaved when young, and was forced after an
imprisonment to leave the country, and also asserts, in order still
further to strengthen his case, that ‘the Court Rolls contain nothing
more respecting Thomas Cromwell than what we have already stated[20].’
It seems very extraordinary that Mr. Phillips should make this last
statement in view of his readiness to jump at the conclusion that Thomas
Smyth and Thomas Cromwell are identical. ‘Thomas Smyth,’ as a very
cursory examination of the Court Rolls will show, is mentioned therein
every year from 1493 to 1529 (inclusive), except in 1494 and 1516. As
there is certain evidence that Thomas Cromwell was in other places
during many of the years that Thomas Smyth was in Wimbledon, it is clear
that the two names cannot always stand for the same man. The question
which now arises is this: were there two Thomas Smyths, one of them
Thomas Cromwell and the other some other member of the Smyth family,
perhaps a descendant of William Smyth, armourer? Or is the Thomas Smyth
mentioned in the Court Rolls one man, and not Thomas Cromwell at all?
The second theory seems on the whole more probable than the first. There
are no contradictory statements about Thomas Smyth in the rolls, nor is
the name mentioned twice in any of the lists of the Homage or Frank
Pledge. Moreover had there been two Thomas Smyths, one of whom was
entitled to the name Cromwell, he would almost certainly have been
called so, in order to avoid confusion. On the other hand, it scarcely
seems likely that the son of Walter Cromwell should not be mentioned at
all in the Court Rolls. But this may be partially explained by Chapuys’
account of his youthful wildness and early imprisonment; it seems quite
probable that he was a mere boy when he left his home. The evidence
which we possess certainly seems to strengthen the conclusion that there
was but one Thomas Smyth: the man mentioned in the Court Rolls by that
name was probably a descendant of William Smyth, armourer[21]. Surely
none of the entries in the manorial records concerning Thomas Smyth can
be said to prove anything conclusive concerning the early life of the
subject of this essay. It has been the fashion to decry Bandello and
Foxe and to disbelieve all their stories, because of the undoubted
confusion of dates which vitiates their testimony. But if no reliance
can be placed on them, or on Pole, Chapuys, and the chronicles of the
period, must we not confess that our knowledge of the early years of our
subject’s life must reduce itself to an interrogation point? Let us
guard ourselves against accepting with implicit faith the statements of
these authors, but let us not cast them aside as utterly worthless. Let
us rather recognize that they still remain our most trustworthy sources
of information concerning the early life of Thomas Cromwell, and
therefore make a careful attempt to glean from their very confusing
statements the more probable facts concerning him.
None of the different accounts sheds any light upon the date of
Cromwell’s birth, but it is doubtful if it occurred later than 1485, in
view of his probable age at the time of his sojourn abroad. That he had
a quarrel with his father seems very likely: Bandello’s statement that
he came to Italy, ‘fleeing from his father,’ and Chapuys’ assertion that
he was ill-behaved when young, together with the many entries in the
rolls concerning the tempestuous and disorderly conduct of Walter
Cromwell, all point to the truth of this story[22]. Foxe moreover
asserts that Cromwell told Cranmer in later years ‘what a ruffian he was
in his younger days.’ Pole informs us that he soon became a roving
soldier in Italy, a statement which is borne out by the tales of
Bandello and Foxe that he was at the battle on the Garigliano (Dec.
28-29, 1503), in the service of the French army[23]. The well-known
story of the Italian novelist about Cromwell and Frescobaldo the
Florentine merchant, may well have some foundation in fact: there are
several mentions of Frescobaldo in the State Papers of the years
1530-1540, which prove that Cromwell was intimate with an Italian of
that name[24]. Some scholars have gone so far as to refuse to believe
that Cromwell ever went to Italy at all; but this must be the
incredulity of madness in face of the fact that all our contemporary
witnesses agree that he went there, and of the evidence afforded by his
wide acquaintance with Italians, and by his knowledge of their language
and literature.
From the date of the tale of Bandello up to 1512, the most probable
story concerning Cromwell’s life is that contained in Pole’s Apologia.
It is there stated that after his brief military career he became a
merchant, but did not remain a merchant long; and that he later attached
himself as accountant to a Venetian, whom Pole knew very well. Bandello
informs us that Cromwell returned to England after his stay in Florence;
it seems more probable, however, that he first went to Antwerp and
engaged in trade there; for Foxe and Chapuys both agree that he was in
Flanders, and the former asserts that he was in the service of English
dealers in the Flemish marts. Another singular but characteristic and
not improbable story of the martyrologist strengthens the theory that
Cromwell was in Antwerp some time after the battle on the Garigliano.
One Geoffrey Chambers was sent to Rome as a representative of the Gild
of Our Lady in St. Botolph’s Church in Boston, to obtain from the Pope
certain pardons or indulgences by which the severe rules concerning
Lenten observances might be relaxed; and passing through Antwerp he fell
in with Cromwell, whom he persuaded to accompany him. The latter entered
into the spirit of the enterprise; arrived at Rome, he procured some
choice sweetmeats and jellies, and armed with these lay in wait for the
Pope on his return from hunting. The delicacies were offered, Julius was
delighted with them, and granted the desired indulgences without delay.
Foxe states that this episode took place about the year 1510[25].
This story seems to indicate that Cromwell went to Italy a second time.
It fits in well with Pole’s statement that after his military experience
he became first a merchant, and then a clerk to a Venetian trader. The
absence of any trustworthy chronology, however, prevents us from
regarding any of the accounts of these different writers as really
historical; and when at last we meet with a date on which we can rely,
it is most tantalizing to find that the evidence which is afforded us in
connexion with it is of such a nature as to leave us almost as much in
the dark as before. In a letter written in June, 1536, a certain mercer,
by name George Elyot, addresses Cromwell as follows[26]: ‘Ryght
onourabyll sir my dewty Consethered as to youre Masterscheppe
apertayneth that hyt may plece your Masterscheppe For the love off god
to Exceppe my Rewd Maneres in thes behalf of wrytyng vnto you butt hyt
ys onely to schowe yowre Masterscheppe my pore mynd furste for the onour
of god & secondly For the god love & trew hartt that ‹I› have howtt vnto
you sensse the syngsson Martt at medelborow in anno 1512.’ This
quotation does not prove that Cromwell was at the Syngsson Mart at
Middelburg in 1512, nor does it shed much light on the position he
occupied at that time; still the probabilities strongly favour the
conclusion that he was either a merchant or a clerk to a merchant in the
Low Countries in 1512: the accounts of Foxe and Chapuys agree that he
was in the Netherlands in his younger days, and the letter of the mercer
seems to fix the date. We have also reason to believe that he was in
London soon after this practising as a solicitor. There exists in the
Record Office a document dated November, 1512, and endorsed, in a hand
which certainly resembles that of Cromwell’s later correspondence, ‘The
tytle of the manour Whityngham for Mr. Empson[27].’ The endorsement may
of course be of a very different date from that of the document itself;
still the evidence which it affords is not utterly valueless, especially
as another reason for supposing that Cromwell returned to England in
1512, or soon after, is afforded by the fact that his marriage must have
taken place about this time: the age of his son Gregory being such that
it could scarcely have occurred much later. The State Papers of 1512
give us more information concerning the early life of Thomas Cromwell
than those of any other year up to 1523. The sum total of the evidence
which they afford seems to indicate that he was in England and in the
Netherlands, that he was occupied both as a merchant and as a solicitor,
and that he was married in that year or soon afterwards.
Cromwell’s wife, to whom Chapuys refers as the daughter of a shearman,
was Elizabeth Wykys, descended from one of an ancient family of
esquires, who was gentleman-usher to Henry VII[28]. A reference in
Cromwell’s will of July 12, 1529, to one ‘Mercye Pryo_ur_’ as his
mother-in-law[29] has led some writers to suppose that he married
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Pryor, and widow of Thomas Williams, a
Welsh gentleman; but a letter to Cromwell from one Harry Wykys of
Thorpe, near Chertsey, dated November 2, 1523[30], disproves this
theory, and corroborates the other. The most probable explanation of the
entry in the will is that Mercy Pryor married twice, and that she was
the mother of Elizabeth Wykys by her first husband[31]. Cromwell’s wife
was probably a woman of some property. He was exactly the sort of man
who would seek a wife with an eye to the financial advantages of the
match, and the theory that Elizabeth Wykys was rich fits in well with
the evidence that her mother was married a second time. Moreover
Cromwell’s property increased so fast during his years of service under
Wolsey, that even his notorious accessibility to bribes could not
account for it, had it not been augmented from some outside source.
Chapuys goes on to say that for some time after his marriage Cromwell
kept servants in his house, carrying on the business of his
father-in-law; a statement corroborated by his correspondence, which
shows that he plied his trade as a cloth and wool merchant at least as
late as 1524. There can be little doubt, however, that he continued his
business as a solicitor at the same time, for it would be impossible to
explain his sudden advance in legal prominence in the years 1520 to
1525, if he had not had long practice in the law beforehand. The strange
combination of employments in which Cromwell was engaged fitted in well
with the peculiar versatility of the man, and brought him into close
contact with diverse sorts of men, in diverse conditions of life. A more
detailed account of his career during the seven or eight years which
followed his probable return to England it is impossible to give, for
between 1512 and 1520 there occurs another extraordinary gap in the life
of Thomas Cromwell, during which we do not possess a single trustworthy
contemporary record concerning him. In 1520 there is certainly evidence
that he was known to Wolsey, but precisely how or when his connexion
with the Cardinal began, it is impossible to tell.
The statement in the Dictionary of National Biography that Wolsey
appointed Cromwell collector of his revenues in 1514 is apparently
unfounded[32], and no reference is given for the assertion in Singer’s
Cavendish[33] that the Cardinal first met his future servant in France.
Another unverified story is that Lord Henry Percy, who had been an
intimate of the Cardinal’s household in his early years, borrowed money
from Cromwell, and conceiving a high opinion of his creditor, introduced
him to Wolsey[34]; while Mr. Phillips informs us that Robert Cromwell
(the son of Walter Cromwell’s brother John), who was vicar of Battersea
under the Cardinal, gave to his cousin Thomas the stewardship of the
archiepiscopal estate of York House, after Wolsey had been made
archbishop there. Though Mr. Phillips has again failed to cite his
authority for this last statement, it is but fair to say that the
probabilities are strongly in its favour: the theory that Cromwell owed
his appointment as Wolsey’s servant to his cousin Robert seems
particularly plausible, as the latter was certainly well known to the
Cardinal. It is possible that the origin of the connexion had something
to do with the young Marquis of Dorset, who later became Cromwell’s
patron. Wolsey had long been acquainted with the Marquis; he had been
the friend and tutor of his father when he was principal of Magdalen
School, and had been given the living of Limington in Somerset by a
still older member of the family in 1500[35]. The date of the origin of
Cromwell’s connexion with Wolsey must remain as much a matter of
conjecture as its cause. It seems probable that those historians who
have placed it as far back as 1513 or 1514 have been at fault, for had
Cromwell entered the Cardinal’s service as early as that there would
almost certainly have been more entries in the State Papers to show it.
As it is, we possess only one piece of evidence in contemporary records
to show that he was known to Wolsey before October, 1520, and that is of
such a nature that little reliance can be placed on it. On the back of a
letter, written in August, 1514, by the Abbot of Winchcomb to
Wolsey[36], are some lines in a hand which bears some resemblance to
Cromwell’s, apparently intended as an exercise in penmanship; the
similarity of the handwritings, however, is not so striking that it can
be regarded as affording any very conclusive proof: moreover as the
words on the back have no connexion with the letter itself, it is quite
likely that they were written at a much later date. It is safe to say
that the lack of information on the subject in the State Papers makes it
probable that if Cromwell’s connexion with Wolsey began much before
1520, it was certainly of very minor importance.
In the autumn of that year, however, we possess a record which leaves
little doubt that Cromwell had at least become known to the Cardinal. An
appeal had been made to the Papal Court at Rome against the sentence of
the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, in a suit between the vicar of
Cheshunt and the Prioress of the nunnery there. Wolsey, as Papal Legate,
soon afterwards received a copy of the citation and inhibition ‘with
other information by the letters of Thomas Cromwell,’ making clear the
rights and wrongs of the case, and the best method of handling it[37].
No other mention of Cromwell in connexion with the Cardinal occurs until
1523, when he drafted a petition to Wolsey in Chancery for a certain
John Palsgrave[38]. But these two records are enough to prove that he
was known to the Cardinal in the capacity of a solicitor and clerk from
a period at least as early as 1520. The gap between that date and 1512
is more difficult to fill. The supposition that Cromwell was in Wolsey’s
service as early as 1513 is perhaps the easiest method of disposing of
these years, but it certainly cannot be regarded as more than a theory,
unless some new document is found which corroborates it.
Most of the letters addressed to Cromwell during this period from 1520
to 1524 concern themselves with legal business, and request his aid as a
practised lawyer in some suit for the collection of debts or the
decision of a title to lands[39]. In August, 1522, he acted as an
‘indifferent person’ in a dispute between Richard Chauffer, alderman of
Calais, and Lord Mountjoy. In December, 1523, he served on the inquest
of wardmote in the ward of Bread Street. But it is also evident from his
correspondence that he had by no means lost interest in his business as
a cloth merchant and wool-dyer[40]. It may have been in this capacity
that he first became known to the family of the Marquis of Dorset. The
‘old lady Marques’ writes to him in August, 1522, as her ‘sonne marquys
s_er_v_au_nt,’ and desires him to send in haste ‘the trussynn bed of
cloth of tyssewe and the fether bed wyth the fustyons, and amateras
longyng to the same wyth the cownterpoynt ... tentes pauylyons &
hales[41].’ There is also record that Cromwell was a great lender of
money at high rates of interest. His friendship and reputation with
foreign merchants brought him an enormous amount of business, and his
property increased to a great extent. The training he received during
and after his journey on the Continent was probably the best that he
could have had to fit him for the difficult life-work that was given him
to perform. The spirit of the Italy of Machiavelli and Caesar Borgia
stamped itself deeply upon his youthful character. It gave him his
ideas, his theories. The hard school of adversity (at first almost a
struggle for existence), through which he passed during his early years,
afforded him the intimate knowledge of men and things, the wonderful
insight into human nature, and the ability to turn every event to the
advancement of his own purposes, that enabled him at a later day to
mould the destinies of the English nation.
‘And my experience happily me taught
Into the secrets of those times to see,
From whence to England afterward I brought
Those slights of state deliu’red vnto mee,
In t’which were then but very few that sought,
Nor did with th’umour of that age agree,
After did great and fearful things effect,
Whose secret working few did then suspect.’
Michael Drayton. The Legend of Great Cromwell, p. 13.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
I
PASSAGE FROM A LETTER OF CHAPUYS TO GRANVELLE, NOV. 21, 1535[42].
‘M^e Cremuel ... est filz dung poure marechal lequel en son vivant se
tenoit en vng petit villaige pres dici dune lieue et demye et est
sepulture au cemetiere de lad. parroiche dud. villaige de plus
pouurement que soient la son oncle[43] pere dung syen cousin qui‹l›a
desia fait fort riche estoit cousinier du feu euesque de Conturberi led.
Cremuel en sa jeunesse fust assez mal condicionner, et apres quelque
emprisonnement il fut contrainct vuider le pays et senpasser en flandres
et dois la en rome ou et ailleurs en italie il demeura quelque temps,
estant de retour il se maria a la fille dung tondeur de draps, et tint
quelque temps en sa maison seruiteurs exercent led. art apres il devint
solliciteur de causes et par ce moyen se feit congnoistre au cardinal de
york, lequel congnoissant la vigilance et diligence dud. Cremuel et
habilite et promptitude tant a mal que a bien, il le tint on nombre de
ses serviteurs, et l’employa principalement quant il fut question de
ruyner et demoler cinq du[44] six bons monasteres. Venant a descherir
led. cardinal il ny eust personne que saquittast myeulx enuers led.
cardinal que luy. Apres le decez dud. cardinal maistre valloup a present
ambassadeur en france le poursuyuant de injures et menasses le plus fort
du monde, et non voyant autre reffuge ne remede que de recourir au roy,
il fait tant par prieres et presens quil eust audience dud. roy auquel
il deust promettre de le faire le plus riche que oncques fut en
angleterre, et luy parla si bien et beaul qui le retint des lors de son
conseil, sans autre aduis et ne le decouurit led. roy a personne des
siens deans quatre moys apres Maintenant il a empiete de telle sorte
quil a baille le bout a toute la reste ‹si› ce nest a la dame, et le
tient tout le monde auoir plus de credit auprez de son maistre, que
neust oncques le cardinal du temps duquel en y auoit questoient en
concurrence de credit comme maistre Conton[45] et le duc de suffocq et
autres, mais maintenant il n’y a personne que face riens que luy, et ne
sert le chancellier synon pour mynistre et organe dud. Cremuel, lequel
jusques yci na voulu accepter led. office de chancellier, mais lon pense
bien tost il se layra persuader de lempoigner. Il est home bien parlant
en sa langue et mediocrement en la latyne francoyse et italyenne, home
de bonne chiere liberal et de ses biens et de bonnes et gracieuses
parolles, home manifique en trayn et batissement...’
II
PASSAGE FROM CARDINAL POLE’S APOLOGIA AD CAROLUM QUINTUM. Pars 1. p.
126, c. xxviii.
‘Sic ergo, si tale nomen quaeratur, Cromvellum eum appellant, si genus,
de nullo quidem ante eum, qui id nomen gereret, audivi. Dicunt tamen,
viculum esse prope Londinum, ubi natus erat, & ubi pater ejus pannis
verrendis victum quaeritabat, sed de hoc parum refert. Nunc si conditio
quaeratur, sic quidem de eo intellexi, aliquem in Italia fuisse
gregarium militem, fuisse etiam mercatorem, nec tamen longius progressum
in mercatura fuisse, quam ut scriba esset mercatoris, & libros rationum
servaret, optime vero novi illum mercatorem, qui Venetus erat natione,
cui operas suas locabat. Tandem hujus conditionis pertaesus, domum
reversus, causidicis se immiscuit, his qui jura Regni profitentur. In
quo eo magis se proficere sperabat, quod versuti & callidi ingenii sibi
conscius esset ad defendendum tam iniquum, quam aequum, quod ex
externorum commercio valde acuerat, cum nostrorum hominum ingeniorum
simplicitatem semper contemneret. Nec tamen in hoc genere valde crevit,
antequam ad Monasteriorum ruinam perventum est. Quod incoepit vivente
adhuc Cardinali Eboracense, dum Monasteria quaedam pene a suis deserta,
& illorum bona ac praedia in subsidium pauperum, qui in Gymnasiis
literis operam dabant, essent conversa. Hic vero notus esse coepit,
idque ostendit ad hanc artem solam se natum fuisse, ad ruinam &
vastationem, id quod crebra aliarum artium mutatio declaravit, in quibus
nihil crevit, in hac vero statim celebris esse coepit, & pluribus
notus, ita tamen in illis initiis hujus suae artis notus, ut cum
Cardinalis, cujus assecla fuit, & ex cujus authoritate et imperio illam
suam artem exercebat, ab administratione Reipublicae remotus esset, et
dignitate privatus, ipse omnium voce, qui aliquid de eo intellexerant,
ad supplicium posceretur. Hoc enim affirmare possum, qui Londini tum
adfui, & voces audivi, adeo etiam ut per civitatem universam rumor
circumferretur, eum in carcerem fuisse detrusum, & propediem productum
iri ad supplicium. Nec vero populus ullum spectaculum libentius
expectabat, nec ille rumor ex alia re nascebatur, nisi quod omnes eum
sciebant omni supplicio dignum ...’
III
NOVELLA XXXIV DELLA SECONDA PARTE DE LE NOVELLE DEL BANDELLO, Tomo
quinto, p. 251.
‘Francesco Frescobaldi fa cortesia ad uno straniero, e n’è
ben rimeritato, essendo colui divenuto Contestabile
d’Inghilterra.’
‘Ne la famiglia nobile et antica de i Frescobaldi in Firenze fu, non
sono molti anni, un Francesco, mercadante molto leale et onorevole, il
quale, secondo la costuma de la patria, essendo assai ricco, trafficava
in diversi luoghi e faceva di gran faccende, e quasi per l’ordinario
dimorava in Ponente, in Inghilterra, e teneva la stanza in Londra, ove
viveva splendidissimamente et usava cortesia assai; non la veggendo sì
per minuto come molti mercadanti fanno, che la contano fin a un picciolo
quattrino, come intendo dire che fa Ansaldo Grimaldo Genovese, che tien
conto fin d’un minimo foglio di carta e d’un palmo di cordella da legar
i pacchetti de le lettere. Avvenne un giorno che essendo Francesco
Frescobaldi in Firenze, se gli parò dinanzi un povero giovine, e gli
domandò elemosina per l’amor di Dio. Veggendolo il Frescobaldo sì mal in
arnese e che in viso mostrava aver del gentile, si mosse in pietà, e
tanto più, quanto che lo conobbe esser Inglese; onde gli domandò di che
contrada di Oltramontani fosse. Egli gli rispose che era Inglese; e
chiedendogli alcune particolarità, il Frescobaldo, d’Inghilterra, come
colui che assai pratico n’era, il giovine molto accomodatamente al tutto
sodisfece, dicendogli: Io mi chiamo Tomaso Cremonello, figliuolo di un
povero cimatore di panni, che fuggendo da mio padre son venuto in Italia
col campo de i Francesi, che è stato rotto al Garigliano, e stavo con un
fante a piedi, portandoli dietro la picca. Il Frescobaldo la menò in
casa molto domesticamente, e quivi alcun dì se lo tenne per amor de la
nazione Inglese, de la quale egli aveva ricevuti di molti piaceri; lo
trattò umanamente, lo vestì, e quando volse partirsi per ritornar ne la
patria, gli diede sedici ducati d’oro in oro fiorentini et un buon
ronzino. Il giovine veggendosi esser stato messo in arnese sì bene, rese
al Frescobaldo quelle grazie che seppe le maggiori, e se n’andò ne
l’isola a casa.’
* * * * *
[The next four pages are devoted to a more or less accurate account of
Cromwell’s life in London, his connexion with Wolsey, and his entrance
into the King’s service. The events narrated in the following passage
may be supposed to have taken place about 1535 or 1536.]
* * * * *
... ‘Dico adunque che in quei dì che il Cremonello era padrone e
governatore de l’isola, che Francesco Frescobaldo si ritrovava in
Italia, ove, come spesso a mercadanti interviene, avendo patiti molti
disastri e di gran danni ne la perdita de le sue mercadanzie, restò
molto povero; perciò che essendo uomo leale e da bene, pagò tutti quelli
a cui era debitore, e non puotè ricuperar ciò che da gli altri gli era
dovuto. Veggendosi egli ridutto a così povero stato, e fatto i suoi
conti e benissimo calculati, trovò che in Inghilterra aveva crediti per
più di quindici migliaia di ducati; onde si deliberò passar quindi, e
veder di ricuperar più che gli fosse possibile, e mettersi a viver il
rimanente de la sua vita quietamente. Così con questo pensiero passò
d’Italia in Francia, e di Francia in Inghilterra, e si fermò in Londra,
non gli sovvenendo perciò mai del beneficio che egli fatto già in
Firenze aveva al Cremonello; cosa veramente degna d’un vero liberale,
che de le cortesie che altrui fa, memoria mai non tiene, scolpendo in
marmo quelle che riceve, per pagarle ogni volta che l’occasione se gli
offerisce. Attendendo adunque in Londra a negoziar i fatti suoi, e
caminando un giorno in una contrada, avvenne che il Contestabile passava
anch’egli per la strada medesima, venendo a l’incontro del Frescobaldo.
Così subito che il Contestabile lo vide e gli ebbe gli occhi fermati nel
viso, si ricordò costui certamente esser quello, dal quale così gran
cortesia aveva in Firenze ricevuta, et essendo a cavallo, dismontò, e
con meraviglia grandissima di quelli che seco erano, chi v’erano più di
cento a cavallo de i primi del regno che gli facevano coda, l’abbracciò
con grande amorevolezza, e quasi lagrimando gli disse: Non sete voi
Francesco Frescobaldo Fiorentino? Sì sono, signor mio, rispose egli, e
vostro umil servidore. Mio servidore, disse il Contestabile, non sete
già voi nè per tal vi voglio, ma bene per mio grande amico, avvisandovi
che di voi ho giusta ragione di molto dolermi, perchè sapendo voi ciò
che io sono e dove era, devevate farmi saper la venuta vostra qui; che
certamente io averei pagato qualche parte del debito che confesso aver
con voi. Ora lodato Iddio che ancor sono a tempo; voi siate il benissimo
venuto. Io vado ora per affari del mio Re, e non posso far più lunga
dimora vosco, e m’averete per iscusato; ma fate per ogni modo, che in
questa mattina vegnate a desinar meco, e non fate fallo. Così rimontò il
Contestabile a cavallo e se n’andò in Corte al Re. Il Frescobaldo,
partito che fu il Contestabile, s’andò ricordando che cotestui era quel
giovine Inglese che egli già in Firenze in casa sua raccolse, e cominciò
a sperar bene, pensando che il mezzo di così grand’uomo molto gli
giovarebbe a ricuperar i suoi danari. Essendo poi l’ora di desinare, se
n’andò al palazzo del Contestabile, e quivi nel cortile poco attese che
egli rivenne. Il quale smontato che fu, di nuovo amicabilmente
riabbracciò il Frescobaldo, e volto a l’armiraglio, et ad altri prencipi
e signori che con lui erano venuti a desinare, disse: Signori, non vi
meravigliate de le amorevoli dimostrazioni che io faccio a questo
gentiluomo Fiorentino, perchè queste sono parte di pagamento d’infiniti
obblighi che io conosco e confesso di avergli, essendo nel grado che
sono per mezzo suo, et udite come. A l’ora, a la presenza di tutti,
tenendo sempre per mano il gentiluomo Fiorentino, narrò loro in che modo
era capitato a Firenze, e le carezze che da lui aveva ricevute; e così
tenendolo sempre per mano, se ne salirono le scale, e giunti in sala si
misero a tavola. Volle il Contestabile che il Frescobaldo gli stesse
appresso, e sempre l’accarezzò amorevolissimamente. Desinato che si fu e
quei signori partiti, volle il Contestabile saper la cagione, per la
quale era il Frescobaldo ritornato a Londra. Narrogli a l’ora tutta la
sua disgrazia il Frescobaldo, e che non gli essendo rimaso, de la casa
in fuori in Firenze et un podere in contado, quasi niente, se non quei
quindeci mila ducati che in Inghilterra deveva avere, e forse duo mila
in Ispagna, che per ricuperargli s’era ne l’Isola trasferito. Or bene
sta, disse il Contestabile. A le cose passate, che fatte non sieno, non
si può trovar rimedio; ben mi posso con voi dolere de gl’infortunii
vostri, come con il core faccio; al rimanente si darà tal ordine, che
voi ricuperarete tutti i vostri danari che qui devete avere, e non vi si
mancherà di quello che io potrò, assicurandovi, che la cortesia che
m’usate, non mi conoscendo altramente, mi vi rende di modo ubbligato che
sempre sarò vostro, e di me e de le mie facultà potrete disporre come io
proprio, e non lo facendo, il danno sarà vostro, nè più farò offerta
alcuna, parendomi che sarebbe superflua. Basti che questo vi sia ora per
sempre detto. Ma leviamoci et andiamo in camera, ove il Contestabile
serrato l’uscio, aperse un gran coffano pieno di ducati, e pigliandone
sedeci gli diede al Frescobaldi, e gli disse: Eccovi, amico mio, i
sedeci ducati che mi donaste al partir di Firenze, eccovi gli altri
dieci che vi costò il ronzino che per me comperaste, et eccovene altri
dieci che spendeste in vestirmi. Ma perchè essendo voi mercadante, non
mi par onesto che i vostri danari debbiano esser stati tanto tempo
morti, ma s’abbiano guadagnato, come è il costume vostro, eccovi quattro
sacchetti di ducati, in ciascuno de i quali sono quattro mila ducati.
Voi in ricompensa de i vostri ve gli pigliarete, godendogli per amor
mio. Il Frescobaldo, ancor che da grandissime ricchezze fosse caduto in
gran povertà, nondimeno non aveva perduto la sua generosità d’animo, e
non gli voleva accettare, ringraziandolo tutta via di tanta sua
cortesia; ma a la fine astretto per viva forza dal Contestabile, che gli
desse tutti i nomi in nota de i suoi debitori; il che Frescobaldo fece
molto volentieri, mettendo il nome dei debitori e la somma che gli
devevano. Avuta questa cedula, chiamò il Cremonello un suo uomo di casa,
e gli disse: Guarda chi sono costoro, che su questa lista sono scritti,
e fa che gli ritrovi tutti, siano dove si vogliano in questa isola, e
farai loro intendere che se fra quindici giorni non hanno pagato tutto
il lor debito, che io ci porrò la mano con lor dispiacere e danno, e che
facciano pensiero, che io sia il creditore. Fece l’uomo il comandamento
del suo padrone molto diligentemente, di maniera che al termine statuito
furono ricuperati circa quindici mila ducati. E se il Frescobaldo avesse
voluto gl’interessi, che in così lungo tempo erano corsi, tutti gli
averebbe avuti, fin ad un minimo denaio; ma egli si contentò del
capitale, nè volse interesse alcuno, che di più in più gli acquistò
credito e riputazione appresso tutti, massimamente sapendosi già da
ciascuno de l’isola il favore che egli aveva appresso la persona del
Contestabile. In questo mezzo, fu di continovo esso Frescobaldo
commensale del Cremonello, il quale di giorno in giorno si sforzava
d’onorarlo quanto più poteva. E desiderando che di continovo egli
rimanesse in Londra, piacendogli molto la pratica sua, gli offerse di
prestargli per quattro anni sessanta mila ducati, a ciò che mettesse
casa e banco in Londra e gli trafficasse, senza volerne profitto d’un
soldo, promettendogli oltra questo ogni favore ne le cose de la
mercadanzia. Ma il Frescobaldo che desiderava di ritirarsi a casa, e
viver il resto de la sua vita in quiete et attender solamente a se
stesso, infinitamente lo ringraziò di tanta suprema cortesia, e con
buona grazia del Contestabile, rimessi tutti i suoi danari in Firenze, a
la desiderata patria se ne ritornò, dove essendo ritornato assai ricco,
si mise a viver una vita quietissima. Ma poco tempo visse in quiete,
perchè quell’anno istesso che da Londra era partito, in Firenze se ne
morì.’
* * * * *
IV
PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE OF LORD CROMWELL AS CONTAINED IN FOXE’S
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, vol. ii. pp. 419-434.
‘Thomas Cromwell although born of a simple Parentage and House obscure,
through the singular excellency of Wisdom and dexterity of Wit wrought
in him by God, coupled with like industry of mind, and deserts of life,
rose to high preferment and authority;’
* * * * *
‘First as touching his Birth, he was born at Putney or thereabout, being
a Smiths Son, whose Mother married after to a sheerman.’
* * * * *
‘As touching the order and manner of his coming up, it would be
superfluous to discourse what may be said at large: only by way of story
it may suffice to give a touch of certain particulars and so to
proceed.’ ... ‘Nothing was so hard which with wit and industery he could
not compass. Neither was his capacity so good but his memory was as
great in retaining whatsoever he had attained. Which well appeareth in
canning the text of the whole new Testament of Erasmus Translation
without Book, in his journey going and coming from Rome, whereof you
shall hear anon.’
‘Thus in his growing years, as he shot up in age and ripeness, a great
delight came in his mind to stray into forreign Countries to see the
World abroad, and to learn experience, whereby he learned such Tongues
and Languages as might better serve for his use hereafter.’
‘And thus passing over his youth being at Antwerp, he was there retained
of the English Merchants to be their Clerk or Secretary, or in some such
like condition placed pertaining to their affairs.’
‘It happened the same time that the Town of Boston thought good to send
up to Rome for renewing of their two pardons, one called the great
pardon and the other the lesser pardon. Which thing although it should
stand them in great expences of money (for the Popes Merchandise is
always dear ware) yet notwithstanding such sweetness they had felt
thereof, and such gain to come to their town by that Romish Merchandise
(as all Superstition is commonly gainful) that they like good Catholick
Merchants and the Popes good customers, thought to spare for no cost, to
have their leases again of their pardons renewed, whatsoever they paid
for the fine. And yet was all this good Religion then, such was the
lamentable blindness of that time.’
‘This then being so determined and decreed among my Countrymen of Boston
to have their pardons needs repaired and renewed from Rome, one Geffery
Chambers, with another Champion was sent for the messengers, with
writings and money, no small quantity, well furnished, and with all
other things appointed necessary for so chargeable and costly exploit.
Who coming in his journey to Antwerp, and misdoubting to be too weak for
the compassing of such a weighty piece of work, conferred and perswaded
with T. Cromwel to associat him in that legacy, and to assist him in the
contriving thereof. Cromwel although perceiving the enterprise to be of
no small difficulty to traverse the Popes Court, for the unreasonable
expences amongst those greedy Cormorants, yet having some skill of the
Italian Tongue, and as yet not grounded in the judgement of Religion in
those his youthful days, was at length obtained and content to give the
adventure, and so took his journey towards Rome. Cromwel loth to spend
much time, and more loth to spend his money; and again perceiving that
the Popes greedy humour must needs be served with some present or other
(for without rewards there is no doing at Rome) began to cast with
himself what thing best to devise wherein he might best serve the Popes
devotion.’
‘At length having knowledge how that the Popes holy tooth greatly
delighted to new fangled strange delicates and dainty dishes, it came
in his mind to prepare certain fine dishes of gelly, after the best
fashion, made after our Countrey manner here in England, which to them
of Rome was not known nor seen before.’
‘This done, Cromwell observing his time accordingly, as the Pope was
newly come from hunting into his pavillion, he with his companions
approached with his English presents brought in with a three mans song
(as we call it) in the English tongue and after the English fashion. The
Pope suddenly marvelling at the strangeness of the song, and
understanding that they were English men, and that they came not empty
handed, willed them to be called in. Cromwel there shewing his
obedience, and offering his jolly junkets, such as Kings and Princes
only, said he, in the Realm of England use to feed upon, desired the
same to be accepted in benevolent part, which he and his companions, as
poor suters unto his Holiness had there brought and presented, as
novelties meet for his recreation etc.’
‘Pope Julius, seeing the strangeness of the dishes, commanded by and by
his Cardinal to take the assay. Who in tasting thereof liked it so well,
and so likewise the Pope after him, that knowing of them what their
sutes were, and riquiring them to make known the making of that meat, he
incontinent, without any more adoe, stamped both their pardons as well
the greater as the lesser: ... it seemeth that Cromwell obtained this
Pardon aforesaid about the year of our Lord, 1510.’...
[The rest of the story deals for the most part with Cromwell’s career in
the service of the Cardinal and of the King. Historically it is almost
worthless--nearly every paragraph contains statements which the more
trustworthy sources prove to be impossible. A curious legend of
Cromwell’s saving the life of the Earl of Bedford at Bologna is followed
by a more plausible account of the latter afterward commending his
preserver to the King. Foxe also states that Sir Christopher Hales, a
violent papist, but a friend of Cromwell’s, took an opportunity to say a
good word for him to Henry after Wolsey’s fall, that the King at last
had an interview with his future minister in Westminster Gardens, and
was advised by him to shake off the yoke of Rome. The latter part of
this story follows closely the account of Cardinal Pole (see chapter vi.
p. 92). Foxe goes on to an exhaustive defence of Cromwell’s actions
during his ministry, especially the suppression of the monasteries and
the measures adopted for the promotion of the new religion. The story of
the loss of Cranmer’s Book Against the Six Articles at the bear-baiting
on the Thames (see chapter xiii. p. 255) and the account of
Frescobaldo’s kindness to Cromwell in Florence are related at length.
Many other minor incidents of Cromwell’s life are also recorded: we are
told how he stopped a skirmish in Paternoster Row, how he prevented a
friar from wearing his cowl in the streets, how he imprisoned a ruffian
with long hair, and how he aided a poor man whose father had once
befriended him in distress. The story closes with an account of
Cromwell’s fall, sentence and execution, and gives the speech and prayer
he is supposed to have made on the scaffold. (See Appendix at the end of
chapter xiv.)]