Thomas Wolsey as the Key Figure in Church - Essay Example

[Supervisor Thomas Wolsey Introduction Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530) relics one of the most fascinating, charismatic figures of the entire Tudor period. In an age where the Great Chain of Being' persuaded people to believe that every man had his place and should not depart from it, Wolsey showed that it was likely for a butcher's son from Ipswich to turn out to be the key figure in both Church (as a Cardinal and Archbishop of York) and State (as Lord Chancellor) under King Henry VIII. He built palaces--such as Hampton Court and York Palace (now the Palace of Westminster, home of Parliament)--and became more well-off and entertained more abundantly than the King himself. Such was his pre-eminence that many alleged that he aimed to become an Alter Rex (or second King). As the court poet, John Skelton, infamously wrote: Why come ye not to court To which court To the King's court, or Hampton Court For Hampton Court is the finer... During the next two years he was working on minor mission to Scotland and the Netherlands, and his vocation was promoted by Bishop Foxe of Winchester, whom he quickly eclipsed. In 1509 he became Royal Almoner to the young Henry VIII, a post which mechanically made him a member of the Council, and before long he had made himself crucial to the King by his organisation of the French expeditions of 1513. Thereafter, there was no stopping him: he was Bishop of Tournai in France in 1514-18, Archbishop of York in 1514-30; Chancellor from 1515 to 1529; and Cardinal for life from 1515, following Henry VIII's pressure at Rome. In 1518 Wolsey was also appointed Legate a latere by the Pope, which meant that he now outranked his last opponent in the Church--the ancient Archbishop Warham at Canterbury--and had the authority to reform both the secular church and the monastic system, to grant decrees and to appoint to benefices. It made Wolsey the proudest church-man that ever breathed', second in power only to the King himself: and even that was a close-run thing. Thomas Wolsey was born in Ipswich in 1471. His father was a successful merchant who was rich enough to give his son a good education. Soon after Wolsey left Oxford University he was asked to work for Henry VIII. The two men soon became firm friends. In 1514 Henry made Wolsey his Lord Chancellor. At this time Henry was only twenty-three and preferred hunting, gambling and dancing to governing the country. Henry therefore only spent about an hour a day on government business. It was Wolsey, rather than Henry, who made most of the decisions needed to run the country. People began to complain that Wolsey, not Henry, was the real ruler of England. Wolsey was rewarded for this work by being granted some of the main posts in the church. As well as being Lord Chancellor he was also Archbishop of York, Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of Durham. This made Wolsey very wealthy and enabled him to build grand palaces such as Hampton Court. Wolsey's main ambition was to become Pope. In 1515, Pope Leo X made him a cardinal but Wolsey also had many enemies and he never became the head of the Catholic Church. In 1524 Henry VIII became convinced he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Henry sent Wolsey to discuss the matter with Pope Clement VII. Wolsey failed to persuade the Pope to agree to the divorce. Henry became angry with Wolsey, accused him of being a servant of the Pope and sacked him from his post as Lord Chancellor. Wolsey attempted to gain Henry's favour by giving him all his wealth, houses and lands. This strategy failed to work. In 1530 Henry ordered the arrest of Wolsey for high treason. By this time Wolsey was a broken man and he died before the trial could be held. How was Wolsey able to rise to power so quickly under Henry VIII i) Luck Wolsey was very much a man in the right place at the right time. The new King was young, fun-loving and, truth be told, rather lazy. His conception of Kingship was embodied in all-action heroes like King Henry V rather than frugal administrators like his own father, Henry VII. Nevertheless, he was not prepared to leave the affairs of state in the hands of his father's great servants, whom he found (typically enough for a teenager) old, boring, and behind the times. Empson and Dudley, his father's hated tax collectors, were executed; Foxe and Warham were rapidly reaching retirement age and were encouraged out of court with a series of withering insults by Wolsey. By 1519, the Venetian ambassador, Giustinian, was summing up the situation well when he told Francis I of France that King Henry devoted himself to pleasure and ease and left the cares of the State to the Cardinal'. ii) Charm Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Wolsey made the most of the opportunities given to him. He had the great ability to gauge his audience, to flatter and to be entertaining. He had a special gift of natural eloquence' (Cavendish) which the likes of Castiglione in the Book of the Courtier had stressed as being so important in the age of Renaissance diplomacy. Wolsey was a man who enjoyed the fine things of life. He was sociable, witty and convivial, a sponsor of musicians and artists. Polydore Vergil, the Tudor historian, gives us a glimpse into his tactics when he tells us that whenever the Cardinal wanted something from Henry, he brought out some small present or other ... and while the King was admiring it intently, Wolsey would adroitly bring forward the project on which his mind was fixed'. He was, in modern day terms, a schmoozer' who was good at networking'. iii) Opportunism Wolsey's charm expressed itself most effectively in, shall we say, a certain flexibility of outlook. He had initially been opposed to Henry VIII's ideas of a war with France, for example, but when it became clear that the King was not prepared to budge on the issue he quickly became the greatest enthusiast of the ideal Cavendish picked up on this aspect of Wolsey's character when he described him as the Most earnest and readiest among all the council to advance the King's only will and pleasure without any respect to the case'. Morally, this is a questionable trait; politically--then as now--it is a gift. iv) Intelligence Wolsey was much more, however, than a mere yes-man. Put in charge of the French expedition, he immediately demonstrated truly phenomenal organisational skills which Henry VIII was swift to notice. He had shown similar acumen whilst a student and fellow at Oxford, allegedly having taken the unilateral decision to engage in ambitious building works whilst in charge of Magdalen College's finances (and almost bankrupting the place in the process). He always prided himself on being the boy bachelor' who had got his first degree at the age of 15 and who had recognised that a career in the Church was the best highroad to fame and fortune for anyone born without privilege' (Elton). v) Industry Not only was the quality of Wolsey's work of a high standard, he had an insatiable appetite for it. In one famous episode Henry allegedly ordered Wolsey to travel into Flanders as a special envoy to the court of the Emperor Maximillian. Wolsey went into overdrive to prove his worth: within three days he had been there and back. The king, believing that he was still preparing to leave, then upbraided him for his tardiness before being told the truth of the matter. The Venetian ambassador relates that Wolsey transacted alone the same business as that which occupied all the magistrates, offices and councils of Venice, both civil and criminal'. This was very notable when most people (following the example of the King) were happy to saunter along at a much gentler pace. It even got to the stage where Henry had to encourage him to take a holiday (to the intent that you may the longer endure to serve us')--this was one of the few demands which Wolsey felt able to ignore without much fear of retribution from his master. How did Wolsey maintain his position Getting to the top of the tree in Church and State was one thing; staying there was quite another. In this respect too Wolsey showed remarkable skill in handling his finances, his master, and his opponents. i) His management of wealth Income: Keith Randell estimates that, at the at height of his powers, Wolsey was probably about ten times richer than his nearest rival (apart from the King)--and in terms of disposable income (c. 50,000 [pounds sterling] p.a.) he was probably richer than the King himself! York alone was worth 3,000 [pounds sterling] a year, but as one of the greatest proponents of pluralism he was raking money in from all angles: after Tournai came the bishoprics of Bath and Wells (1518-23), Durham (1523-9) and Winchester (1529-30). As a further little nest-egg he was given the income from the dioceses of Worcester (from 1523) and Salisbury (after 1525). Clearly still feeling the financial pinch, in 1525 he became Abbot of St. Albans (the richest monastery in England); he was also given some Spanish sees granted by Charles V. Expenditure: Wolsey's income may have been breathtaking, but he was no miserly hoarder. He dressed like a King, ate like a horse and drank like a fish. He kept a princely household of some 500 servants in their silks and velvets. He established Cardinal College, Oxford (now Christ Church), and built the palaces of York House (now Whitehall) and Hampton Court (later given to Henry). Nevertheless, to see Wolsey as a 16th-century moneybags playboy would be anachronistic. Money for him was a valuable political tool, something with which to create that all-important magnyfycence' which inspired awe, envy and humility in those who came into contact with him so that foreign ambassadors, for example, would make glorious report in their country, to the King's honour and that of his realm'. ii) His management of Henry VIII Henry (at that point young, carefree and little interested in matters of state) was willing to pay a price for such a talented and industrious individual and realised that, whatever Wolsey's material wealth, such a low-born subject would not be able to challenge the authority of the monarch, although he could (and did) frequently put the nobility in their place--much to Henry's amusement and satisfaction. Nevertheless, it is usually accepted that Henry was no fool and only allowed Wolsey to do as he pleased in so far as he agreed with it--for example, when Wolsey appointed his own nominee as Abbess to the nunnery of Wilton against the express wishes of Henry he was forced into a grovelling apology. Henry was not easily manipulated: the very fact that he maintained Wolsey over 15 years, despite all the attacks on the Cardinal, serves to prove this. iii) Brutal with opposition Despite his close relationship with the King, Wolsey was always on the lookout for possible threats to his position. He sent servants abroad if they seemed too close to the King; he imprisoned Polydore Vergil; he was rumoured to have had a part in the execution of the Duke of Buckingham in 1521. Because Wolsey was always dependent on the support of the King, those who sought to discredit him by direct words to Henry found the Cardinal completely merciless. Whether by throwing his opponents in jail or by beginning expensive lawsuits against them, Wolsey was obsessive in the destruction of his enemies, his wrath all the more feared since he often chose to wait until the original slight was well in the past before punishing' the offender for some supposedly unconnected incident. In this way all were kept very much on their toes. Who was responsible for Wolsey's fall from power If Wolsey really was so intelligent, so efficient, so charming, so politically able, why was it that he fell from power so suddenly and so spectacularly Part of the explanation can be found in what we have already examined. Luck can change; charm can be seen as insincerity; one man's pragmatic realist is another man's unprincipled time-server. Wolsey wasn't kind to people on his way up, and they were therefore quick to put the boot in' on his way down. Even after his death Shakespeare immortalised him as the man of unbounded stomach' (which made Orson Welles the natural choice to play his part in the film version of A Man for All Seasons). The bare facts of Wolsey's fall are straightforward enough. Henry VIII became infatuated with Anne Boleyn; he wanted the annulment of his marriage to his barren wife, Katherine of Aragon; Wolsey's failure to secure this annulment led to most of his offices being stripped from him in 1529. He died in Leicester the following year whilst journeying to London to face charges of Praemunire (which effectively means treason by a churchman). Nevertheless, the question as to who was primarily responsible for this spectacular fall from grace is much more difficult to answer: was it a Boleyn faction', King Henry VIII, or Wolsey himself i) The Boleyn Faction' David Starkey has argued that there was a continuous battle between the Council (under Wolsey) and the court (under the minions'--Henry's hangers-on') for favour and influence with the King. In Starkey's words, The struggle for control between the two was continuous and bitter'. The Gentlemen of the Chamber (the King's private quarters) were close friends of Henry and were given official status in 1518, so Wolsey frequently sent them on diplomatic missions abroad and even secured their expulsion from court in 1519. Nevertheless, they were back at the centre of things soon enough, and in 1526 Wolsey's Eltham Ordinances sought to reduce the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber from 12 to six. The execution of the Duke of Buckingham in 1521 is also seen as the result of Wolsey's desperate attempts to curtail the growing influence of a faction which was gravitating towards Anne Boleyn and which was constantly feeding Henry anti-Wolsey propaganda in a concerted attempt to undermine his position. It is certainly true that Anne Boleyn was a very strong character who quickly came to despise Wolsey (as she stated in one of her letters to him, I have put much confidence in your professions and promises, in which I find myself deceived'). Eric Ives, her biographer, calls Wolsey's fall first and foremost Anne's success', whilst Randell points towards Henry's rather tardy decision to dismiss his minister as proof of his residual affection for the man. ii) Henry VIII For some historians, faction clearly remains half fact, half fiction. Peter Gwyn, for example, has argued that the influence of the Boleyn group has been overstated. The Expulsion of the Minions and the Eltham Ordinances were merely part of an efficiency drive, he argues; Buckingham was not victimised, but clearly engaged in treasonable activities such as illegal retaining. The real architect of Wolsey's fall, by this reckoning, is Henry VIII himself: outraged at his Cardinal's failure to secure an annulment of the Aragon marriage, he brought his servant down in a fit of pique. Why, though, had Wolsey failed so spectacularly in this respect It has been argued that the Cardinal did not engage fully with the task, either because he was in the pocket of the Papacy (this appears unlikely) or felt that it could create all sorts of problems at home and abroad (far more likely). More problematic was the fact that Henry refused to follow Wolsey's wise advice regarding how to construct his legal case. Henry had originally been allowed to marry his brother's widow following a special dispensation from Pope Julius II, dispensation which removed not only the Impediment of Public Honesty' created by the kinship of Henry and Katherine, but also the impediment of affinity' created by the supposed consummation of the marriage between Arthur and Katherine (which the Queen always denied took place). Henry's whole case was based on the argument that the Pope had acted outside his authority (ultra vires) in waiving the impediment of affinity'. Wolsey, however, felt it would have made more sense to argue that Arthur's marriage never had been consummated; therefore the dispensation had been founded on a mistake and was void, as was the marriage which followed from it. This would have turned Katherine's protestations to advantage and would have allowed the Pope to grant an annulment without any loss of face. Unfortunately, Wolsey was away in Europe when Henry got the wheels turning, and by the time he returned such a volte-face was impractical. Much more important than any of these ideas, though, is the fact that the international situation made his position impossible. Following the Sack of Rome by Imperial forces in 1527, Pope Clement VII could not afford to anger Katherine of Aragon's nephew, the emperor Charles V. For all his brinkmanship, there was no way on earth that Wolsey could compete with this, but Henry was arguably too short-sighted to acknowledge the fact. Wolsey himself realised the likely consequences: if the Pope is not compliant, my own life will be shortened'. iii) Wolsey himself Nevertheless, a historian such as John Guy would argue that the divorce was not the final nail in the coffin by any means. Henry VIII had left him the Archbishopric of York and the Bishopric of Winchester, maybe hoping to re-instate the cardinal once he had been sufficiently humbled. However, putting Wolsey and humility in the same sentence is only one step away from a grammatical error. The Venetian ambassador had wryly noted as early as 1519 that Wolsey had begun his career saying His Majesty will do so and so', then We shall do so and so' and finally I will do so and so'. Ten years on, Wolsey's response to Henry's actions was arrogant at best, treasonable at worst: he was quickly charged under the Act of Praemunire, which forbade Churchmen from appealing to Rome over the head of the King. It was alleged that he had been intriguing both in and out of the Kingdom' and with presumptuous sinister practices made to the Court of Rome'. There is no proof that these accusations were true, but as the Tudor chronicler Edward Hall points out, Wolsey had not helped his case by arranging for himself to be enthroned at York with all possible pomp'. When Northumberland came to arrest him, Hall imagines the dialogue: My Lord, I prayyou have patience, for here I arrest you.' Arrest me' said the cardinal; Yes' said the earl, I have orders to do so.' You have no such power,' said the cardinal, for I am both a cardinal and a peer of the College of Rome, and ought not to be arrested by any temporal power, for I am not subject to that power, therefore if you arrest me I will withstand it.' The costly splendor of his palaces, his gold and silver plate, and his New Year's gifts outshone those of kings. His servants knelt to wait on him. Bishops tied his shoe-latchets. Dukes held the basin while he washed his hands. Ambassadors might consider themselves honored in being permitted to kiss his hand but might not presume to discuss new business with the king before broaching it to Wolsey. Wolsey ruthlessly swept away feudal jurisdictions. He initiated the policy of destroying the monasteries, which was to be carried through to completion by Henry VIII. Some of the confiscated property he applied to the foundation of Christ Church College at Oxford. But Wolsey's greed, arrogance, and insatiable lust for power outweighed his many great qualities, and the sumptuous edifice to his grandeur was built on sand. His more than regal state was sustained not by the revenues of his many offices alone but also by enormous pensions from foreign sovereigns, bribes from English applicants for justice, and the misappropriated revenues of the suppressed religious foundations. His policies and haughtiness alienated both clergy and laymen. England's influence in Europe declined instead of increased. Charles V found it prudent to see that Wolsey should not become pope. His power had no more stable base than the favor of Henry. Eventually, however, the king decided to assume the powers of his cardinal, whose splendor eclipsed his own. Wolsey had reluctantly made himself responsible for the success of Henry's appeal to Rome for an annulment of the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When the pope refused, the king's wrath knew no bounds. Wolsey was swept from his high place. He had already given Hampton Court Palace to the king; now he requested the king to take over all his possessions, and he retired to his archbishopric of York. Summoned to London to answer a charge of treason, Wolsey died on the way, on Nov. 29, 1530, in Leicester. Works Cited Cameron, T. W., "The Early Life of Thomas Wolsey", English Historical Review, iii ( 1888), 458-77. "The Chronicle of Calais", ed. J. G. Nichols, Camden Society, XXXV, 1846. Chronicle of King Henry VIII, tr. from the Spanish by M. A. Sharp Hume , London, 1889. Collier, J. Payne, The History of English Dramatic Poetry, 3 vols., London, 1831. Doran, John, The History of Court Fools, London, 1858. Fiddes, Richard, The Life of Cardinal Wolsey, London, 1724. The title 'Collections' refers to the second part of Fiddes's work in which he printed numerous materials relating to Wolsey. .J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII (1968) E.W. Ives, Anne Boleyn (1986) Peter Gwyn, The King's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey (1990) Keith Randell, Henry VIII and the Government of England (2nd edition, 2001) Russel Tarr teaches History and Politics at Wolverhampton Grammar School. Read More