Pages 252-277
Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 4 Part 2, 1531-1533. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1882.
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Citation:
October 1531, 1-31
| 1 Oct. | 801. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor. |
|---|---|
| K. u. K. Haus- Hof-u.-StaatsArch. Wien. Rep.P.Fasc. c. 227, No. 38. |
Three days ago Your Majesty's letter of the 22nd ult. came to hand, when I immediately informed the Queen, your aunt, of what concerned her, and she promised to write in a couple of days. |
| That I might the better find out how these people take the interview so much talked of between Your Majesty and the king of France, and as the Imperial letter contained no special mandate on that head—the documents therein referred to not being inclosed through some oversight of the clerks— I sent yesterday one of my secretaries to the duke of Norfolk under plea of asking for the release of certain property and goods belonging to Spanish merchants of this city. My secretary having stated his business, was asked by the Duke what he knew about the interview between Your Majesty and the king of France, and whether the report was true or not. The secretary answered that it was perfectly true, and he believed that I (Chapuys) was only waiting for the official announcement of the same by Monseigneur de Balançon to go and inform the King thereof. Hearing which the Duke seemed very much astonished, and having called one of the courtiers to entertain my secretary, whom he begged to wait in his cabinet, he went suddenly out of the room without saying where he was going, entered the King's apartments, and remained closeted with him for nearly one hour. After this the Duke sent for the chancellor (Sir Thomas More), the earls of Vulchier (Wiltshire) and Succez (Sussex) and having held a long conference with them, sent word to my secretary to enter the Council room. When there the duke of Norfolk addressed him and said in the presence of the said lords that he had just announced to the King the news of the [proposed] interview, and that his answer had been that desirous as he was of promoting the welfare and perfect union of Christendom, he would do nothing to prevent the interview, and yet he thought it might perhaps not take place, or if it did that it would be unimportant and futile (these last words were said by the Duke with a sarcastic smile on his lips, as if he were glad of it), for it was to be believed, he added, that the friendship between the King, his master, and his brother of France, his good and perpetual ally, was so firm, so perfect, and so binding that neither of them would take a step of such importance without the knowledge and consent of the other. "Before three days are over (said the Duke to my secretary) you will witness the effect and evidence of that firm friendship to which I allude, and you may tell your master, the ambassador, so." Such was the language which the Duke held to my secretary, but it must be said that before his taking leave he increased to eight days the period he had fixed for the open manifestation of that same friendship. He likewise told my man that the King had been exceedingly pleased at what had lately taken place in Barbary, and sent me word that he was very thankful at my reminding him of the affair of the Spanish merchants, for certainly he would look into it and my wishes would be complied with. | |
| The bishop of Rochester (Fisher) has already finished his reply to the book printed by order of the King. I forward it by this post. Let it be sent to Rome immediately for the Bishop's testimony is very valuable and most important for the Queen's cause.—London, 1st October, anno XXXI. | |
| Signed: "Eustace Chapuys." | |
| Addressed: "To the Emperor.'' | |
| French. Holograph. pp. 2. | |
| 1 Oct. | 802. The Same to the Same. |
| K. u. K. Haus- Hof-u.-StaatsArch, Wien.Rep.P.Fasc. c. 227. No. 41. |
For some days past, in consequence of the prorogation applied for by the French, it has seemed as if a rupture of the negotiations would take place owing to some scruple of the parties, and that the proposed interview would not be held. Brian, who was to leave [for France] immediately after Langeay, delayed his departure. Many of the principal courtiers like the duke of Norfolk—Who arrived in this city only the day before yesterday to buy silken cloth—gave no signs whatever of preparing for the expedition; in short everyone thought that the journey, if not abandoned altogether, was at least suspended. To-day, however, the whole thing is again warming up, and this time in earnest. Instead of Brian the Grand Esquire (Carew) will start to-morrow to stir up the French, and announce the speedy departure of this king and suite, who will leave on Friday next, St. Francis' Day, and in order to avoid Rochester and other places, where the plague is raging and people are dying, will go straight from Grinuych (Greenwich) to Gravesend in his barge, and pass that night and the next day at the house of a gentleman of the neighbourhood. He will then embark on a ship of 150 tons called "La Mignone," which is very well fitted up and in good order, (plus que mignone). and sail to a small island at the mouth of the Thames, where he will spend three days at the house of a gentleman of his chamber, named Chennet. (fn. n1) From thence he will go by land to Canterbury, and then to Dover, there to embark in the said "Mignone," so as to reach Calais on the 15th instant. |
| However cold and indifferent the King's suite may seem to be about this journey to France, certain it is that the Lady who knows full well the wisdom of making hay while the sun shines, has not been idle in the mean time, procuring with the King's money a number of costly dresses, (fn. n2) and various other things. Although all the Royal jewels were from the very beginning placed at her disposal, the King sent word the other day to the duke of Norfolk to try through a third person to get those belonging to the Queen, who, I am told, answered the gentleman bearer of the message, that on no account would she dare send her rings and jewels to the King, her husband, knowing, as she knew, that he had forbidden it on a previous occasion ; and moreover that it would much distress her conscience were she to deliver up her jewels for so bad a purpose as that of decorating a woman who was a scandal to the whole of Christendom, and a cause of infamy to the King himself who dragged her after him to such an assembly. If, however, the King sent expressly for them, she was ready to obey him in this as well in other things. Such was the Queen's dignified answer, and yet though somewhat touched at the message received the King failed not to send a gentleman of his chamber to the Queen's chancellor and to one of her chamberlains with an order for the delivery of the said jewels, and with a letter of credence to herself from the King, stating his astonishment at her refusal when her sister the queen of France and several other [princesses] had done the same on similar occasions. Upon which the Queen, after graciously making her excuses for the refusal, sent him all the jewels she possessed, at which the King, as I have heard, was exceedingly pleased and happy. | |
| About eight days ago, as the ambassador of France was going to Court, whither he had been summoned merely to attend a dinner party (banquet) the Lady was giving at a house this king has presented her with, he happened to pass my door. I seized the opportunity of giving him the summary of certain news received from the Turkish camp as related by prisoners there. At which intelligence the Frenchman not only seemed highly annoyed, but remained some time silent without knowing what to say. Which summary of news, according to his promise, he took forthwith to the duke of Norfolk. I really think that had he not undertaken, before I read it to him, to put the same into the Duke's hands, he would willingly have been relieved from his engagement. As it is he took his revenge, for not only did he contradict the said news, saying that it was evidently fabricated, but added that Neustat (Newstadt) had been taken by the Turks, and that in two different encounters, in front of that city, no less than 10,000 lanskenets had been slain, laying much stress on this last circumstance, as the Duke himself related to me the day before yesterday, when I shewed him the official account of the raising of the siege of the castle and small town of Gurk (chastel et villette de Gurc). at which intelligence the Duke was pleased, especially for the sake of giving the lie to the said ambassador, who was much in the habit, as he told me, of forging news at pleasure. And certainly the Duke was right; the ambassador is a regular newsmonger who delights in fabricating all manner of stories. Not later than yesterday he spread all about Court, and gave this king to understand that the two dukes of Bavaria, owing to the Spaniards having crossed the sea, had sacked some small town, and wounded a Spaniard whom Your Majesty had sent to them to ask for some artillery. The Spaniard having made use of threatening language, the two dukes were in consequence not on good terms with Your Majesty. This, and other lies the ambassador goes on spreading about, either because he would like them to turn out true, or perhaps because they corroborate and favour the plea on which this meeting is to be held. | |
| The said duke told me also that his opinion in the Privy Council had been that all foreign ambassadors, and especially that of Your Imperial Majesty, should receive due notice of the proposed interview, in order to do away with all possible suspicion that whilst Your Majesty was engaged in distant parts, something would be undertaken against Flanders; and upon my observing to him that it could never have crossed my mind that kings who had no right or pretension whatever to the possession of that country could possibly think of invading it, even if they had the means or the power of doing so, the Duke replied : that is by no means so sure as you imagine; only let the French have their own way, and you will see. As to us, the English (the Duke added) I believe that the King, our master, has not really the power of stirring us up against our neighbours, the Flemings nor do I think that the Emperor can easily turn his subjects of the Low Countries against us. By this and other innuenda the Duke wished no doubt to hint that he himself was not very favourable to the French, and yet immediately after, and to make up as it were for this admission, he began to praise and extol the friendship and amity between his master and king Francis, which (he said) was to be now further strengthened and increased at the next interview. My reply was that no one was more glad than Your Imperial Majesty of the alliance he spoke of between his master and the king of France, for certainly you had always desired most ardently the union of all the princes in Christendom, but that the more binding and close the alliance, the more dangerous it was for certain causes and reasons, which I failed not to point out, and to which he (the Duke) readily assented, declaring to me that he coincided so much with my ideas that he wished the French ambassador (La Pommeraye) were present to hear them. He would, however, lose no opportunity of reLating to him word by word what I had said about him and his nation. The Duke did actually fulfil his promise, for the ambassador came to me this morning and said that the whole of our conversation had been reported to him. And I must say that on this occasion I found La Pommeraye more moderate in his language to me, and more courteous than ever he was, for he praised Your Imperial Majesty immensely, and said over and over again that he sincerely hoped there would be between you and his master greater friendship than ever, and that he plainly saw that the hour and opportunity for this were close at hand. | |
| About eight days ago the King met the Princess, his daughter, in the fields (aux champs). but did not stop or converse long with her, asking only about her health, and promising that in future he would see her oftener. There was no question of the King daring to take her to the place where he is living with the Lady [Anne] for the latter has already declared that she will not have it nor hear of her, as I have had occasion to write to Your Imperial Majesty. I really believe, however, that the King would have remained longer, and conversed more familiarly with his daughter, the Princess, had not the Lady sent two of her own suite with the King, that they might hear and report what he said to her. There is no probability, in my opinion, of the reported marriage of the Princess to the duke of Orleans having been spoken of at that meeting, for I am told by one of those present that not a word was said about it. After the King's departure [for France] the Princess is to live at Windsor, which is a strong place, and at the same time a very pleasant residence; as to the Queen, her mother, it is not yet known where she will go. She has been terribly afraid of late of the King marrying the Lady [Anne] at this next interview, but she is now more calm since she has been told that the Lady herself has declared to a great personage whom she most trusts, that were the King to wish it she would never consent to the marriage taking place out of England, but only on the very spot and with the same ceremonies used by the English queens at their marriage and coronation (fn. n3) | |
| Three weeks ago the king of Scotland ordered all men throughout his kingdom between 20 and 60 years of age to take up arms and prepare themselves for military service. I have been told this by two servants of the Papal Nuncio in that country, who by the advice of the governors have been requested to leave, owing to their being both Englishmen; and I am told that in consequence of the said order no less than 20,000 men have crossed the borders, and that certain Irish had likewise left the country. These latter do not neglect to fortify their frontiers ; every day a number of horse and foot pass on this side, and when the two above-mentioned servants of the Nuncio left Scotland there was already a large body of troops on English territory, raids had been made made on both sides, and some villages of little importance destroyed and burnt. Most people think nothing of this movement of the Scots, (fn. n4) which the English might now repulse with greater ease than they have done at other times; but others think that at the present juncture the enemy might have a better chance, owing to this king's bad government, which has alienated from him both the nobility and the commons. The Scots, however, prosecute their undertaking, and yet the French take no notice whatever of it, nor do they declare openly in favour of the English, as was expected, at which these last begin already to grumble, saying that their neighbours and cousins are hoaxing them (les pipent). and do not behave as neighbours should do. Just at this moment one of my men whom I had sent with a message to the Grand Esquire has come back to me saying that that official is decidedly going to France against his will, and though sent, as I have said above, for the express purpose of soliciting and urging the interview of the two kings, will, if he can, bring on a rupture; and moreover that this king is anything but pleased at the announcement that his brother of France intends bringing with him as a counterpart for the Lady [Anne] his own sister, Madame d'Alençon, and that now it was rumoured that the latter being unwell and unable to attend, Mmo de Vendosme would take her place, at which these people are by no means pleased, saying that whereas the latter lady has been at other times good company, she may now bring in her train disreputable people, as she did in old times, which would be a shame and an insult to the ladies of this country. In which rumour Your Majesty will easily discover the wilful blindness (laueuglement) and poor judgment of people who do not see the beam in their own eyes whilst they quickly find out the mote in those of others. | |
| The King has ordered general processions to be made three days of this week. They began in the last Ember week (Quatretemps) and were attended by great crowds of people devoutly and intently praying God to grant victory to Your Majesty's arms, though the cause and object of the said processions has nowise been notified to them. Indeed, I am told by the Lord Mayor of this city, who has charge of those now being made here, that notwithstanding all his inquiries and his efforts to find out the object for which the processions are intended he has never been able to obtain any information about them, and it is to be apprehended that had it not been for France, where this sort of duty has been properly attended to, this king would never have consented to have them in his kingdom. With regard to the indulgences this king would on no account have them published, that he may, as I presume go on bullying the Pope. | |
| The duke of Norfolk has told me that the King was about to recall his ambassador residing at Your Imperial Court and send in his room a doctor, archdeacon of Yly (Ely), of whom the King has made great use ever since he bethought him of proclaiming himself the head of the Church in England, to which end the said Archdeacon has worked, and is still working very hard, being considered the author of everything that has hitherto been attempted or written against the Pope. That Your Majesty may better know what sort of a person the Archdeacon is, and who are the people whom this king credits and favours, I will only mention the fact of his having been for a length of time in prison, as a Lutheran, and sentenced by his own uncle, the bishop (fn. n5) of Yly (Ely), to carry on his shoulders in a public procession a faggot, which in this country is always considered a preamble to the stake. | |
| 2 Oct. | 803. Gio. Ant. Muxetula to the Emperor. |
| S.E.L. 851, ff. 19–20. B. M. Add. 28,584 f. 1. |
The Imperial letters of the 20th of last September have been duly received. |
| Will do all he can respecting the Pope's monthly contribution towards the expenses of the Florentine war. This very morning, in the presence of cardinal d'Osma, who happened to be with His Holiness, he (Muxetula) mentioned the subject to him. | |
| Gave him also the Emperor's letter, and read to him the paragraphs of the one which the ambassador (Miçer Mai) has received respecting the interview proposed by the Most Christian King. The Pope was satisfied with the explanation, greatly praised His Majesty's sincerity, and condemned the wily practices of king Francis. (Cipher:) "To shew you (he said) how little the French king is to be trusted in such matters, I will relate to you a little anecdote. The other day the French ambassador called and said to me: 'Your Holiness must not imagine that my master is going to Picardy to see the Emperor; he only goes there for the purpose of visiting that province.' I answered him (continued His Holiness) that whatever the object of the interview, I was perfectly sure that nothing would be discussed to my disadvantage; yet I saw from the ambassador's manner that he wished to make me believe that the interview had been planned by the Emperor, not by the King, his master." | |
| The Pope said further: "He was convinced that king Francis had himself solicited this interview for no other purpose than that of forwarding his own interests in Italy. The French ambassadors (he added) have no doubt written to him that his project of a marriage between his son [the duke of Orleans] and my niece does not meet with my entire approbation, and hence his attempt to drive me into terms which he knows I cannot accept without the Emperor's sanction." | |
| The Swiss Catholic cantons must be helped and attended to. | |
| Saw the Pope again last night. He told me he had received letters from his Nuncio in France saying that the King had shewn no good will in his answer to the duke of Savoy's application, and that he was much displeased with him for having shewn himself such a party man and engaged to deliver such messages. Help against the Turk he would not give, nor money either, and he thought it very strange that whilst the Pope was spending all his substance with the Spaniards in Italy he should apply to him for help against the Infidel.—Rome, 2nd October, 1531. | |
| Signed: "Jo. Anto. Muscetula.'' | |
| Addressed: "To the Sacred, Imperial, and Catholic Majesty." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 5. | |
| 8 Oct. | 804. The Answer to be given to the Memorials of the Papal Nuncio, and the Letters from Naples. |
| S. E. L. 854, f. 155. B. M .Add. 28,584 f. 4. |
To the proposal that the Swiss Catholic cantons be helped with 2,000 hackbutiers, and that these be Italians, not Spaniards, and paid out of the tithe of Milan, the answer must be that His Imperial Majesty praises and commends the Pope's Christian zeal, and thinks that the Catholic cantons should be protected at any risk. The Emperor has no objection to the hackbutiers being Italians and paid out of the tithe of Milan, provided the Pope does not have that sum discounted from the payments he himself is obliged to make to the Spanish infantry. |
| Respecting the assistance against the Turk the Emperor cannot do more than he has done hitherto. Since His Holiness' exertions and his own have been unsuccessful let the matter drop altogether; there is no need of again returning to the subject. | |
| With regard to the help for which the duke of Savoy (Carlo III.) asks against the Lutherans of Switzerland, on the borders of his estate, the answer must be that since His Imperial Majesty is about to go to Germany it will be advisable to leave this matter for future consideration according to time and circumstances. | |
| In the matter of the General Council, if what cardinal d'Osma and the others write from Rome respecting the confusion into which the Pope seems to have beeen thrown by the Emperor's demand be true, and on the other hand if it be also true that His Imperial Majesty's good fame and reputation cannot suffer through the Council not being held since so much has been done for its convocation, it seems as if neither could the Pope's friendship be lost through our pressing it, and, therefore, no answer should be given to this article save referring to what has been said on other occasions. | |
| With regard to the matrimonial cause of England, and the marriage proposed by France, between the Pope's niece (Caterina) and the duke of Orleans, since the Legate is satisfied with the verbal answer His Majesty gave him, there is no necessity for further explanation, only to repeat the very instructions which the ambassadors at Rome have received at various times on the matter. | |
| Respecting the new Italian defensive league proposed by the Legate in His Holiness' name, the answer is that one of the same sort was once made at Bologna against any Christian prince who should attempt to disturb the peace of Italy. If His Holiness thinks that a new league and confederacy is really wanted, the Emperor cannot possibly have any objection to it. | |
| Thomas Vosio to be vice-chancellor of the Order of St. John. —Duke of Milan. He is to be told that the Emperor has been, and is still, trying to obtain the hand of the Pope's niece for him. Should this suit fail, His Imperial Majesty will look out for another fitting wife for him. | |
| Naples, &c. | |
| The Albanians who rose against the Turk, after gaining a great battle over his troops and slaying numbers of them, are now about to fortify the city of Cimarra. They beg for assistance as they have no money; 2,000 ducats will be sufficient. | |
| Carbon, the postmaster of Naples, being out of health, and unable to attend to his duties, begs for the appointment of a coadjutor to help him, and recommends the person of Diego Jaymes de Haro, his nephew. | |
| Spanish. Original. pp. 5. | |
| 9 Oct. | 805. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor. |
| K. u K. Haus Hof-u-Staats Arch. Wien. Rep. P.Fasc., c. 227, No. 39. |
Notwithstanding the assurances given by the king of France to Your Majesty's ambassador that in future he would allow no discussion of the affair pending between this king and his Queen, the fact of the matter is that some time ago the Faculty of Canonists in the university of Paris published an opinion, of which the enclosed is a copy. (fn. n6) The said opinion, as far as the King's excusator (Karne) is concerned, seems to have given great satisfaction here, for six days ago the King dispatched to Rome a courier with it, besides allegations of another sort, such as bills of exchange, &c. But it would appear that one of the articles of the document has not been exactly to this king's taste, since the majority of the Paris doctors are of opinion that the Pope ought to commit the cognizance of the affair to a perfectly unprejudiced place, whilst the King pretends that the prelates of this country ought to be the judges without any further commission from the Pope, and that the case ought not to be tried or sentenced out of this kingdom. This opinion of the King is entirely founded on the text of certain ancient councils, a copy of which has been forwarded to Miçer May (sic). though the words adduced are decidedly against him. I fancy that it is partly on this account that Dr. Fox has now returned to France; also to have news of the French negotiations [at Rome], and what Francis' ambassadors may have achieved there, so as to be ready for the next Parliament, which has been prorogued for 25 days to expire on the Monday after All Saints' Day. |
| There is no one here of whom the Lady is more afraid than the bishop of Rochester (Fisher), for he is just the man who without fear of any sort has always defended and upheld in the most unanswerable manner the Queen's cause, owing to which the said Lady has lately sent him a message persuading him to remain where he is, and not come to London and attend Parliament for fear he should catch fever, as he did last year. The Lady may do what she likes in that respect, the Bishop is resolved, should he meet with one hundred thousand deaths, to come and speak in the Queen's favour more openly than he has ever done. | |
| This Court has greatly rejoiced at the news of the rupture of the negotiations respecting an interview between Your Majesty and the king of France, and they are now spreading the rumour that it was you who first solicited it. I believe it is Jo. Jocquin who has told them so, for he said to me the day before yesterday that he thought such an idea could never have entered his master's head, since he had not thought proper to inform this king, from whom, owing to their intimate friendship, he had no secret whatever, and whom he acquainted not only with every new occurrence but with his most hidden thoughts, of it. I made no attempt to contradict these false statements, thinking that when the King himself returns to town and speaks to me about them, it will be a better opportunity to do so. Jocquin, moreover, tells me that this king was much grieved when he heard of Madame the Regent's demise, and that he called her his second mother. | |
| A Spanish friar has lately arrived in town, the same who was the bearer of the above-mentioned opinion of the Paris University. He tells me as a fact, and as if he knew it from the man's own lips that a German student of the name of Gervais, a man of some wit and learning, but a Lutheran, had been sent twice to Germany within the last three months to pave the way for certain intrigues on behalf of the king of France. What the plans were the friar could not tell me, but the student himself had owned the fact to him. However this may be, if those who govern France are of Jocquin's opinion there can be no doubt that the student went to Germany for a bad purpose, for that ambassador keeps saying to all those who will listen to him that Your Majesty's power is becoming by far too great and too alarming, and that Germany, and even Turkey if necessary, ought to be called in aid to prevent your further aggrandizement These, as I hear from many quarters, are the French ambassador's sentiments. | |
| Some days ago by order of this king a census was taken of all foreigners residing in this country, the same sort of numbering that was made in cardinal Wolsey's time, when war was declared to Your Majesty at Burgos. Some people think that this is being done for the purpose of creating some agitation in the kingdom; others say, and this is more likely, that it is for the purpose of making some of them leave the country owing to the dearth of provisions, and the famine with which this country is threatened. | |
| Before the departure of the three Venetian galleons (galleases) for these ports the King had given them permission under his hand and seal to load wool (tirer laynes); which permission he now refuses to ratify on two grounds: first, that since the permission was granted Parliament has made ordinances to the contrary; the second, that when the Venetians applied for it the King thought that their galleons would have come here laden with goods of all kinds as usual, whereas they have arrived in England empty and poorly furnished. The dispute has already lasted nearly one month to the great inconvenience and annoyance of the said merchants, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of their ambassador. | |
| The Papal Nuncio has just forwarded to the King two briefs he had received from His Holiness, one for united resistance to the Turk, the other to help Monseigneur de Savoie (the duke Carlo) to defend himself against the Swiss (Suyssez) who are trying to invade his dominions and infect them with the Lutheran errors. This king, however, has taken very little notice of the briefs, and sent word to the Nuncio that whenever he should have occasion to write he would instruct his ambassadors at Borne (par della) to make a suitable answer. | |
| Signed: "Eustace Chapuys." | |
| Addressed: "To the Emperor." | |
| Indorsed: "From the ambassador in England, the 9th of of October. Received the 14th." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 2. | |
| 12 Oct. | 806. Dr. Ortiz to the Empress Isabella. |
| S. E. L. 854, f. 98. B.M. Add. 28,584, f. 10. |
Her Majesty's letters of the 26th July and 26th of August were duly received. Is glad to hear that his services in the English business have been acceptable; will go on doing has best for the Queen's defence, and if his own life were at stake would not hesitate to offer it as a last proof and argument in so just a cause. |
| The king of France, through his ambassadors, is openly trying for a suspension of the proceedings. It is a great pity to see princes thus interposing their influence and their favour, as well as the offer of matrimonial alliances, in matters of Faith. The arguments adduced by the contrary party shew their utter disregard for justice, for they happen to be derived from Tertullian, from that very passage in which that doctor is evidently mistaken, and thus made the founder of heretical doctrines disproved by the Church, viz., when he asserts that second nuptials are not permissible. Indeed, it is much to be wondered at that the very erroneous ground on which Tertullian establishes his opinion should have been taken up by the English agents as a proof of their assertion. | |
| As he (Ortiz) has written at full length on this subject to the cardinal of Santiago de Compostella, (fn. n7) he need not trouble Her Majesty with futher details. | |
| Has been for upwards of a month waiting for some courier to take this present despatch; during the last fortnight also the ambassador (Miçer Mai) has been unwell. He is better now thank God, and since the holidays are over the legal proceedings will be resumed. The opponents have presented a letter from the king [of England], in which he commands his excusator (Karne)—who hitherto pleaded in the name of the kingdom—to go on pleading as long as the cause is open. and propose various exemptions for his not appearing personally or by proxy. The King's letter, as he (Ortiz) has been informed, has the royal seal, but is not signed by him.—Rome, 12th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "El Dr. Ortiz." | |
| Addressed: "To the Catholic Majesty of the Empress and Queen, our Lady." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 2½. | |
| 15 Oct. | 807. The Emperor to the Same. |
| S. E. L. 496, f. 89. B. M. Add. 28,584, f. 12. |
For the reasons stated in my last it has been impossible for me to proceed at once to Italy, as I at first thought to do. Important business obliges me to leave this country and repair to Germany; but I sincerely hope to be soon disengaged, and return to my Spanish dominions. — Brussels, 15th October 1531. |
| Signed: "Charles." | |
| Spanish. Original. p. 1. | |
| 16 Oct. | 808. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor. |
| K. u. K. Haus- Hof-u.-StaatsArch. Wien Rep.P.Fasc., c. 227, No. 41. |
On Friday last Dr. Lee, archbishop-elect of York, the earl of Sussex, treasurer Feuvenllem (Fitzwilliam), and Dr. Sampson waited on the Queen, and represented to her in the King's name the manifold inconveniences that might arise from the continuance of the difference between the King and herself should the pending suit be carried on by rigorous terms of justice. It was much better (they said) at once to decide the affair by amicable compromise, by means of judges appointed from among the prelates and lawyers of this kingdom, for there was not even a shadow of reason to justify the advocation of the cause to Rome, where, through fear of Your Majesty, the Pope would not dare do justice, or act otherwise than by Your Majesty's commands. They reproduced all the arguments which the duke of Norfolk had made use of on a former occasion when they visited the Queen at Grynuyhe (Greenwich) on Whitsuntide (Pentecost Day), as I informed Your Majesty in one of my former despatches. |
| This appeal the Queen answered in the mildest and most moderate terms, saying that from the very beginning, thinking that the King was really promoting the divorce out of a scruple of conscience, she herself had begged the King to assemble the prelates of his kingdom, and bind them by oath to speak the truth, and determine the case, promising to abide by their decision whatever it might be. This the King had refused to do alleging as an excuse that he would not abide by any other decision except that of justice and law, and therefore as he himself had opened that way, and the affair had gone so far, it was imperative for the relief of their mutual consciences, the tranquillity of the kingdom, and the future prospects of the Princess, their daughter, that the case should be determined and declared by Him who gives the law, the rule and the example to all the World. Now that she was aware that the King was not actuated by mere scruples of conscience, but by passion pure and simple, she could not possibly think of consenting to the compromise proposed by the King, especially in this country where all those consulted would by dint of threats or corruption say white was black and black white. That the King ought not to be sorry to see her prosecute the process commenced by himself inasmuch as whatever she or her legal advisers had done in it, had been done with his permission and consent. | |
| With regard to other arguments brought forward by the royal deputies on this occasion, and the inconveniences and evils which, they said, are likely to result from her stubborn adherence to principle, the Queen answered them in the same terms as at the Greenwich conference, as I informed Your Majesty at the time. At last, after many answers and replies of the same kind, the four above-named personages went down on their knees before the Queen and humbly entreated her for the sake of the King's honour, for the Princess' welfare, for the peace of the kingdom, and for her own repose (as the King promised to treat her much better than ever before) to consent to the process being tried in this kingdom, whether in a court of law, or amicably. Hearing which the Queen went also on her knees praying each and every one of those present for the sake of God's honour and glory, and of His sufferings and death on the cross, for the discharge of the King's conscience and their own, and for the removal of such a scandalous example to Christendom, to persuade the King their master, to return to her, since he well knew that she was his true and legitimate wife. If, notwithstanding this (she added) the King should still entertain some scruple, let him allow the case to be heard and sentenced at Rome, where he may be sure no undue influence or violence will be exercised, and no intrigues practised, Your Majesty being a prince who on no account would appeal to other means save those of truth and justice, owing to which God, she remarked, had always made you prosper in all your undertakings. | |
| To the Queen's sound reasoning and earnest entreaties the King's deputies knew not what to answer; they were actually moved to pity, and I am told that although all the gentlemen and ladies of the Queen's household were present at the conference, and the royal deputies addressed the Queen in low voice, she herself would speak loud enough to be heard by every one of the bystanders, very few of whom escaped without shedding tears. | |
| When, however, the said gentlemen were about to take their departure they announced to the Queent that the King gave her her choice between staying where she then was, going to another small house of the King's, or retiring to an abbey. The Queen answered that it was not for her to choose; where-ever the King should command her to go, even to a fiery stake, she would willingly repair. | |
| On the return of the deputation, and upon their relating what had passed, the King caused his Privy Council and several high officers of State to assemble, whether to deliberate upon the Queen's answer, or take measures respecting the public reception of Monsieur de Bayonne (Jean du Bellay), I cannot say, but the latter arrived here by post on Sunday last, and went oft* on the ensuing Monday to see the King at one of his royal residences, 10 miles from this city. He (Bellay) purposes staying there until Saturday next. Though I have tried hard, I have not yet been able to ascertain the cause of his coming, or what his mission may be, but will not fail to inform Your Majesty of any particulars that may come to my notice. | |
| From the above Your Majesty will be able to judge whether the treatment of the Queen by the King is likely to improve. In my humble opinion it will grow every day worse and worse, considering the coldness and indifference with which the affair is treated at Rome. Indeed it is to be feared that unless a remedy to this evil be soon applied, and that should His Holiness refuse to do justice and sentence the cause, there will be for certain some disorderly act here. That is why His Holiness ought to be asked, if he does not feel disposed to see justice done at once, to issue at least some declaration respecting the brief granted at Bologna, since it is quite notorious that the King is already almost divorced from the Queen, and has excluded her from all communication with him, whereas when the said brief was first issued she still lived with him in appearance. | |
| There is in Paris a Spanish doctor-at-law named Moscoso who has written a book in favour of the Queen. The bishop of Rochester (Fisher) has examined it, and finds it very apropos. The Bishop wishes to have the book printed, and that its author should also undertake to answer the work published here by order of this king. The Queen herself has written to Dr. Moscoso on the subject, and ordered me to write to Your Majesty in his recommendation. | |
| There have been on the frontiers of Scotland and England some skirmishes, in which some Englishmen have been slain, besides many houses and farms plundered. In consequence of which the bishop of Durham and others, who have charge of the English frontiers, have hastened to the spot to have matters settled amicably.—London, 16th October anno XXXI. | |
| Signed: "Eustace Chapuys." | |
| French. Holograph. pp. 3 | |
| 18 Oct. | 809. The Emperor to the Empress. |
| S. E. L. 496, ff 84–5. B. M. Add. 28,.584. f. 13. |
Begs her to keep the galleys ready in case he should have to return to Spain by the Mediterranean. |
| Provision for the pay of the galleys.—Armaments.—Expedition to Algiers to be made next year. | |
| The archbishop of Toledo (Fonseca) to be thanked for his offer of 50,000 "fanegas" of wheat and 12,000 ducats to buy meat and provisions for the fleet that is to attack Algiers.—Ordnance —Ammunition.—Oran.—The son of the king of Tlmesen.—Marquis of Comares, &c. | |
| Has read what she writes about procuring flour (harinas) from England; finds, however, that it is impossible to get any there, and therefore she must do all she can to procure it in Spain or in Sicily. Fortresses and castles on the French frontier to be looked to.—Brussels, 18th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "Charles.'' | |
| Indorsed: "Copy of the letter from His Majesty to the Empress." | |
| Spanish. Contemporary copy. pp. 8. | |
| 22 Oct. | 810. The Emperor to Mai. |
| S. E. L. 1,558, ff. 409–11. B. M. Add. 28,584 f. 15. |
Negotiations with the duke of Albany in Rome.—Swiss Lutherans.—General Council.—Archbishop of Tarbes, &c.—Proposed interview with the king of France. |
| He is to insist very strongly on the matrimonial cause of the queen of England being determined [at Rome] without further delay. Has spoken in this sense to the Papal Legate and begged him to write to the Pope about it. No proposal of a compromise calculated to delay or postpone the final judgment of the cause to be accepted, or even entertained for one single moment. The suit to be decided strictly according to law. | |
| Has written to his ambassador in England ordering him to send to Rome an attested copy of the proceedings once enacted in London. Orders have likewise been sent to Spain for the depositions of witnesses and all other legal documents to be forwarded without delay; also that the examination of witnesses to the probable fear of war existing at the time of the Queen's second marriage, be extensively made, as he (Mai) has pointed out.—[Brussels], 22nd October 1531. | |
| Addressed: "To Micer Mai, our ambassador in Rome.'' | |
| Indorsed: "From Brussels the 22nd of October.'' | |
| Spanish. Original draft in the handwriting of Idiaquez, Secretary of State, pp. 12. | |
| 24 Oct. | 811. Dr. Ortiz to the Emperor. |
| S. E. L. 854, f. 110. B.M. Add. 28,584. f. 16. |
At the end of the last vacation the English orator and his assistant instead of a regular power from their master presented a letter from the king of England, a copy of which is here enclosed. It is astonishing what want of respect and even of common courtesy there is in this letter, but it has not been accepted as of sufficient power for his agents. The ambassador (Mai) will write more about it. |
| Hears that a preferment which pope Adrian granted him whilst in Paris has been violently taken from him by Don Martin de Mendoza, son of the duke of Infantazgo, who had himself ordained for that purpose. Hopes that justice will be done in this respect.—Rome, 24th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz." | |
| Addressed: "To His Imperial and Catholic Majesty the Emperor and King, our Lord." | |
| Indorsed: "From Dr. Ortiz at Rome, 24th of October." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. p. 1. | |
| 24 Oct. | 812. Doctor Ortiz to Eustace Chapuys. |
| S. E. L. 854, f. 112. B.M. Add. 28,584, f. 20. |
Your favour of the 30th of July last was duly received on the 13th of September. You are pleased to refer me to another and more detailed one written to the Imperial ambassador (Mai) here, but it would appear that the latter has received no such letter from England; only one from the Imperial Court, purporting that the Queen was actually removed from the King's Palace, and as I have since been given to understand, living in some straightness (estrechura). all her household servants having been taken away from her. God knows how grieved and sad I feel at the occurrence, &c. |
| On the receipt of your letter I went up to His Holiness, and was with him full two hours, pointing out the many falsehoods and fallacies of this last book written in favour of the English king, and representing to him in most forcible terms the many evils likely to result from the delay, and how he (the Pope) was bound to forbid the King under pain of excommunication any sort of intercourse with his mistress (manceba). adding that so scandalous a sin indeed deserved, both on account of England and of the whole Christian community, to be visited by the censures of the Church, without waiting for the declaration of witnesses in the cause, and so forth, &c. His Holiness heard all I had to say in this particular, approved of my plan and said that if we would only apply for such a brief in the Queen's name he would grant it forthwith. Though such a brief after all may never be issued, yet that people may see that nothing on our part has been omitted out of neglect, I called upon the ambassador and represented to him my own suggestions, and the Pope's answer to them. Unluckily Miçer Mai is still unwell, and though he has promised that within four or five days the petition shall be drawn out, I doubt whether it will be ready then. | |
| I wrote to Your Lordship by the last two posts, and sent some papers for the bishop of Rochester (Rophense); I should very much like to know whether he has received them, and am also anxious to read the rest of his very learned apology, which cannot be otherwise than equal to the first part. | |
| Please to offer my services to the Queen, whose hands and feet I humbly kiss, daily praying God that he may give her consolation and courage in the midst of her tribulations. | |
| The testimony of the witnesses who, according to the Papal Nuncio in that country, are ready to prove that prince Arthur was impotent, His Holiness thinks to be insufficient, inasmuch as the parties have not been cited by a competent judge. But Her Highness the Queen must not be alarmed on that or on any other account, for the archbishop of Santiago (Tavera), in virtue of the compulsory letters sent from hence, has used all diligence in this respect, and even if the marriage with prince Arthur had been consummated there would be no obstacle to the true justice of our cause, which consists in this that such degree of affinity is only forbidden by Canon, not by Civil Law, as has been sufficiently proved by the papers I sent to Spain. | |
| The former part of this letter was written many days ago. After the vacations the King's excusator and his colleagues exhibited a letter from their master, of which a copy is here enclosed. The said excusator pretended that it was a mandate, but a report has been made to shew that it was not. The Pope tells me that the English ambassadors shewed a letter from their master stating that the Queen was as well treated and thought of as before, and that the rumours that had circulated here at Rome were completely false.—Rome, 24th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz." | |
| Addressed: "To the most illustrious Señor Eustacio Capacho (sic). His Majesty's ambassador in England." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 3. | |
| 24 Oct. | 813. The Same to the Emperor. |
| S. E. L. 854, f. 110. |
The vacations over, the English ambassador and his colleague presented instead of a mandate a letter from the King, their master, to His Holiness, of which the enclosed is a copy. It is really wonderful to see the truly irreverent and disrespectful terms in which it is couched. An inquiry and report (information) have been made to shew that the letter in question could not be taken as a mandate from the King. As I have no doubt that Your Majesty's ambassador has already written about this, I will only add that His Holiness is very well disposed, and that with God's help the cause is in a fair way of being settled and sentenced. |
| As I have already had occasion to inform Your Majesty, Don Martin de Mendoza, the son of the duke of Infantazgo, still opposes the Pope's injunctions, and refuses to give me possession of the benefice [of Galapagar] granted to me by pope Adrian. Now I hear from Guadalajara, that in consequence of a brief which the Empress [Isabella] obtained from His Holiness in my favour the Apostolic Nuncio (fn. n8) who presented the same was ill-treated and wounded in that city whilst in the exercise of his duty. I have no doubt that by this time Your Majesty's Privy Council as well as the archbishop of Barri (Fr. Gabriel Merino) and Mons. de Granvelle (Nicolas Perrenot) have reported fully on so grievous a case, and therefore it only remains for me to ask for justice, &c—Rome, 24th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "El Dr. Ortiz." | |
| Addressed: "To the Sacred, Imperial, and Catholic Majesty of the Emperor and King, our Lord." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 2. | |
| 24 Oct. | 814. Eustace Chapuys to the Same. |
| K. u. K. Haus- Hof-u.-StaateArch Wien. Rep.P.Fasc. c. 227, No. 45· |
On Thursday morning Monseigneur de Bayonne (Jean du Bellay) and Jehan Jocquin, on their return from Court came to call on me, and in the course of conversation with them both, and particularly with the said sieur de Bayonne, this latter told me among other things—with the report of which I will not trouble Your Majesty—that the King, his master, having heard of the taking of Modon had prognosticated that such a feat of arms would prove to be either a great boon or a great misfortune for Christendom. That it would be a real boon if the town could be efficiently kept and retained, but that if it could not it would only be the cause of further irritating the Turk, and goading him on to the invasion of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain. The Bishop did not mention France as one of the points to be attacked, but he proceeded to say that this enterprize concerned exclusively Your Majesty, not so much on account of the dignity and authority of the Empire, as for the advantages or losses that might result therefrom. The undertaking (he added) belonged entirely and exclusively to Your Majesty who had in Italy plenty of land and sea forces with nothing else to do, besides which you were, as he said, the richest monarch in Christendom. With regard to France, the Bishop observed that his master, the King, was not in want of men well trained to war, but Your Majesty had so plucked their feathers that they could not fly, besides which the King knowing that he had good reasons to be satisfied with such a kingdom as France, and to thank God for taking away and removing that which kept him and his kingdom in continual sorrow and anxiety, wished to live in amity with all those who sought his friendship, and to look only to the defence of his paternal dominions against whomsoever should try to invade them; the cares of war he intrusted to his sons, the princes, who were already able to take up arms. |
| After this and other like expressions, which shewed sufficiently how little disposed the French are to aid in the said enterprize, the Bishop owned, though not until I had met his arguments with several proofs to the contrary, that the danger of a Turkish invasion was imminent and affected all the princes of Christendom, and that his master, the King, had more desire now than he had ever had of assailing the Turk in his own country, provided the rest of the Christian princes did their duty. He did not specify what those duties were, which makes me believe that by duty (debvoir) the Bishop meant the restitution by Your Majesty to the King, his master, of the many things [he lost by the last war]. May God by His infinite bounty inspire the king of France and his ministers (suppoz) with better sentiments for the service of God and the exaltation of the Faith! | |
| The Bishop then said to me that the King, his master, had been very much astonished to hear of Monsieur de Balançon's report of a proposed interview with Your Majesty, as if he (the King) had solicited the said interview. He had never thought or dreamt of such a thing; the Queen, his wife, (Eleanor) denied having ever made overtures in that sense, and, therefore, all that had been said or published about it was a mere joke (mocqueric). Hearing this I dissembled and made as if I knew not the truth of the matter, that I might ascertain the extent of the Bishop's imaginative powers (fantasie) and not have to contend with him. He, however, said nothing more on the subject but went on to speak of the difficulties and embarrassments in which they (the French) had been placed, and which, he said, still existed in procuring gold of the standard required and fixed at Cambray to pay the price of the lands, which they were bound to repurchase; at the same time complaining most bitterly of the excessive rigour with which they had been treated, the whole of the operation having (as he said) cost the King upwards of 50,000 crs., without any visible profit to Your Majesty. | |
| The Bishop, nevertheless, took very good care not to reveal to me what his mission was, no more than he did when he came last to England. I cannot, therefore, guess what he has come about, unless it be to remove all causes of suspicion and jealousy which these people might entertain respecting the above-mentioned interview; perhaps also to excuse their delay in the payment of the pensions, which ought to have been made on the 1st of May, but did not take place until a few days since, and that only in part, for as I hear a considerable sum is still owing by France to this country. I wonder whether on the plea that their gold is not of sufficient standard to be received by Your Majesty's treasurers the French are now trying to borrow money from this king, or at least to obtain a prorogation of the term at which the next instalment of their debt is due, viz., on All Souls; the thing seems to me probable. | |
| As I have already informed Your Majesty, owing to the long absence of the Court from this city, and to the circumstances that few people, if any, dare visit me nowadays—those with whom I used once to communicate wishing to have pensions, and others who formerly had them begging for their renewal—I am deprived of the means of obtaining credible information. I therefore call Your Majesty's attention to this last point which I consider of the utmost importance. | |
| The Bishop also told me that by the command of his master he had advised this king of the funeral-services held in France for Madame, the Regent [Margaret of Austria], and that the King would have liked to know the order and ceremony thereof. He tells me, moreover, that he stimulated the King to have the same held here (whereas before his arrival here there had been no question of it). The solemnity (he told me) is to take place on the eve of St. Simon, and already the courtiers are preparing their mourning dresses to wear on the occasion. | |
| On Thursday, after dinner, that I might draw out the Bishop, I called on him, accompanied by the ambassadors of Milan and Venice, whom I met on my way to his dwelling. Once admitted into his cabinet the Bishop began in the presence of the said ambassadors to resume the conversation of the other day respecting the taking and succour of Modon, and to exaggerate the difficulties of the task Your Majesty had in hand, repeating several times that Your Italian armies did nothing, that Doria wished to call himself the king of the sea, in the very teeth (à la barbe) of the Venetians, and of the rest of the maritime nations; by which crafty insinuations, and other similar ones, the Bishop meant (if 1 am not mistaken) that the land and sea forces which Your Majesty has now in Italy were as obnoxious and unbearable to his master as if he had them on his own shoulders and had to support them. But the Bishop's argumentation, however well coloured convinced no one; the bystanders could not be persuaded that the Imperial forces had been up to this time unnecessary, and the ambassadors in particular could not fail to perceive that the continuance of your victorious armies in Italy is most unpleasant to those who wish to disturb the peace of that country and of the whole of Christendom. The Bishop, moreover, went on speaking against Andrea Doria, whom he called a traitor, though when he was asked to give his reasons for such an appellation, and we had extolled his (Doria's) many virtues, he kept silence, and said no more on the subject. When I was taking leave of him the Bishop said to me that he would return to Court on Saturday, and that if he had the leisure would call on me, that we might again have a talk together. On Saturday, after dinner, he left for Court. Yesterday, Sunday, the King came to the house (lougis) of Brian Turc (Tuke), where the two French ambassadors (Monsieur de Bayonne and Jehan Jocquin) are staying, which is about one mile from the King's present residence, and all supped together. At the upper end of the table were the King, the Lady (Anne), and Monseigneur de Bayonne. At the lower one Jehan Jocquin, the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, the Countess; the Secretary bishop-elect of Winchester, Feuunllier (Fitzwilliam) the treasurer, and two ladies. After much eating and drinking the said bishop of Bayonne took his leave, and returned to London. He has since given me to understand that he will start tomorrow morning as early as he can, and make all possible speed. On Friday I sent one of my servants to Court for the purpose of recommending to the duke of Norfolk the widow and children of one Captain Charran, a, Biscayan, as instructed by Your Majesty's last letter to me. The Duke with great kindness of heart went immediately to the King, whose answer was that nothing was due to the captain, as he had been paid his wages regularly so long as he was in the King's service. After which answer from the King, which the Duke himself communicated to my servant, he inquired kindly after me, and gave him the following message for me: "Tell your master (said he) that I knew very well what I sent to say to him the other day about an interview between the Emperor and the king of France would turn out true; there has never been a question in France of such an interview. Had it been so we should have been apprized of it, for the friendship between the Most Christian King and my master is as close and binding as it can possibly be, and instead of diminishing will be on the increase." This the Duke repeated more than 10 times over, at the same time praying God to extend and prolong the same amity and good intelligence with all the other princes. And upon my man assuring him that as far as Your Majesty was concerned it would not be your fault if such amity and friendship failed, and that there was nothing Your Majesty prized so highly as the peace, union, and mutual love of Christendom, the Duke made no reply, but began again to extol and magnify the advantages of his master's friendship to the Most Christian King, of which he seemed to be so proud that he could hardly drop the subject. | |
| The Queen continues at the same place (More), and there is no appearance for the present of the King sending for her. Parliament has again been prorogued until the 15th of January next; perhaps they are waiting till Your Majesty has departed from the Low Countries for its re-assembling. | |
| The King has been for some time in much anxiety and fear of the Scotch, but has lately been relieved of this trouble by a very gracious letter he has received from the king of that country; on the receipt of which, as I have been told, he feasted and rejoiced as much, and gave as marked signs of contentment, as if he had won a great battle or heard of the conquest of some great kingdom by his people. | |
| Along the coast some military preparations have been made, and a close watch has been established in consequence of the appearance of the king of Denmark's fleet, for fear of which permission has been refused to five English ships laden with merchandize to sail for Flanders until it be ascertained what route the said Danish fleet will take. Meanwhile the citizens of London, and others interested in that trade, have, notwithstanding the said danger, assailed the King with all manner of importunities, petitioning for leave to depart, and complaining that should the prohibition last long it will cause the ruin of thousands of families. This is no doubt for the purpose of making the King understand that this country cannot possibly support itself without the Flemish trade, and it will perhaps be the cause of the government here paying more attention in future to matters which, if neglected, may eventually put a stop to commercial intercourse. | |
| Three different copies of the process instituted here between the King and Queen have been forwarded to Rome, and yet Miçer Mai (sic) writes lately that not one has been received by him. I now send home a fourth, that Your Majesty may be pleased to have it forwarded as soon and as securely as possible, for it is the foundation of the whole affair, and without it no sentence can be pronounced. | |
| As I said before, there is no chance nowadays owing to the Court being absent, and to other causes which I need not point out again, of obtaining reliable information. I am, therefore, obliged to be rather prolix, otherwise that Your Majesty may judge of these people's plans from the above details, and beg to be excused if I have entered into unnecessary ones.—London, 24th October anno XXXI. | |
| Signed: "Eustace Chapuys." | |
| French. Holograph. pp. 4. | |
| 24 Oct. | 815. Cardinal d'Osma to the Same. |
| S. E. L. 859, f. 99. S. M. Add. 28,584, f. 17. |
............................That the Pope and the whole of Italy know well the reason why the king of France did not attend the interview. (fn. n9) It was not the death of his mother (Louise de Savoie) that prevented him, as he said, from attending, hut the condition imposed by the Emperor, that no personal matters should be discussed thereat. All here believe what His Imperial Majesty wrote about the intended interview. His Holiness says he knows from a very good source that the king of England is secretly aware of the fact, notwithstanding that the Most Christian King has positively asserted to the foreign ambassadors at his court, and written also to the Pope and to the Venetians, that he neither sought nor asked for the interview. The Pope and he (Loaysa) are both of opinion that the Emperor ought to dissemble in this instance and not heed the statements made by the Most Christian King, for all know for certain, and .hear by letters from France, that what has been said about it is the exact truth. |
| Indorsed: "Summary of a letter from the cardinal of Osma to His Majesty." | |
| Spanish. Contemporary abstract for the Emperor's inspection. pp. 3. | |
| 24 Oct. | 816. Gio. Ant. Muxetula to the Same. |
| S·E. RomaL. 853, f. 91, B. M. Add. 28,584, f. 22. |
Your Majesty's letters of the 28th September last to this ambassador (Miçer Mai), informing him of the reasons why the concerted interview of Your Majesty and the king of France did not take place, were duly received here. At the same time there came letters from His Holiness' Nuncio in France announcing the death of the Queen-mother, and saying that the meeting would not take place in consequence, but the Nuncio added (cipher:) that although common rumour attributed to that cause the putting off of the conferences he had reason to think differently, and that when king Francis heard the answer given by Your Majesty to the Queen's gentleman sent to speak about the interview, and the conditions you chose to impose, should it take place, he withdrew from it, giving as his excuse his mother's demise though the real motive was that he had lost all hope of obtaining what he wanted. Such, at least, is the Nuncio's opinion and that of His Holiness, and also of all sensible people here in Italy. |
| (Common writing:) On the receipt of the letters both from the king of France and that of England, commanding their respective ambassadors here to call on His Holiness, and say that never at any time had the former asked for an interview with Your Majesty, nor had it ever crossed his mind, to hold it, some impression was made on the minds of these people. "His Holiness," added the letters," was not to believe the reports of people interested in sowing dissension between princes." Since then His Holiness has received letters from France informing him that the English ambassadors had called upon king Francis and remonstrated with him as to the interview having been preconcerted without their being informed thereof, adding that that was not a suitable proceeding. "On this account (the letters say) the strength of the King's friendship and alliance was decreasing; but it was thought that the king of France might have said those words to prevent any slackening in the friendship and good-will of the king of England, who seems determined to shew the Pope that he is on the very best possible terms with him of France. This king Henry does and publishes to frighten His Holiness, and make him proceed with caution in these matters of the divorce." I fancy he has also written that the interview was altogether against the will of France. | |
| The Pope's answer to the French and English ambassadors has been that he very much regretted that the interview did not take place; he could nowise have been a loser by it, on the contrary, Christendom would have been benefited by the meeting of two such powerful and magnanimous princes. He was sorry that the death of such a good and virtuous princess as the queen-mother of France was the cause of the interview not being effected. He would not enter upon the question, whether the conferences had been proposed first by their king, or by Your Majesty, as the ambassadors maintain. That was a delicate subject, and one which His Holiness would not willingly discuss for the moment (cipher:) though he knew very well what to believe on these matters. Indeed, the other day, whilst conversing together upon the affairs of England and France, he said to me: "the king of England is urging him of France to declare war against the Emperor, pretending that he can, if he likes, inflict great injury by sea along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The king of France has answered that the time for such an aggression had not yet come; England should have patience and wait until the Emperor should be more weakened, which would take place shortly. "I fancy (continued the Pope) that their plans are to detain Your Majesty in Flanders, because should any rising of the German Lutherans take place in the meantime Your Majesty could not so easily go to Spain and back, the sea passage being, as they imagine, impracticable during the approaching winter season." | |
| What the Emperor ought to do to defeat such wicked plans would be first to carry some effectual measure at the Diet of Spires; he might after that come to Italy and return to Spain by a more secure and commodious route. Should the Diet last longer than is anticipated, then in that case the meeting might be prorogued to some convenient place nearer the frontiers of Austria, the county of Tyrol and Italy, where the Emperor might have his own particular dominions at his back, &c.—Rome, 24th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "Juan Antonio Muxetula." | |
| Addressed: "To the Sacred, Imperial, and Catholic Majesty." | |
| Spanish. Holograph. pp. 4. | |
| 24 Oct. | 817. Miçer Mai to the High Commander. |
| S. E. L. 853, f. 90. B. M. Add. 28,584, f. 18. |
At the very beginning of this month's audiences, and when my illness was at its worst, I sent for the Queen's lawyer and procured the examination of one witness, whose summons and evidence did not appear in the proceedings. Besides this I had five or six more witnesses examined whose evidence was both opportune and valuable. As on the previous days I had been labouring hard to have the process adjusted (igualado). I urgently solicited a sentence, expecting that in the meantime a copy of the original proceedings in England, for which I have written so often, and without which nothing can be materially attempted here, would arrive. I, therefore, earnestly request Your Lordship to forward it to me as soon as possible. |
| Meanwhile the same English lawyer, who came once here as excusator but was not admitted in Court owing to his not bringing sufficient powers, brought new ones, of which a copy is enclosed, drawn up with such evil intent that I can assure Your Lordship at the sight of them the fever of which I was then convalescent at once revived. It is indeed the vilest document of the sort ever produced; its sole purpose is to cause further delay, and it is sure to be followed by a dozen more of the same quality and stamp. I sent Vaisona to the Pope to remonstrate, and I myself went afterwards and complained in the bitterest words, for the truth must be told: His Holiness is somewhat lax and procrastinating in this affair. On the other hand, I caused a statement of our cause to be presented to the Rota, and tried to ascertain what was the argument of our opponents; indeed I actually succeeded in having one of their allegations stolen from thm. (fn. n10) But whatever has been done on my part with the Pope and the Rota has hitherto been of no use. We are already near the end of October and nothing has been done. My advice is that a pressing letter be written to the Pope in the Emperor's name, or else one reprimanding me for not having promoted this affair as I ought, that I may shew it to the Pope. | |
| It is positively asserted that the king of England has sent orders to his ambassadors that should His Holiness ultimately declare, as he has so often been requested to do, that the cause is to be tried and sentenced here at Rome and not elsewhere, they are to take leave forthwith and return home, for from that day will he consider the Pope as his public enemy. These threats and others of a similar nature have made great impression here among the cardinals. it is therefore necessary to meet them with encouragement and with promises of help and favour. | |
| Let this paragraph of my letter be copied and forwarded to the ambassador in England (Chapuys), because, what with my own severe illness, and the death of my nephew, the son of Senora Malla, whom may God forgive, who died towards the middle of September, I have had no humour or leisure to write to him, though I know he is daily expecting news from me. | |
| An answer to the people of Lanzano (Lanchiano) would be very opportune just now, for they have here one of their agents.—Rome 24th October 1531. | |
| Signed: "Mai." | |
| Addressed: "To the most illustrious lord the High Commander of Leon, first secretary, and of the Emperor's Council." | |
| Spanish. Original. pp. 3. | |