EUROPEAN COMPLICATIONS
Henry VII. on his death-bed saw clearly that his policy of thwarting
Ferdinand and seizing the government of Castile in favour of his
son-in-law was not one which could be followed out by an inexperienced
prince, and much as he distrusted Aragon, he knew it would be better
that his son should have him for a friend at the outset than be
entangled at once in his rancorous schemes. The prince must buy his own
experience, and Henry's advice to him was to marry Katharine with all
convenient speed, for naturally she could not remain a hostage in the
young King's hands as she had in those of his father. With the King's
death dropped the policy of peace at any price, for his son was of the
new age, eager to join in the battles of Europe and rich enough to
afford himself the gratification of military glory. More than once his
father, distrusting all men, had fought for peace with his back to the
wall, but Henry VIII., who dreamed of entering Paris at the head of a
victorious army, regarded distrust of Spain as a mere maggot in the
paternal brain, and, with the wealth of the greatest pawnbroker in
Europe at his back, was eager to take the offensive against France.
For the first three years of his reign the King, new-married and
happily, was guided by his father-in-law, and was merely a tool in his
hands, and in spite of John Stile's warning from Valladolid, Henry did
not doubt his goodwill. In order to understand Ferdinand's policy it
must be borne in mind that he was influenced by a fear which overhung
all his dealings with his allies and his enemies--the fear that Castile
would rise against him in favour of its prince. Philip's order to void
the country within twenty days[46] was never forgotten, and he lived in
hope that Charles might never emerge from a sickly boyhood, for though
his daughter, Philip's widow, was a negligible quantity, his grandson,
alas, was not. The greater part of Ferdinand's revenues were said to be
derived from Castile. He made war and carried his arms into Italy,
Africa and France at her expense, but legally his only status there was
that of regent for his daughter, Queen Joanna, who existed at
Tordesillas, watching there for the resurrection in ten years of her
dead husband, Philip, and was, "of no sadness nor wisdom more than a
young child and very feeble."[47] Her hysteria had been allowed to
develop into clear craziness. Ferdinand trusted none of the Castilian
nobles, who feared that his amity with Henry and the latter's marriage
with Katharine would deprive them of English help for their prince.
After the ratification of the marriage between Mary and Charles, he took
into his own hands as precaution all the castles of Galicia,[48] for
many of the nobles, like Gonsalvo the great captain, had offered their
services secretly to the Emperor for their prince, and Ferdinand feared
that Maximilian's success in Northern Italy might preface the revolt of
Naples and Sicily to the Prince of Castile. England had been ruled out
of the Treaty of Cambrai as not having a stake in Italy, and now
Ferdinand wanted to keep her neutral till it suited his convenience. So
he proclaimed himself Henry's faithful friend, brother and ally, and
said that he accounted all causes belonging to Henry, and himself, and
the Queen's grace and the Lady Mary, his noble sister, and the Prince of
Castile, as one thing and cause without variance, and that he governed
Castile solely for the weal of the prince, "the whych ys and schalbe hys
eyre of all hys landys after hys decesse." It was to be a nice little
family party, with Ferdinand as paternal despot. He had not the faintest
idea in the world of making Charles, whom he hated, his universal heir,
but in the wisdom of John Stile, the English agent in Spain, "wordes
maye be spoken wythe dyssymulacyon."[49] There was, however, discord in
the family. Ferdinand declared that though there was no open breach
between him and the Emperor, there was "a little grudge and variance for
the governacyon of the realm of Castile," in which the Emperor was
unreasonable, and he trusted Maximilian would soon be reformed with
reason. At this moment he was working for some _modus vivendi_ with him
concerning this "governacyon," and that once arranged, he intended to
make common cause with him against France, whose Italian conquests were
causing Spain great uneasiness. He made all his dealings with the Low
Countries depend on this settlement, and refused to pay Lady Margaret's
jointure, long in arrears, and other pensions owing to Flemish subjects,
till that was settled. If the Emperor's future was unprosperous in
Italy, Margaret was to have a slack answer, but if Maximilian sped
prosperously, then Margaret might have her jointure on condition that
she negotiated the amity between the Emperor and Aragon.[50]
[46] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 4058; Vesp. C. i. 86.
[47] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 490; Vesp. C. i. 56.
[48] _Ibid._
[49] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 490; Vesp. C. i. 56.
With France, as may be seen, Ferdinand did not mean to break till it
served his purpose. In John Stile's words:--"as touching to the French
King that he [Ferdinand] also intendeth for to continue in amity with
him, as long as that your highness and your good-father shall think
standeth with the honours and profits of your highnesses, and no longer
nor otherwise; the King your good-father being joyous and glad that your
highness is in amity and good peace with all Christian princes, and his
majesty not counselling nor advising your highness as yet for to move
any war unto any outward prince, unless that great causes should move
your highness there unto."[51] Verily a treaty solemnly sworn to on the
Gospels and in sight of the Host was but a cloak to hide new sins
against the amity! In his great desire to keep his son-in-law entirely
in his own pocket, and to forward this present policy, he had great
difficulty in finding an ambassador to send to the English court: a
_natural_ Castilian was openly for the prince, an Aragonese for the
French, and he ended by sending Luis Carroz, who was well tarred with
his master's stick.
[50] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 490; Vesp. C. i. 56.
[51] _Ibid._
After the contract at Cambrai the French, with their usual quick
resoluteness, were first in the field in Italy, but their successes,
culminating in the battle of Agnadello, 14th May 1509, and the capture
of the Venetian general d'Alviano, delighted no one but Maximilian, who
hoped to find his opportunity in the weakness of the Venetians, and
besieged Padua. The other members of the League, Ferdinand and the
Pope, feared both French and Emperor, and the one tore his beard and
secretly received at Rome the Venetian envoys asking for help, while the
other, who already saw Maximilian holding Naples for his grandson,
allowed the Venetians to use his ships, and sent provisions from Naples
to Venice, to revictual Padua. "Il cherchait tenir toujours l'Empereur
si bas qu'il ne pourroit lever la tête," grumbled Gattinare to
Margaret,[52] but all the same to break with "ce marrano" would draw in
its train trouble with Gueldres and difficulty in getting payment of the
duchess's jointure, so those on the gangway between the Empire and
France had to sit quietly waiting on opportunity. At this moment
Maximilian was the only member of the League who was pursuing a single
aim. He wanted to crush the Venetians. Ferdinand, while ostensibly
trying to bring about an understanding with Maximilian, was secretly
practising against him, and Louis XII., at whose court Imperial,
Burgundian and Spanish ambassadors were squabbling over their masters'
affairs, was supposed to be furthering this amity between Ferdinand and
Maximilian, but all the while was secretly moving against it. He said,
for Maximilian had been rebuffed before Padua, that it was not a fair
moment to treat, for "un homme reculé ne fait jamais appointtement à son
profite, et que si l'on veult faire bon appointtement il la fault faire
la lance sur la cuisse."[53] Just what Maximilian could not do. "Je ne
scay quel Diable fait ses affairs si malheureux,"[54] said the
exasperated Burgundian agent De Burgo. However, by December 24 an
understanding had been arranged between the grandparents of Charles,
and amity concluded. Naples was secured to Aragon, so far as Maximilian
was concerned, and Ferdinand began to weave his web round France.
[52] Lettres de Louis XII., i. 189.
[53] _Ibid._, 218.
[54] _Ibid._, 231.
He begged Henry, but secretly, for fear of the French getting wind of it
(for the Spanish ambassador in France said that the French had their
spies in England, and nothing was spoken in London but straightway it
was known in Paris), to try and conclude a league between England, the
Emperor, Spain, Flanders; Portugal would join, and Spain would be
secure, no stab in the back for her. Henry must write to Julius II. and
ask him to join, "so that the said amity and lyage may be made and
established before the French King shall have knowledge of the same."
For, he lisped to John Stile through his lost front tooth, such a noble
league came by the great power and mercy of Almighty God, as did the
accord and amity between the Emperor and himself, so that the French
King should not attain unto his cruel purpose to destroy and subdue all
the countries of Italy. Under such high patronage he foresaw no
difficulty in reconciling the Venetians and the Emperor, for
simultaneous inspired advice from England, Spain and Rome was to make
the Venetians restore to the Emperor all that they had of his, and Louis
was to find himself alone and at bay before the kings of Europe. In
order to bring Henry's interests into the ring, Ferdinand emphasized the
subtle policy of France, for, victorious in North Italy, she would turn
her arms against the South, and wrest Naples from the crown of Castile
and Aragon. All the same, till the establishment of this great league he
ordered Henry to pass the time with the French King in goodly terms--in
fact, to do as did his father-in-law, and always lean to the best
advantage.[55] So the English ambassadors at Rome were hand in glove
with the Venetians, and daily plotted with them and the Aragonese to the
great prejudice of the league of Cambrai.[56]
[55] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 796; Vesp. C. i. 43.
[56] Lettres de Louis XII., ii. 96.
Time now revealed the weak point in Ferdinand's calculations. Maximilian
would not be won over, and in spite of English and Aragonese practices
Venice would not give up her conquests. So that the rotten rags of the
league of Cambrai had to be patched together, and Ferdinand told Henry
that he must give all aid to the kings of the league to destroy the
Venetians. But whatever you do, live in peace with France, is the chorus
of all his letters. How to do this while the Duchess of Savoy was asking
persistently for help against the Duke of Gueldres,[57] and the Scots
were buying guns[58] in the Netherlands? France was backing Gueldres as
usual with men and money, and in reply to the complaints of the Flemish
agents, Louis XII. only shook his head over "ce mauvais sujet" of a duke
and wished the devil might fly away with him for a disturber of the
peace. Margaret must make what terms she could, so she turned to
England. Henry was arming and preparing for events. He bought
forty-eight guns from Hans Popenruyter, the gunfounder at Malines,[59]
and was to have them as cheap as the prince, said Margaret, who seized
those bought by the Scots and resold them to Henry.[60] She said
distinctly, however, that she would neither be party to the league with
Aragon against France nor persuade her father thereto unless Henry
promised help against Gueldres.[61] To defend the Flemish border against
Gueldres was a left-handed way of making war on France, and Ferdinand
would not approve. So Henry followed his "good-father's" advice and
imitated him, and in April accepted the Golden Rose from Julius II.,[62]
while two months later he confirmed the treaty made with France in March
1510.[63] If Henry was Ferdinand in miniature, "Julius was Julius
indeed," and in August a letter from him to Henry was intercepted by the
French. Its contents were forwarded to Henry by Maximilian, who denied
the truth of the Pope's statement that he and Ferdinand had entered into
a league with the Papacy against France. This was only the Pope's evil
plan to assist the Venetians "au contraire de la ligue de nous tous rois
car les dits Veniciens ont gagné ses mignons et privez conseillers."[64]
Louis XII. now wrote to James IV. of Scotland to remind him of the
ancient league between their countries.[65] Henry, still passing the
time with all parties, told the Pope he would join the league when
Maximilian and Ferdinand did:[66] then he wrote to the Council of the
Cardinals at Milan, supporters of and supported by France and
Maximilian, promising assistance in settling[67] the perplexities of the
Church; and almost in the same breath he promised Ferdinand one thousand
archers.[68] Hence Sir Robert Wingfield, ambassador to the Emperor, was
taken aback and perplexed by the demand that Henry should countenance
the General Council at Pisa and the articles devised against the Pope
which were set forward in the name of the Emperor and the French King,
and he told the bishop of Gurk that the King would gladly have known the
Emperor's mind before the imperial foot had been so far in the
bushel.[69] The crux of the situation was Maximilian's attitude towards
the Venetians, whose terms of peace he refused. Neither would he have
aught to do with Pope or Aragon against France. Margaret, however, came
to the rescue, for peace negotiations with Gueldres on the basis of the
Duke's marriage with the Archduchess Isabeau,[70] sister to the Prince
of Castile, had come to nothing, as they were meant to. She was still
anxious for Henry's support in Flanders, and as the price he exacted was
the alliance, she threw into that scale her influence with her father.
So long, however, as the rumour ran that Ferdinand intended to put the
crown of Naples on the head of the bastard of the Archbishop of
Saragossa, to the prejudice of the Prince of Castile, Maximilian refused
to have anything to do with him,[71] and Margaret wrote that until this
suspicion was weeded from her father's mind, the League of the Holy
Trinity, symbolized by the three princes, would never take place.
Ferdinand's answer was to send the bastard to Malines as hostage.[72] In
the naïve blasphemy of the age Ferdinand and Henry were the father and
son, so that the Third Person was the one symbolized by Maximilian.
Louis XII. was watching Margaret, and, thanks to the French party in
the Flemish Council and French merchants married to Englishwomen as
spies in England, he lacked no news. He warned her that he had been told
of her league, but affected not to believe the gossip.[73] However, by
July he knew the truth, for Margaret's efforts had borne fruit for her
gathering, and Henry, as hansel-money for the future league, sent Sir
Edward Ponynges and 1500 archers[74] into the Low Countries to help
Castile against Gueldres. "Je suis adverty," said Louis XII. to Andreas
de Burgo, "que ma cousine m'a fort piqué en Angleterre," and added one
to the score against his former playmate. Matters moved secretly till
October, when the Holy League against France between the Pope, Aragon
and Venice was published, by which Ferdinand was to find the men and the
other two the money for chasing the French from Lombardy. England joined
it [November 1511],[75] and now France had but one ally, whom she was
exceedingly nervous about losing, and tried to steady by the offer of a
marriage between Renée of France and the Archduke Ferdinand, brother to
Charles. Maximilian coquetted with the league, and by the end of the
year rumour had it that his ambassador, the ubiquitous Gurk, had already
taken his lodging in Venice at St Paul's, and that Louis might make
mince-meat of his duchy.[76]
[57] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 922; Galba B. iii. 5.
[58] _Ibid._, i. 924; Galba B. iii. 5.
[59] _Ibid._, i. 794; Galba B. iii.
[60] _Ibid._, i. 922.
[61] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 923; Galba B. iii. 7.
[62] _Ibid._, i. 976.
[63] _Ibid._, i. 1105.
[64] Lettres de Louis XII., ii. 5.
[65] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 1407; R. MS. 13, B. ii. 52, B.M.
[66] _Ibid._, i. 1457; Vitell. B. ii. 18.
[67] _Ibid._, i. 1581; Vitell. B. ii. 11.
[68] _Ibid._, i. 1622; Vesp. C. i. 18.
[69] L. and P. H. VIII., 1681; Vitell. B. xviii. 15.
[70] _Ibid._, i. 1417.
[71] Lettres de Louis XII., ii. 154.
[72] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3361; Galba B. iii. 11.
[73] Lettres de Louis XII., ii. 289.
[74] Hall's Chronicle, ed. 1809, p. 523.
[75] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 1967.
[76] Lettres de Louis XII., iii. 103.
At the French Court nothing was talked of but the possibility of an
English invasion: 25,000 men said spies, "prêts à monter en mer" and
invade by Calais at any moment: and Louis was so irritable and
depressed that the whole Court was profoundly discouraged,[77] for
Aragon and England were like to be two prongs in the back of the
country. True, Gueldres could be loosed again on Flanders and the Scots
on England, but the adage then as now was true, and vicarious warfare
was seldom satisfactory. The old weapon of supporting a pretender to the
English throne, blunt, rusty, and out of date as it had so rapidly
become, reappeared, and Richard de la Pole, Captain of Almains,[78] was
styled and treated as King of England in France.[79] A lean, blackavised
French priest with a crooked eyebrow, Louis' faithful spy,[80] carried
the correspondence between Pole and his family, which eventually led to
the execution of Earl Edmund in the Tower. The taking of Brescia by the
Duke of Nemours [February 1512] cheered up the French Court, and by
April, when the English King-at-arms arrived with Henry's defiance, "not
in his coat but clad like a gentleman," the English scarce had almost
become _vieux jeu_, and the country had regained its poise. Henry said
he had no choice but to make war in aid of his allies, the Pope and
Aragon, and Louis replied if that was all, he did it with little reason.
Still, the French King hoped to keep Margaret and the Emperor out of the
alliance, while the English agents in Flanders were working hard to
bring them within it, and to keep them to the old amity. The Governess
of the Netherlands had one idea all through, the crushing of Gueldres,
whose thieving raids and besieging excursions kept the eastern border in
a state of harried poverty. The duke claimed sovereign rights which
Flanders did not recognize, and France had always found it paid to
support him. In consequence of the dual suzerainty, Imperial and French,
to the Burgundian provinces, there were always two parties in the
Flemish Council, the French and the Burgundian, or, as it was now, the
English. The Burgundian was Margaret's party, and she over-rode the
opposition of the French sympathizers, but she could not prevent their
clogging the execution of her purposes by secret intrigues with France.
Louis gave up all hope of detaching her from the English. Maximilian, on
the other hand, was, in his fickleness, surer game than his daughter,
for though in June [1512] he dismissed the French ambassadors from
Brussels, telling them that if they would not go when they could, they
should not when they would,[81] in October he was practising with Louis
at Cologne.
[77] Lettres de Louis XII., iii. 101.
[78] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3584; Vesp. C., i. 60.
[79] _Ibid._, i. 3320; Calig. B. vi. 65.
[80] _Ibid._, i. 4328; Galba B. iii. 113.
[81] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3271; Galba B. iii. 31.
[Illustration: MAXIMILIAN, EMPEROR OF GERMANY FROM THE PAINTING
BY ALBRECHT DÜRER AT VIENNA]
Between these months much happened to the unfortunate English
ambassadors who were attempting to finish the negotiations begun with
the Emperor in May. First Maximilian dismissed the French ambassadors.
That looked hopeful. Then he refused to allow the gentlemen of Flanders
to serve in Henry's army. Next he demanded 100,000 crowns of gold down
on declaring war with France, and said that the Pope or Aragon would
willingly give him as much. He knew his worth to the league! Then he
departed suddenly, saying the whole business was safe in his daughter's
hands. Now began endless delays. Margaret had no formal commission:[82]
she did not think her father would be pleased to find himself in the
same boat as the Venetians [the veriest _abc_ of dealing with
Maximilian]; and the real reason was that by means of Duke George of
Saxony, Gueldres had proposed a truce with the Emperor which Margaret
was willing to accept. So the Governor of Bresse and the Count de
Berghes, both Margaret's adherents in the council, fought shy[83] of Sir
Edward Ponynges and Sir Thomas Boleyn, and the stomach of the English
was much diminished by waiting. Margaret, "a perfect friend to England,"
suggested, after a couple of months' waiting, that they should fee the
Emperor's secretaries to keep her commission in his memory,[84] and a
fortnight later she asked Sir Thomas if he would lay a wager on its soon
coming. Gladly, said he, and they shook hands on it; a courser of Spain
to an English hobby.[85] The Emperor's secretaries wanted to know the
form the commission was to take. The English said the same as at
Cambrai;[86] that is, full powers to treat, and no doubt Margaret wanted
that too, for when it did come in restricted form, at the beginning of
September (though it was dated August 2 at Cologne) for a whole day she
was so cross that the ambassadors could not see her.[87] On September 4
they discussed the treaty, which was confined to Henry and Maximilian;
Flanders was to be neutral. The English said the Imperial alliance alone
was dear at 150,000 ducats, and Henry refused to treat save on the
previous understanding, which included Flanders.
[82] _Ibid._, i. 3291; Galba B. iv. 33.
[83] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3306; Galba B. iii. 35_d_.
[84] _Ibid._, i. 3331; Galba B. iii. 37.
[85] _Ibid._, i. 3370; Galba B. iii. 40_d_.
[86] _Ibid._, i. 3387; Galba B. iii. 43.
[87] _Ibid._, i. 3396; Galba B. iii. 43_d_.
All this time the English army, sent to Guienne to invade France
according to the treaty of the Holy League of November 1511, had been
idly kicking its heels and waiting for Ferdinand to co-operate for the
recovery of the province. But Ferdinand did nothing, and the men,
wearied with idleness and worn by lack of victuals in a disorderly camp,
mutinied and returned home ingloriously in the Autumn[88] [1512]. In
October, however, there came rumours from the Bishop of Liège,[89] the
centre of French influence in the Low Countries, of the defeat of the
French in the south, and Maximilian broke off negotiations with Louis
and turned to the English, with the result that Gueldres broke again
across the Maas, with "good effect, for the inhabitants were in a manner
fast asleep and are now awake."[90] The Duke's French reinforcements had
an encounter with the Liegéois, and Maximilian himself was nearly
kidnapped on his way from Cologne by the Duke's men, disguised as
Burgundians.[91] But news of the impotence of the English excursion into
Guienne soon became public property, and their undisciplined and
disgraceful retreat was the joke of Court and camp. Margaret was annoyed
for two reasons: the first that Gueldres was very active and that French
negotiations had been broken off, and the second that the rich English
were but reeds to lean on. So when in October Henry refused to pay
50,000 crowns for entertaining the Swiss against the French,[92] and
asked that the Emperor's subjects (in the Low Countries) should be
prevented from serving the French, the President of Bresse replied that
Maximilian had prevented _one thousand Swiss_ from taking French
service, "which answer was so colorably made that a man might savour the
color of it all the chamber." Then my Lady Margaret spoke "with a qualm
of a little melancholy about her stomach" [Ponynges' way of saying she
was in a great rage], "if ye be disposed to delay it [the treaty] we
shall defer it as well as you," saying besides, that "Englishmen had so
long abstained from war that they lacked experience from disuse and it
was reported that they were now weary of it." She wrote to her father in
this mood and caused more delays,[93] and when the ambassadors
remonstrated, she said openly to them, "Where had we been now if this
confederation had been concluded between your master and us?"[94] All
fair promises and sweet words, but no deeds, were to be found at
Malines. From Scotland came the gibe that the English soldiers could not
easily be induced to invade France or Gueldres after their Biscayan
experience,[95] and though Henry declared that the return of the army
was sanctioned by the King of Aragon and himself because of the constant
rains in Guienne, and "the intolerable pains of the soldiers of our said
army, which in the barren country had perseverantly lain in the
fields,"[96] no one believed his report. The joke of the thing is, that,
as a matter of fact, from September to January there reigned superb
weather in Biscay that year.[97] Ferdinand said he believed that Henry
had given secret orders for the return.[98] But the supreme insult came
from Maximilian, who proposed that the command of the English army in
France should be handed over to him while Henry remained in England. The
Emperor counselled the King not to stir out of his country, but to keep
the people in awe and bridle the Scots.[99] He would take command for
100,000 crowns. Nothing more was needed to increase Henry's war fever.
He had a bull from Julius II.[100] granting indulgence to those who
served in the holy war against France; his agents were already in Italy
buying armour, for the Frescobaldi had made a corner of it in
Milan;[101] in Zeeland, collecting ships for the passage, where they bid
against the French;[102] in Flanders, buying horses and feeing men.[103]
At home Wolsey was busy with military organization and his schemes for a
more efficient commissariat and transport, while Henry and Admiral
Howard, following the admiral's advice, "for no cost sparyng, let
provision be maad: for it is a weel-spent peny that saveth the
pownd,"[104] were working to bring the navy up to some sort of fighting
standard. And into this busy Court, full of young men dreaming of loot
and military glory, and enthusiastic old men like Sir Gilbert Talbot,
who, having served Henry's father and grandfather, was now "minded so
sore and purposed to have served the King's grace and in this journey,
that I almost forgot God and set my heart on none other thing, but only
how I might best serve his grace at this time,"[105] came Maximilian's
proposal. Gueldres saved the situation. His activity, veiled by renewed
offers of truce,[106] inclined Margaret to the English as a poor prop,
but her only one, and many Flemish nobles offered their services to
Henry.[107]
[88] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3451; Vesp. C, i. 81.
[89] _Ibid._, i. 3435; Galba B. iii. 48_d_.
[90] _Ibid._, i. 3446; Galba B. iii. 49.
[91] _Ibid._, i. 3489; Galba B. iii. 52_b_.
[92] _Ibid._, i. 3469; Galba B. iii. 51.
[93] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3500; Galba B. iii. 52_b_.
[94] _Ibid._, i. 3555; Galba B. iii. 54.
[95] _Ibid._, i. 3631, R. MS., 13 B. ii. 77b.
[96] _Ibid._, i. 3555; Galba B. iii. 54.
[97] _Ibid._, i. 3614; Vesp. C, i. 69.
[98] _Ibid._, i. 3662; Vesp. C, i. 24.
[99] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3648; Vitell. B. xviii. 27.
[100] _Ibid._, i. 3602; Rymer's Fœdera, xiii. 343.
[101] _Ibid._, i. 3658; Vitell. B. ii. 20.
[102] _Ibid._, i. 3678; Galba B. iii. 98.
[103] _Ibid._, i. 3731; Galba B. iii. 64.
[104] _Ibid._, i. 3877; Calig, D. vi. 337.
[105] _Ibid._, i. 4021.
[106] _Ibid._, i. 3651; Galba B. iii. 96.
[107] _Ibid._, i. 3731; Galba B. iii. 64.
The final ruin to Henry's faith in his allies was to come very soon, and
of it he was warned by John Stile from Valladolid. Ferdinand made a
truce with the French for one year. It came about this way. The Emperor
and the Pope, despairing of accommodation with the Swiss, had made a
league together to the great displeasure of Aragon, who, oddly enough,
in view of what followed, resented that any league should be made
suddenly without his consent or England's. He also feared that such
league would cause the Venetians to adjoin themselves to the French, and
of a likelihood with the Turks, so that Louis would be stronger than
ever. Anne of Brittany, the French Queen, was anxious for a Cisalpine
peace, and as a means to this end wanted to ignore English rights and
marry the Princess Renée to Charles of Castile, with the duchy of
Brittany as dowry.[108] Ferdinand told Stile a fisher's tale[109] about
his having dispatched the Provincial of the Grey Friars to England by
way of France to be Queen Katharine's confessor, and that on his way he
had been taken prisoner and carried to Blois, and that Anne had had him
released and sent him back to Spain, carrying a letter of peace to the
Queen of Aragon. All which tale was but nutshells, for the return of the
Provincial with the letter was preached in open pulpit by a friar of his
own order, who admonished the people to pray for peace. Ferdinand
grasped at the proposed truce as a moment in which to gain strength to
carry out his original plan for the complete isolation of France and the
annexation of Navarre. So in devious pursuit of this plan, on March 16,
1513, new articles to the treaty with Aragon were signed in London, and
Henry was again bled, and at Malines the Aragonese ambassador attempted
to rid the Flemish council of Chièvres and the French party and replace
them with people more agreeable to his master,[110] while at Valladolid
John Stile was told positively that the truce between France and Aragon
was accomplished.[111] All fair writing and slack deeds in Spain also,
"for the Spaniards," said Stile, "are by nature so hasty and envious to
all strangers that they despise every man."
[108] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3752.
[109] _Ibid._, i. 3766; Vesp. C., i. 30.
[110] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3805; Galba B. iii. 67.
[111] _Ibid._, i. 3807; Vesp. C., i. 50.
Ferdinand did not succeed in ousting the French party at Malines, and it
continued to grumble at the English in Zeeland, where it said they only
made war on the Flemish and were so dull that they let French vessels
pass unchallenged.[112] Lord Chièvres, the head of it, made tremendous
capital out of a carack belonging to one Andreas Scarella, the Sta Maria
de Loretto,[113] which had been sold in Zeeland to the French, but the
English got wind of the transaction and lifted her, cargo and all. The
council said this interference was grossly impertinent, and were hot and
intemperate over the matter, and not at all repentant for their
"seditious" ways in favouring the French King, which made it impossible
to conserve their ports and havens as Henry would have liked. They said
they could do that well enough for themselves without troubling the
English. Henry had laid an embargo on all trade between the Low
Countries and France, and he now offered if this matter were dropped to
allow them to resume their trade under "letters testimonials," English
captains to have the right of search.[114] However, in spite of the
strength of the French party, on March 16 Maximilian, with a final
haggle over the rate of exchange, signed the treaty with Henry, who
steadily refused to have any Swiss in his pay, saying that his army was
so powerful that he hoped to lead it to Paris, "especially our father of
Aragon making war against our said enemy." Next month, April, Henry knew
of his father-in-law's perfidy,[115] but he passed the time in Spanish
fashion, and went the length of forcing Ferdinand's ambassador to sign
the treaty of the Holy League, concluded at Malines on April 5,[116] by
which the Pope was to invade Dauphiny; the Emperor, the trans-Alpine
provinces; Henry, Picardy, Normandy and Aquitane; Ferdinand, Béarne and
Languedoc. Luis Carroz swore to it publicly in St Paul's on April
25,[117] and then wrote to Spain that in spite of Ferdinand's secret
orders he had been forced to do so for fear of the consequences of
refusal.[118]
[112] _Ibid._, i. 3817;, Galba B. iii. 104.
[113] _Ibid._, i. 3973.
[114] _Ibid._, i. 3836; Vitell. B. xviii. 36.
[115] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3766 and 4267; Vesp. C., i. 30 and
40.
[116] _Ibid._, i. 3859, R.
[117] _Ibid._, i. 3861; Rymer's Fœdera, xiii. 363.
[118] _Ibid._, i. 4267; Vesp. C., i. 40.
As was to be expected, the Emperor, who quivered to every wind, again
wavered at news of this Franco-Spanish truce. The news had reached him
spiced (by Ferdinand) with the lie that Henry was privy to it, and
though Wingfield indignantly told him that Henry was not "so light or of
so little resolution to arm him at all pieces and then call for a
pillow,"[119] he said that if Henry entered the truce he would also.
However, in the end, stiffened by resentment and by the English
attitude, he definitely ordered his subjects in the Low Countries to
serve Henry, and the Count de Ligny and others took service.
[119] _Ibid._, i. 4069; Vitell. B. xviii. 39.
All this time the English had been skirmishing with the French in the
Calais Pale[120] and the Welshmen of the garrison had done some damage.
Sampson Norton, the head of the arsenal, had been taken prisoner, and
the French party at Malines tried to prevent his exchange.[121] The
English fleet had been exercising in the channel in March, a brave show,
and now letter packets need not be dropped overboard to save them from
French hands.[122] In April the organization of the land forces was
approaching something like order, and the fleet was sailing along the
coast of Brittany, which Howard hoped to make a desert for many a year,
looking for the enemy. Never was such a navy seen, and Préjan and his
French fleet dare not hove in sight, so the gallant admiral went to find
them and his death. But if French ships were not in evidence in the
channel, French agents were thick in Flanders. The Count de Ligny was
balked in raising troops for England by a "lord bearing a French
order,"[123] who warned the towns against him as a favourer of the
English, and Louis told the Ghentois they would rue any help they gave.
Sir Robert Wingfield, carrying the treaty from Brussels to the Emperor
at Trier for ratification, found that "French crowns fly far,"[124] and
twice on his journey he barely escaped ambuscades. The second one was
laid by the son of Robert de la Marck, who a week before had taken four
Englishmen to his father's castle at Hesdin. The Franco-Spanish truce
was soon common property, and Margaret had an anxious moment, but she
was relieved when the English ambassadors told her of the noble deeds at
sea of their countrymen against the French, and "she took a letter out
of her purse wherein the tidings were written concerning the bruit and
common rumour of the truce between the King of Aragon and the French
King, and brake the said letter, casting it on the ground saying these
words, 'Let the universal bruit and vulgar opinion give place to the
truth.'"[125]
[120] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3744; Calig. E., ii. 115.
[121] _Ibid._, i. 3362; Galba B. iii. 39d.
[122] _Ibid._, i. 3659.
[123] _Ibid._, i. 3916; Galba B. vi. 120.
[124] _Ibid._, i. 3945; Vitell. B. xviii. 37.
[125] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 3962; Galba B. iii. 25.
Ferdinand was furious at the English attitude, for he felt his golden
goose had passed out of his hand, and he was not calmed by the news of
the victory at Brest and the burning of the French ships. He raked up
all the old grievances against the marriage of Mary and Charles, pointed
by the fact that Charles was now riper in years, and would soon be of
age. In May the dreaded league between France and Venice was known at
Valladolid, and it weighed greatly on his stomach that the shrewd turn
he had hoped to play France was likely to recoil on his own head, for
Maximilian and Henry were sure to remain allied. He was right, but it
was touch and go with Maximilian. The Emperor said roundly to Wingfield,
who came up with him at Augsburg, that if France were to regain Milan he
would have enough to do there without actually invading France, though
Louis were "the most worthy vitupere of any prince living." However, a
couple of days later, in Augsburg Cathedral, after mass sung by his own
chapel with exquisite organs, with his hand on the Gospels and Canon he
swore to the treaty with Henry.[126] There seemed some chance of his
holding to his oath this time, for his words appeared "to pass more
roundly than they were wont to do." Alas for hopes! Two days had hardly
passed [17th May 1513] ere a wind from the south veered him round. The
Venetians and the French were allied, and he told Wingfield that had he
been advertised of these news he would never have sworn, and now it was
as impossible for him to send an army to France as it was for a man who
had promised to run a furlong to do so if he broke his leg. But he said
he would do his best to run out the remainder on a stilt. Poor
Wingfield! "The French," he groaned, "are so subtle that they can blind
and corrupt the whole world."[127] Margaret, however, was steadfast and
impervious to French corruption, and said she felt herself safe from
France behind English arrows,[128] but the French party in her council
left few stones unturned in their efforts to avert war. Charles' Spanish
secretary was sent secretly into France to try and break the treaty of
marriage between Mary and the prince, and to practise a negotiation
between Louis XII. and the Emperor.[129] Louis said that Margaret and
Lord Berghes had assisted the English against the opinion of the
council, and he kept for them a pensée. It took the familiar form of
Gueldres at this moment. Ferdinand, said spies at Blois, was called a
traitor in France, and so he was, for at Malines he posed as Henry's
friend, and rated Margaret for not giving him adequate assistance. He
begged her to ask the King of England to use his counsel, and promised
to assent to anything that would advance the amity with England, and
also re-assented to the marriage treaty. "A very wise prince," said
Margaret, "in whose subtle understanding is comprised many profound
matters: his mind and intent are good."[130]
[126] _Ibid._, i. 4069; Vitell. B. xviii. 39.
[127] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 4078; Vitell. B. xviii. 45.
[128] _Ibid._, i. 3915; Harl. 3462, 32.
[129] _Ibid._, i. 4328; Galba B. iii. 113.
[130] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 4296; Galba B. iii. 115.
The defeat of the French at Novarro set all Rome daily expectant to hear
of their extermination by the English in Picardy, while experts in
Germany shook their heads over such a possibility.[131] They said that
the advantage lost last year in Guienne would not be easily recovered.
Wingfield expressed the English feeling of confidence when he wrote "but
such is God and better which only is the head of your enterprise, and
hath given the noble courage and hardiness to elect of yourself the
cost, travell and jeopardy, to attain the honour and glory that must
needs follow."[132]
[131] _Ibid._, i. 4216; Galba B. iii. 83.
[132] _Ibid._