Rome: 1570, April-June | British History Online

Pages 332-337

Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Vatican Archives, Volume 1, 1558-1571. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1916.

Citation:

1570, April–June



Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041. f. 262.	658. News Letter. “The commissaries of England are still at Brussels, and the Duke of Alva has directed that all the merchants interested are to furnish a list of all the goods taken. Five commissaries are chosen, all Flemish merchants, who are to go to England to do the same office there; and it is believed that the accord will come about. “The Germans here are disbanded, more than half of them. “We have tidings from England, that affairs in Scotland were taking a course favourable to the Catholics, and that, the new Governor being despatched by a poniard, the Catholics of the North [of England] were going to join their forces with the Scots; that the Earl of Pebruegh [Pembroke], the chief of the Catholics of England, was dead, and that the Earl of Arundel was sick, and there was some suspicion of poison.” 1 April, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041. f. 258d.	659. News Letter. … “The English commissaries are in Brussels treating with our commissaries, who were elected, it was thought, for the purpose of sending to England some accord as to dealing and mutual restitution of goods. “We are here without soldiers, which is a great boon to these burghers who had to furnish funds to pay them. “It is understood that of late there went to Scotland an English earl, a Catholic, with about 3,000 men in aid of the other Catholic gentlemen, English and Scottish, against the heretic Scots, and that on the march he fell in with some of the Queen of England's soldiers, and attacked them and slew about four hundred of them, and so continued his march in safety. The Catholics are very strong on the border and greatly superior to the heretics, so that it is hoped that they will soon be masters of all Scotland. “The Queen of England, in view of this trouble, and being apprehensive that the King of France may send succour to the said Catholics of Scotland, has induced the Huguenots of France to protract the negotiations for peace, so as to preclude the despatch of the said succour. The Queen has sent one of her chief men to Scotland with 5,000 soldiers to set there a new governor in place of him that was slain; but it is believed that the Catholics will stop his advance.” 9 April, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 265.	660. News Letter. “The English are lading the fleet for Hamburg in hot haste, and they lack ships. They are lading also a fleet with woollens; it is thought that it will number more than 50 sail. They are sending a vast quantity of stuffs, which will be very profitable to them. This year it is thought they will have no occasion to send another fleet.” 10 April, 1570. London. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 391.	661. News Letter. “By advices from Antwerp it is understood that the accord with the Queen of England has come about, in which case the merchants that are away from Antwerp will be able to return, and also to go to England to establish their trade.” 10 April, 1570. Lyon. Italian.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041 f. 265.	662. News Letter. “There is no intermission of advices that the Scots are gathered together on the frontier, and had killed about 400 English of the force of 3,000 that the Queen of England sent against them; and it is bruited that the Queen awaits a succour of Germans from Hamburg. The report of the death of Pembroke persists, and it is now said that another personage is dead, and that the Earl of Arundel was ill. It is conjectured that the Queen will in the end make up her mind to wed Milord Robert [Dudley]. “As to the business here with the said English at Brussels, their commissaries have produced about 10 articles, the substance of which amounts to this, that they claim restitution of all the goods detained, and reimbursement of expenses and all other losses, whereto our people reply that they consent, provided the like treatment be accorded to us; which is deemed difficult because in England the goods have been in great measure dispersed, so that account cannot be had thereof, whereas here account has been carefully kept.” 16 April, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 268.	663. News Letter. … “From Flanders they reported most hopefully of the accord with England, and that his Catholic Majesty had pardoned the Prince of Orange, i.e. had restored his State to his sons on condition that he should be provided for out of the revenues, but reside in Germany; which was the more readily believed because his said Majesty had disbanded the troops in Antwerp and other places who were commanded by the Count of Lodrone.” 22 April, 1570. Rome. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 268d.	664. News Letter. … “There is no further news as to England, not even the result of the negotiations at Brussels as to the accord with the English, which, it is thought, may be protracted for some months.” 24 April, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Arch. Nunt. di Spagna, vol. iv. f. 128d. Borgh. I. vol. 607 f. 212.	665. [John Baptista Castagna, Archbishop of Rossano,] Nuncio in Spain to [Michael Bonelli,] Cardinal Alessandrino. … “When of late I brought Mgr. di Torres to the audience I spoke to the King, and gave him the Pope's brief touching the affairs of England and Scotland, accompanying it with such words as seemed to me to the purpose in favour of the Queen of Scotland, saying that it was now many days since the brief was issued, and so the matter was somewhat stale; to which his Majesty replied that he would look at the brief, and will never fail, so far as he may find opportunity, to succour people oppressed by the enemies of the Catholic religion; but that he gave me to understand that the affairs of England are no longer on the same footing as when I spoke to him thereof in Madrid, and he would be governed by the course of events in that country while keeping ever in view the public weal of religion and his Holiness' satisfaction. In effect it seems that it is understood that the Queen of England is feeling her way towards an accord, and holds out hope of a restitution of the moneys seized, and has quieted the turmoils that were set afoot in her realm, and that no reliance can be placed on the insurgents, so that it seems that in the meantime the King can do nothing with her, either by diplomacy or by force of arms, in favour of the Queen of Scotland, albeit the King did not say so.” 25 April, 1570. Cordova. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Arch. Nunt. di Polon. vol. i. f. 64.	666. [Jerome] Rusticucci, Cardinal Secretary to the Pope to Vincente dal Portico, Nuncio in Poland. … “I send herewith, as you will see, some printed copies of the bull lately published against the Queen of England, directing you in the Pope's name to send it to Gedano [Danzig] and all the towns on that coast that have commerce with that island, that by all means from some quarter they may be apprised of it. And above all you are to send it to the Bishop of Vladislavia [Wloklawek] with instructions to the same effect, at the same time apprising him that some copies have been sent to Cardinal Hosius, that he may distribute them likewise throughout his diocese. And if they can be printed there with the King's licence, it would be possible to accelerate the publication; if not, printed copies shall be sent hence in such quantity as shall be necessary.” 29 April, 1570. Rome. Italian. Draft.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041. f. 276d.	667. News Letter. … “There is not much hope of the accord with the English, because they claim to have the goods restored to them, and to be exempt from restoring that which they have detained in England. “It is understood that there has been of late a great, and for the English a very bloody, battle between them and the Scots, and that their chief Milord Ambrose [Dudley], brother of Milord Robert, was wounded. It is also said that the Earl of Arundel has been set at liberty, and that the Duke of Norfolk has the range of all the Tower, and that he will soon be liberated.” 8 May, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 274d.	668. News Letter. “It is understood that his Holiness has made a bull in which he declares the Queen of England unworthy and incapable of the sovereignty of that country, as well for that she is illegitimate as also that she is no true Christian but a heretic, and ill affected to the Catholic faith; by which same bull he also absolves the English people from their oath of fealty, and grants to every Christian Prince licence to invade and occupy the said realm. They also say that his Holiness purposes by every means in his power to see if he can reclaim so many souls beguiled by the evil example of those ministers.” 13 May, 1570. Rome. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041 f. 281.	669. News Letter. … “There is no further news as to England; and the commissaries that are in Brussels upon the business of the accord have sent two of their number back to London to take account of the goods that were detained; and if they are willing to make restitution of them, as will be done here, the accord will come about.” 15 May, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Arch. Nunt. di Spagna, vol. xiii. f. 157.	670. [Jerome] Rusticucci, Cardinal Secretary to the Pope to [John Baptista Castagna, Cardinal Archbishop of Rossano] Nuncio in Spain. “You must also, when you find convenient opportunity, recommend to his Majesty's attention in his Holiness' name the affairs of Scotland, entreating him to give instructions to the Duke of Alva to accord that enterprise such aid as shall be craved of him by the Queen of Scotland, or her agents, in money or men, as he shall deem the more expedient, in which case he will do a most pious work and most gratifying to the Pope.” 30 May, 1570. Rome. Italian. Draft.
Ibid. f. 161.	671. Concerning Spain. “Since his Holiness is sending a gentleman to Spain, it would be very necessary, and pertinent to the prosperous issue of the affairs of Scotland and England, that he should be pleased to send by him a brief warmly recommending all that business to the Catholic King, and praying his Majesty to give a fresh commission to the Duke of Alva to aid this so glorious enterprise, at the need and request of the Queen of Scotland, with men or money; and to write afresh to his ambassador resident in England, instructing him to do all such good offices as he may in that realm, to help this cause to a prosperous issue. It would also be well, if it so please his Holiness, to commission the bearer of the brief, who is very well informed as to the state of the business, to speak with the King in accordance with the tenor of the writing, and be instant with his Majesty that good effect be given to it, as the Queen of Scotland has craved in her letters to his Holiness of the 17th of last March; which would afford the utmost comfort and courage to the said Queen and all the Catholics of the two kingdoms.” 30 May, 1570. Rome. Italian. Draft.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041. f. 285.	672. News Letter. … “The despatches from England are to hand, but nothing more is known as yet either from those parts or from the side of Scotland.” 6 June, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Vat. Lib. Urb. Lat. 1041. f. 296d.	673. News Letter. … “The ordinary post is suspended till Thursday by reason, it is said, of the failure of the Spinola. “By the latest intelligence from London we learn that the English commissaries, who left Flanders for London on the business of the accord, had lately set out on their return to Flanders with nothing of importance to communicate, so that this business remains in the same position as before. “The Breton corsairs continue their depredations by sea, and have of late taken two small Portuguese ships laden with groceries, which they sold in London.” 12 June, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 295.	674. News Letter. … “The Queen of Scotland's secretary, who arrived last Saturday evening, was admitted together with the Scottish Bishop of Umbas [sic Dunblane. (fn. 1) ] to an audience of the Pope, at which in his Queen's name he craved aid in money for the support of the war against the Queen of England, as to which he has received as yet no positive answer.” 13 June, 1570. Rome. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 417d.	675. News Letter. “Two days ago one of the commissaries that went to England returned to Brussels. It is not yet known what he has to communicate as to the solution of the question, but it is certain that the Queen has prohibited the sale of any of the detained goods.” 17 June, 1570. Antwerp. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 298.	676. News Letter. … “They write from Antwerp that the Duke of Alva had issued a proclamation, that all parties interested, and whose goods were taken in England, were to furnish him with their names and the amounts of their claims in writing, because he was about to send other commissaries to London.” 22 June, 1570. Speyer. Italian. Copy.
Ibid. f. 407.	677. News Letter. … “From Antwerp by letters of the 5th they write, that they expected the Queen of Spain in that city in the middle of this month; and it is surmised that the Duke of Alva would accompany her, leaving the government of these States in the hands of one of his sons. For the Queen's passage they were making ready 30 armed ships of war; and there would also be 60 merchant ships of which M. Darlamont [sic Berlaymont] would have charge, and the flotilla would be accompanied as far as the sea by 1,000 Spanish arquebusiers and by cavalry. They add that, the English having lost a battle on the Scottish border, the Queen of England was equipping fresh forces for their support.” 24 June, 1570. Venice. Italian.