RENEWAL OF PEACE
1523-1527
The events of the year 1523 had practically made an end of the imperial
alliance. Henry VIII. was not in a position to go to war again, and his
confidence in Charles V.'s good intentions towards him was dispelled.
Charles and Francis had had enough of war, and both of them secretly
desired peace, but neither would make the first move towards it. Wolsey
watched their movements keenly, and strove that English interests should
not be entirely sacrificed in the pacification which seemed imminent. He
strove to induce Charles to allow proposals of peace to proceed from
England, which should arbitrate on the differences between him and
Francis. He urged that in any negotiations which Charles himself
undertook he was bound to consider how Henry could be recompensed for
his losses. Moreover, he secretly opened up negotiations of his own with
the French Court, and used the imperial alliance as a means to heighten
England's value to France.
The more Wolsey watched events the more he became convinced that the
best thing was to make a separate peace with France, yet in such a way
as to avoid an open breach with the Emperor. There were other reasons
besides the failure of military expeditions, and the distrust in any
good result from their continuance, which impelled Wolsey to a pacific
policy. He knew only too well that war was impossible, and that the
country could not bear the continued drain on its resources. If Henry
VII. had developed the royal power by a parsimony which enabled him to
be free from parliamentary control, Henry VIII. had dazzled his people
by the splendour of royalty, and had displayed his magnificence to such
an extent that Englishmen were beginning to doubt if they could afford
much longer to be so important, or rather if England's importance in
Continental affairs were worth all the money that it cost. Of late years
the weight of taxation had become oppressive, and the expenses of the
last campaign were difficult to meet.
There was no difference between the national revenue and the royal
revenue in Wolsey's days. The king took all the money he could get, and
spent it as he thought good; if he went to war he expected his people to
pay for it. In an ordinary way the king was well provided for by his
feudal dues and the proceeds of customs, tonnage and poundage, and the
tax on wool, wool-fells, and leather. When extraordinary expenses were
incurred Parliament was summoned, and granted taxes to the king. Their
vote was reckoned on an old assessment of tenths and fifteenths of the
value of chattels possessed by the baronage and the commons; and when
Parliament made this grant the clergy in their convocation granted a
tenth of clerical incomes. The value of a tenth and fifteenth was
£30,000; of a clerical tenth £10,000; so that the usual grant in case of
an emergency amounted to £40,000 from the whole realm. For his
expedition of 1513 Henry obtained a vote of two tenths and fifteenths,
besides a subsidy of a graduated income and property tax which was
estimated to produce £160,000, and this had to be supplemented by a
further grant of tenths and fifteenths in 1515.
It was in 1515 that Wolsey became Chancellor, and with that office
assumed the entire responsibility for all affairs of state. He managed
to introduce some order into the finances, and during the years of
pacific diplomacy things went tolerably well. But the French expeditions
were costly, and in April 1523 Parliament had to be summoned to pay the
king's debts. The war against France was popular, and men were willing
to contribute.
So on 15th April Henry VIII. opened Parliament, and Tunstal, Bishop of
London, delivered the usual oration in praise of the king and grief over
the evils of the time. The Commons departed, and elected as their
Speaker Sir Thomas More, who had already abandoned the quiet paths of
literature for the stormy sea of politics. The king's assent was given
in the usual manner to his appointment, and the session was adjourned.
The Commons doubtless began to take financial matters under their
consideration, but it was thought desirable that they should have a
definite statement of the national needs. On 29th April Wolsey went to
the House, and after urging the importance of the interests at stake in
the war, proposed a subsidy of £800,000, to be raised according to an
old method, by a tax of four shillings in the pound on all goods and
lands. Next day there was much debate on this proposal; it was urged
that the sudden withdrawal of so large an amount of ready money would
seriously affect the currency, and was indeed almost impossible. A
committee was appointed to represent to Wolsey that this was the sense
of the House, and beg him to induce the king to moderate his demands.
Wolsey answered that he would rather have his tongue pulled out with
red-hot pincers than carry such a message to the king.
The Commons in a melancholy mood renewed their debate till Wolsey
entered the House and desired to reason with those who opposed his
demands. On this Sir Thomas More, as Speaker, defended the privilege of
the House by saying, "That it was the order of that House to hear and
not to reason save among themselves." Whereupon Wolsey was obliged to
content himself with answering such objections as had come to his ear.
He argued, it would seem with vigour, that the country was much richer
than they thought, and he told them some unpleasant truths, which came
with ill grace from himself, about the prevalence of luxury. After his
departure the debate continued till the House agreed to grant two
shillings in the pound on all incomes of £20 a year and upwards; one
shilling on all between £20 and £2; and fourpence on all incomes under
£2; this payment to be extended over two years. This was increased by a
county member, who said, "Let us gentlemen of £50 a year and upwards
give the king of our lands a shilling in the pound, to be paid in two
years." The borough members stood aloof, and allowed the landholders to
tax themselves an extra shilling in the pound if they chose to do so.
This was voted on 21st May, and Parliament was prorogued till 10th June.
Meanwhile popular feeling was greatly moved by rumours of an
unprecedented tax, and what was really done was grossly exaggerated on
all sides. As the members left the House an angry crowd greeted them
with jeers. "We hear say that you will grant four shillings in the
pound. Do so, and go home, we advise you." Really the members had done
the best they could, and worse things were in store for them. For when
the session was resumed the knights of the shire showed some resentment
that they had been allowed to outdo the burgesses in liberality. They
proposed that as they had agreed to pay a shilling in the pound on land
assessed over £50 in the third year, so a like payment should be made in
the fourth year on all goods over the value of £50. There was a stormy
debate on this motion; but Sir Thomas More at length made peace, and it
was passed. Thus Wolsey, on the whole, had contrived to obtain something
resembling his original proposal, but the payments were spread over a
period of four years. After this Wolsey, at the prorogation of
Parliament, could afford to thank the Commons on the king's behalf, and
assure them that "his Grace would in such wise employ their loving
contribution as should be for the defence of his realm and of his
subjects, and the persecution and pressing of his enemy."
Yet, however Wolsey might rejoice in his success, he knew that he had
received a serious warning, which he was bound to lay to heart. He had
been faithful to the king, and had done his best to carry out his views.
The war with France was none of his advising, and he had no hopes of any
advantage from it; yet he was willing to take all the blame of measures
which inwardly he disapproved. He stood forward and assumed the
unpopularity of taxation, whose necessity he deplored. Henry spent the
nation's money at his pleasure, and Wolsey undertook the ungrateful task
of squeezing supplies from a reluctant Parliament, while the king sat a
benevolent spectator in the background. Henry took all the glory, and
left Wolsey to do all the unpleasant work. Wolsey stood between the
national temper and the king; he felt that he could not stand under the
odium of accomplishing many more such reconciliations. England had
reached the limit of its aspirations after national glory. For the
future Wolsey must maintain the king's honour without appealing to the
national pocket.
There was no prospect of obtaining further supplies from Parliament, and
the best way to pay the expenses of a futile war was by making a
lucrative peace. Wolsey tried to induce Francis I. to renew his
financial agreement with Henry VIII. which the war had broken off; and
to bring pressure to bear upon him for this purpose, was willing to
continue with Charles V. negotiations for a fresh undertaking.
So in June the unwearied Pace was sent to Bourbon's camp to promise
England's help on terms which Wolsey knew were sure to be refused.
England would again join in a campaign against France in the north,
provided Bourbon, by an invasion of Provence, succeeded in raising a
rebellion against Francis I., and would take an oath of allegiance to
the English king as lord of France. Bourbon sorely needed money, and did
all he could to win over Pace. He secretly took an oath of fidelity, not
of allegiance; and Pace was impressed with admiration of his genius and
believed in his chances of success. Wolsey was coldly cautious towards
Pace's enthusiasm, and the result was a breach between them. Pace openly
blamed Wolsey, as Wingfield had done before, and pressed for money and
an armed demonstration. Wolsey soberly rebuked his lack of judgment by
setting before him a well-considered survey of the political chances.
His caution proved to be justified, as Bourbon's invasion of Provence
was a failure. Wolsey gained all that he needed by his pretence of
helping Bourbon; he induced the French Court to undertake negotiations
seriously by means of secret envoys who were sent to London.
Still Wolsey did not hide from himself the difficulties in the way of an
alliance with France which would satisfy Henry VIII. or bring
substantial advantage to the country. However, on one point he managed
to obtain an immediate advantage. He always kept his eye on Scotland,
and now used the first signs of returning friendliness on the part of
France to further his scheme of restoring English influence in that
country. In June the Duke of Albany was recalled to France, and Wolsey
set to work to win back Queen Margaret to her brother's cause. He seems
to have despaired of blandishments, and contrived a way to have a more
powerful weapon. Margaret's husband, the Earl of Angus, had been sent by
Albany to France, where he was carefully guarded. On the first signs of
renewed friendliness between England and France a hint from Wolsey
procured him an opportunity of escaping to England. With Angus at his
disposal Wolsey urged Margaret to be reconciled to her husband, and
terrified her by the prospect of alternately restoring him to Scotland.
By playing cleverly on her personal feelings, Wolsey led her by degrees
to accept his own plan for freeing Scotland from Albany and French
interference. He urged that the young king was now old enough to rule
for himself, and promised Margaret help to secure her supremacy in his
council. At the same time he won over the Scottish lords by the prospect
of a marriage between James and Mary of England, who was still Henry
VIII.'s heir. In August James V. was set up as king, and the Scottish
Parliament approved of the English marriage. Again Wolsey won a signal
triumph, and accomplished by diplomacy what the sword had been unable to
achieve.
We need not follow the complicated diplomacy of the year 1524, which was
transferred to Italy, whither Francis I. had pursued Bourbon and was
engaged in the siege of Pavia. It is enough to say that Wolsey pursued a
cautious course: if Francis won the day in Italy he was ready to treat
with him liberally: if the imperial arms prevailed, then he could sell
England's alliance more dearly. But this cautious attitude was
displeasing to Charles, whose ambassador in London, De Praet, complained
without ceasing of the growing coldness of Henry and Wolsey. Wolsey kept
a sharp watch on De Praet, and resented his keen-sightedness; finally,
in February 1525, De Praet's despatches were intercepted, and he was
called before the Council, when Wolsey charged him with untruth. De
Praet answered by complaining that his privileges as an ambassador had
been violated. He was ordered to confine himself to his own house till
the king had written to the Emperor about his conduct.
This was indeed an unheard-of treatment for the ambassador of an ally,
and we can scarcely attribute it merely to personal spite on the part of
so skilled a statesman as Wolsey. Perhaps it was a deliberate plan to
cause a personal breach between Henry and the Emperor. No doubt Henry's
own feelings were towards Charles rather than Francis, and it seems
probable that Wolsey wished to show his master that Charles was only
trying to make use of his friendship for his own purposes. The
despatches of Charles's envoy were opened and their contents made known
to Henry for some time before Wolsey took any open action. He acted when
he saw his master sufficiently irritated, and he probably suggested that
the best way to give Charles a lesson was by an attack upon his
ambassador. This proposal agreed with the high-handed manner of action
which Henry loved to adopt. It gave him a chance of asserting his own
conception of his dignity, and he challenged Charles to say if he
identified himself with his ambassador's sentiments.
Under any circumstances it was an audacious step, and as things turned
out it was an unfortunate one. Within a few days the news reached
England that Francis had been attacked at Pavia by the imperial forces,
had been entirely routed, and was a prisoner in the hands of Charles.
Though Wolsey was prepared for some success of the imperial arms, he was
taken aback at the decisiveness of the stroke. His time for widening the
breach between Charles and Henry had not been well chosen.
However, Charles saw that he could not pursue his victory without money,
and to obtain money he must adopt an appearance of moderation. So he
professed in Italy willingness to forget the past, and he avoided a
quarrel with England. He treated the insult to his ambassador as the
result of a personal misunderstanding. Henry complained of De Praet's
unfriendly bearing; Charles assured him that no offence was intended.
Both parties saved their dignity; De Praet was recalled, and another
ambassador was sent in his stead. Wolsey saw that he had been
precipitate, and hastened to withdraw his false step; Henry lent him his
countenance, but can scarcely have relished doing so. Wolsey knew that
his difficulties were increased. The victory of Charles again drew Henry
to his side and revived his projects of conquest at the expense of
France, now left helpless by its king's captivity. As the defection of
Bourbon had formerly awakened Henry's hopes, so now did the captivity of
Francis. Again Wolsey's pacific plans were shattered; again he was
driven to undertake the preparations for a war of which his judgment
disapproved.
Indeed Wolsey knew that war was absolutely impossible for want of money;
but it was useless to say so to the king. He was bound to try and raise
supplies by some means or other, and his experience of the last
Parliament had shown him that there was no more to be obtained from that
source. In his extremity Wolsey undertook the responsibility of reviving
a feudal obligation which had long been forgotten. He announced that the
king purposed to pass the sea in person, and demanded that the goodwill
of his subjects should provide for his proper equipment. But the
goodwill of the people was not allowed the privilege of spontaneous
generosity. Commissioners were appointed in every shire to assess men's
property, and require a sixth part of it for the king's needs. Wolsey
himself addressed the citizens of London. When they gave a feeble assent
to his request for advice, "whether they thought it convenient that the
king should pass the sea with an army or not," he proceeded, "Then he
must go like a prince, which cannot be without your aid." He unfolded
his proposals for a grant of 3s. 4d. in the pound on £50 and upwards,
2s. 8d. on £20 and upwards, and 1s. in the pound on £1 and upwards. Some
one pleaded that the times were bad. "Sirs," said Wolsey, "speak not to
break what is concluded, for some shall not pay even a tenth; and it
were better that a few should suffer indigence than the king at this
time should lack. Beware, therefore, and resist not, nor ruffle not in
this case; otherwise it may fortune to cost some their heads." This was
indeed a high-handed way of dealing with a public meeting, which was
only summoned to hear the full measure of the coming calamity. We cannot
wonder that "all people cursed the cardinal and his adherents as
subverters of the laws and liberty of England." Nor was Wolsey ignorant
of the unpopularity which he incurred; but there was no escape possible.
He rested only on the king's favour, and he knew that the king's
personal affection for him had grown colder. He was no longer the king's
friend and tutor, inspiring him with his own lofty ideas and slowly
revealing his far-reaching schemes. Late years had seen Wolsey immersed
in the business of the State, while the king pursued his own pleasures,
surrounded by companions who did their utmost to undermine Wolsey's
influence. They advocated war, while he longed for peace; they
encouraged the royal extravagance, while he worked for economy; they
favoured the imperial alliance and humoured Henry's dreams of the
conquest of France, while Wolsey saw that England's strength lay in a
powerful neutrality. The king's plans had deviated from the lines which
Wolsey had designed, and the king's arbitrary temper had grown more
impatient of restraint. Wolsey had imperceptibly slipped from the
position of a friend to that of a servant, and he was dimly conscious
that his continuance in the royal service depended on his continued
usefulness. Whatever the king required he was bound to provide.
So Wolsey strained every nerve to fill the royal coffers by the device
of an "Amicable Loan," which raised a storm of popular indignation. Men
said with truth that they had not yet paid the subsidy voted by
Parliament, and already they were exposed to a new exaction. Coin had
never been plentiful in England, and at that time it was exceptionally
scarce. The commissioners in the different shires all reported the
exceeding difficulty which they met with in the discharge of their
unpleasant duty. It soon became clear to Wolsey that his demand had
overshot the limits of prudence, and that money could not be raised on
the basis of the parliamentary assessment without the risk of a
rebellion. Accordingly Wolsey withdrew from his original proposal. He
sent for the mayor and corporation of London and told them, in the
fictitious language in which constitutional procedure is always veiled,
"I kneeled down to his Grace, showing him both your good minds towards
him and also the charge you continually sustain, the which, at my desire
and petition, was content to call in and abrogate the same commission."
The attempt to raise money on the basis of each man's ratable value was
abandoned, and the more usual method of a benevolence was substituted in
its stead.
This, however, was not much more acceptable. Again Wolsey summoned the
mayor and corporation; but they had now grown bolder, and pleaded that
benevolences had been abolished by the statute of Richard III. Wolsey
angrily answered that Richard was a usurper and a murderer of his
nephews; how could his acts be good? "An it please your Grace," was the
answer, "although he did evil, yet in his time were many good acts made
not by him only, but by the consent of the body of the whole realm,
which is Parliament." There was nothing more to be said, and Wolsey had
to content himself with leaving every man to contribute privily what he
would. It did not seem that this spontaneous liberality went far to
replenish the royal exchequer.
What happened in London was repeated in different forms in various parts
of England. In Norwich there was a tumult, which it needed the presence
of the Duke of Norfolk to appease. He asked the confused assembly who
was their captain, and bade that he should speak. Then out spake one
John Greene, a man of fifty years. "My lord, since you ask who is our
captain, forsooth, his name is Poverty; for he and his cousin Necessity
have brought us to this doing. For all these persons and many more live
not of ourselves, but we live by the substantial occupiers of this
country; and yet they give us so little wages for our workmanship that
scarcely we be able to live; and thus in penury we pass the time, we,
our wives and children: and if they, by whom we live, be brought in that
case that they of their little cannot help us to earn our living, then
must we perish and die miserably. I speak this, my lord: the clothmakers
have put away all their people, and a far greater number, from work. The
husbandmen have put away their servants and given up household; they say
the king asketh so much that they be not able to do as they have done
before this time, and then of necessity must we die wretchedly."
John Greene's speech expressed only too truly the condition of affairs
in a period of social change. The old nobility had declined, and the old
form of life founded on feudalism was slowly passing away. Trade was
becoming more important than agriculture; the growth of wool was more
profitable than the growth of corn. It is true that England as a whole
was growing richer, and that the standard of comfort was rising; but
there was a great displacement of labour, and consequent discontent. The
towns had thriven at the expense of the country; and in late years the
war with France had hindered trade with the Netherlands. The custom
duties had diminished, the drain of bullion for war expenses had
crippled English commerce. There had been a succession of bad seasons,
and every one had begun to diminish his establishment and look more
carefully after his expenditure.
All this was well known to the Duke of Norfolk, and was laid before the
king. The commissions were recalled, pardons were granted to the
rioters, and the loan was allowed to drop. But Wolsey had to bear all
the odium of the unsuccessful attempt, while the king gained all the
popularity of abandoning it. Yet Henry VIII. resented the failure, and
was angry with Wolsey for exposing him to a rebuff. In spite of his
efforts Wolsey was ceasing to be so useful as he had been before, and
Henry began to criticise his minister. Brave and resolute as Wolsey was,
his labours and disappointments began to tell upon him. Since the
failure of the Conference of Calais he had been working not at the
development of a policy which he approved, but at the uncongenial task
of diminishing the dangers of a policy which he disapproved. The effects
of this constant anxiety told upon his health and spirits, and still
more upon his temper. He might be as able and as firm as ever, but he no
longer had the same confidence in himself.
It was perhaps this feeling which led Wolsey to show the king the
extremity of his desire to serve him by undertaking the desperate
endeavour to wring more money from an exhausted people. Wolsey had done
his utmost to satisfy the king; he had accepted without a murmur the
burden of popular hatred which the attempt was sure to bring. There is a
pathos in his words, reported by an unfriendly hand, addressed to the
council: "Because every man layeth the burden from him, I am content to
take it on me, and to endure the fume and noise of the people, for my
goodwill towards the king, and comfort of you, my lords and other the
king's councillors; but the eternal God knoweth all." Nor was it enough
that he submitted to the storm; he wished to give the king a further
proof of his devotion. Though others might withhold their substance, yet
he would not. He offered the king his house at Hampton Court, which he
had built as his favourite retreat, and had adorned to suit his taste.
It was indeed a royal gift, and Henry had no scruple in accepting it.
But the offer seems to show an uneasy desire to draw closer a bond which
had been gradually loosened, and renew an intimacy which was perceptibly
diminishing.
However, in one way Wolsey had a right to feel satisfaction even in his
ill-success. If money was not to be had, war was impossible, and Wolsey
might now pursue his own policy and work for peace. He had to face the
actual facts that England was allied to Charles, who had won a signal
victory over Francis, and had in his hands a mighty hostage in the
person of the King of France. His first object was to discover Charles
V.'s intentions, and prevent him from using his advantage solely for his
own profit. Bishop Tunstal and Sir Richard Wingfield were sent to
Charles with orders to put on a bold face, and find whether Charles
thought of dethroning Francis or releasing him for a ransom. In the
first case, they were to offer military aid from England; in the second,
they were to claim for England a large share in the concessions to be
wrung out of Francis. The English demands were so exorbitant that though
they may have satisfied the fantastic aspirations of Henry, Wolsey must
have known them to be impossible. Under cover of a friendly proposal to
Charles he was really preparing the way for a breach.
Charles on his side was engaged in playing a similar game. In spite of
his success at Pavia he was really helpless. He had no money, and the
captivity of the French king awakened so much alarm in Europe that he
felt compelled to use his advantage moderately. As a first measure he
needed money, and saw no chance of obtaining it save by marrying
Isabella of Portugal, who would bring him a dowry of 1,000,000 golden
crowns. For this purpose he must free himself from the engagement of the
treaty of Windsor, by which he was betrothed to Mary of England. So he
acted as Wolsey was acting. He professed a great desire to carry out his
engagement as a means of getting rid of it, and sent ambassadors to ask
that Mary and her dowry should be given up to him, with a further loan
of 200,000 ducats.
The two embassies had crossed on the way, and Henry received Charles's
communication as an answer to his demands. In this way it served
Wolsey's purpose admirably, for it showed clearly enough that the
interests of Henry and Charles were not the same. Charles was bent upon
pursuing his own advantage, and was still willing to use Henry as a
useful ally; but Henry saw nothing to be gained from the alliance, and
the time had come when some tangible gain was to be secured from all his
expenditure. Hitherto he had been personally on Charles's side, but in
his conferences with the imperial envoys in the month of June he made it
clear that his patience was exhausted. Henceforth he accepted Wolsey's
views of peace with France. If Charles was striving to make what he
could out of the captivity of the French king, then England might as
well join in the scramble. The misfortune of France was England's
opportunity. If Charles was not willing to share his gains with Henry,
then Henry must pick up what he could for himself. It was an unwelcome
conclusion for Charles, who hoped to bring the pressure of irresistible
necessity to bear on his captive. If England also joined in the bidding
its competition would run down his price.
Moreover, this resolution of Henry made a great change in his domestic
relations. Queen Katharine was devoted to her nephew's interests, and
had exercised considerable influence over her husband. They talked
together about politics, and Henry liked to move amidst acquiescent
admiration. All that was now at an end, as Katharine could not change
her sympathies, and had not the tact to disguise her disapprobation.
From this time forward Henry did not treat her with the affection and
familiarity which had been his wont, and when he made up his mind he did
not scruple to emphasise his decision by his acts. He had not been a
faithful husband, but hitherto his infidelity had not been a cause of
domestic discord. He had an illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, by
Elizabeth Blunt, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting; and on 15th June
he created this boy of six years old Duke of Richmond. This he did with
a display of pomp and ceremony which must have been very offensive to
the Queen; nor was the offence diminished when, a month afterwards, the
boy was created Lord High Admiral of England. Such an act was, to say
the least, a taunt to Katharine that she had borne no son; it was a
public proclamation of the king's disappointment and discontent with his
matrimonial lot. The luckless Katharine could make no complaint, and was
forced to submit to the king's will; but we cannot doubt that she put
down to Wolsey what was not his due, and that Wolsey had to bear the
hatred of her friends for the king's change of policy, and all that
flowed from it.
However, Wolsey's course was now clearly to dissolve the imperial
alliance without causing a breach. For this purpose he used Charles's
desire for his Portuguese marriage. He offered to release Charles from
his engagement to Mary on condition that the treaty was annulled, that
he paid his debts to Henry, and concluded a peace with France to
England's satisfaction. Charles refused to take any step so decided, and
the negotiations proceeded. But Wolsey's attention was not so much
directed to Charles as to France, where Louise, the king's mother, was
desperately striving to procure her son's release. In their dealings
with France there was a keen rivalry between England and the Emperor,
which should succeed in making terms soonest. In this competition Wolsey
had one advantage; he had already learned the stubbornness of the
national spirit of France, and its willingness to submit to anything
rather than territorial loss. So, while Charles haggled for provinces,
Wolsey demanded money. He told the French envoys that in order to make
peace, without having won laurels to justify it, Henry could not take
less than 2,000,000 crowns, and he would hear of no abatement. There was
much discussion of all the old claims of England for compensation from
France, but Wolsey knew the necessity of the moment, and carried all his
points.
When the terms were agreed upon there was another discussion about the
security to be given. Francis was a prisoner in Spain, and though his
mother was regent, a doubt might be thrown upon her capacity to ratify
such an important treaty. Wolsey would admit no doubts in the matter. He
knew that peace with France would not be popular, but he was determined
that his master should see its advantage in the substantial form of
ready money with good security for its payment. Besides ratification by
the regent he demanded the personal security of several French nobles,
of towns and local estates. At length he was satisfied. The treaty was
signed on 30th August, and was published on 6th September. Henry was to
receive 2,000,000 crowns in annual instalments of 50,000; the treaty
included Scotland as an ally of France, and it was stipulated that the
Duke of Albany was not to return. Scotland, left unprotected, was bound
to follow France, and in January 1526 peace was signed with Scotland to
the satisfaction of both countries.
Wolsey could congratulate himself on the result of his work. Again he
had won for England a strong position, by setting her in the forefront
of the opposition to the overweening power of the empire. Again had
England's action done much to restore the equilibrium of Europe. This
had been achieved solely by Wolsey's diplomacy. Charles V. had received
a blow which he could neither parry nor resent. The French treaty with
England deprived Charles of the means of exercising irresistible
pressure upon Francis, and encouraged the Italian States to form an
alliance against the Emperor. Francis, weary of his long captivity,
signed the treaty of Madrid, and obtained his freedom in February 1526.
But he previously protested against it as extorted by violence, and
refused to surrender an inch of French territory notwithstanding his
promises. Charles gained little by his victory at Pavia. His hands were
again full, as the Turks invaded Hungary, and Francis joined the Italian
League against him. He still had every motive to keep on good terms with
England, and Wolsey had no desire to precipitate a breach.
So Wolsey's policy for the future was one of caution and reserve. The
king withdrew more and more from public affairs, and spent his time in
hunting. His relations with Katharine became day by day more irksome,
and he tried to forget his domestic life by leading a life of pleasure.
Wolsey strove to hold the balance between Charles and Francis without
unduly inclining to either side. Both wished to be on good terms with
England, for neither was free from anxiety. The sons of Francis were
hostages in Spain, and Charles was hampered by the opposition of the
Italian League. Of this League Henry VIII. was a member, but he declined
to give it any active support. The Italians, as usual, were divided, and
Clement VII. was not the man to direct their distracted councils
successfully. In September 1526 a small force of Spaniards, aided by a
party amongst the Roman barons, surprised Rome, sacked the papal palace,
and filled Clement with terror. Charles V. disavowed any share in this
attack, and excused himself before Henry's remonstrances. But as Clement
did not entirely amend his ways, the experiment was repeated on a larger
scale. In May 1527 the imperial troops under the Duke of Bourbon and the
German general George Frundsberg captured and plundered Rome, and took
the Pope prisoner. This unwonted deed filled Europe with horror. It
seemed as if the Emperor had joined the enemies of the Church.
During this period Wolsey had been cautiously drawing nearer to France.
At first he only contemplated strengthening the ties which bound the two
countries together; but in the beginning of 1527 he was willing to form
a close alliance with France, which must lead to a breach with the
Emperor. French commissioners came to London, and a proposal was made
that Francis should marry Mary, then a child of ten, though he was
betrothed to the Emperor's sister Eleanor. Wolsey's demands were high: a
perpetual peace between the two countries, a perpetual pension of 50,000
crowns to the English king, a tribute of salt, and the surrender of
Boulogne and Ardres. In the course of the discussion the son of Francis,
the Duke of Orleans, was substituted for the father as Mary's husband;
on all other points Wolsey had his will, and never did he show himself a
more consummate master of diplomacy. The treaty was signed on 30th
April. The debts of Charles were transferred to Francis, and Wolsey
could show that he had made a substantial gain.
Doubtless Wolsey intended that this peace with France should form the
basis of a universal peace, which he never ceased to pursue. The success
of Charles V. in Italy, and subsequent events at home, rapidly dispelled
his hopes. Already the selfwill of Henry VIII. had driven him to
consent to measures which were against his judgment; the same selfwill,
turned to domestic and personal affairs, was already threatening to
involve Wolsey in a matter whose far-reaching effects no man could
foresee.