1519.

Jan.

abled themselves to wield at pleasure, and without contradiction, the whole power of their empire. But in the Netherlands the measures of the prince were perpetually impeded by the opposition of the states; and even in Spain, though the different kingdoms which once divided the peninsula had been, with the exception of Portugal, moulded by the genius of Ferdinand into one powerful monarchy, yet the exercise of the royal authority was greatly circumscribed by the rights and immunities still claimed by the cortes and the nobility.

Three years after the demise of Ferdinand, the rivalry between the young kings was called into full activity by 12. the death of the emperor Maximilian. That prince, anxious to secure the succession to the imperial crown in the house of Austria, had in the last diet solicited the electors to name his grandson Charles king of the Romans. The majority had promised their voices; but from this engagement they were released by his death, and were now summoned to choose not a king of the Romans, but an emperor. Charles announced himself a candidate; and the vanity of Francis immediately prompted him to come forward as a competitor. The intrigues of the French and Spanish courts on this occasion are foreign from the subject of the present work: but the conduct of Henry demands the attention of the reader. His former refusal of the imperial crown, when it was offered by Maximilian, had not proceeded from the moderation of his desires, but from diffidence in the sincerity of his ally. Now that the glittering prize was open to competition, he disclosed his wishes to his favourite; and both the king and the cardinal, reciprocally inflaming the ambition of each other, indulged in the most flattering delusions. In fancy they were already seated, the one on the throne of the Cæsars, the other in the chair of St. Peter, and beheld the whole christian world, laity and clergy, prostrate at their feet.

The election of Henry would secure, it was foretold, the elevation of Wolsey; and the bishop of Worcester

A. D. 1519.]

CHARLES ELECTED EMPEROR.

47

was commissioned to procure the consent and aid of the pope, whilst Pace hastened to Germany, with instructions to sound the dispositions of the electors, to make them the most tempting promises, and, if he saw a prospect of success, to name the king of England as a candidate; if not, to propose a native prince to the exclusion of both Francis and Charles. But experience soon taught this envoy that with mere promises he was no match for the agents of the other candidates, who came furnished with ready money; and therefore adhering to subsequent instructions, he threw into the scale the whole weight of his influence in favour of the king of Spain, who after a long debate was chosen without a June dissentient voice*. In this transaction Francis had 28. great reason to complain of the duplicity of "his good brother." From the very beginning he had received assurances of the most cordial support from the English court; and in return had expressed his gratitude to the king by a letter of thanks, and to Wolsey by a promise of securing for him on the first vacancy fourteen votes in the conclave. Prudence, however, taught July him to accept with seeming satisfaction the apology of 5. the English cabinet, that Pace would have aided him, had there appeared any chance of success, and had only seconded the election of Charles, because it was in vain to oppose it .

Though the two competitors during the contest had professed the highest esteem for each other, the bitte est animosity already rankled in their hearts, and

* Frederic, elector of Saxony, was the favourite. The majority offered to place him on the imperial throne, but he had the wisdom or the magnanimity to refuse. See the letters of Cajetan. Lettere de' principi. i. 60–66. Martini, iii. 1286.

† Apud Fiddes, 219-224. Ellis, i. 146. 156. Wolsey was soon convinced of the hopelessness of the attempt in favour of Henry. Not daring, however, to hint so much, he employed Clerk, afterwards bishop of Bath and Wells, to reason with Henry on the subject. It was in vain: "His grace considered no jupartys." State Papers, i. 23. Pace, however, on his return, having been privately instructed by the cardinal, so exaggerated the price which Charles had paid for the imperial crown, that his grace said "he was right gladde that he obteynyddo not the same." Ibid. 8.

VOL. VI.

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each sought to fortify himself with the support of Henry against the presumed hostility of his rival. To Francis the late conduct of the king of England afforded but slender hopes of success: he trusted, however, to his own address and eloquence; and summoned Henry to perform an article in the last treaty, by which it was agreed that the two monarchs should meet each other on the border of their respective dominions. The intelligence alarmed the jealousy of the Spanish cabinet ; remonstrances were made against an interview so pregnant with mischief to the interests of Charles; and Henry, while he pretended a readiness to fulfil the treaty, suggested difficulties, demanded explanations, and artfully contrived reasons to suspend or postpone the meeting. But his cunning was opposed with equal cunning; and Francis brought the question to an issue by signing a commission, which gave full power to Wolsey to settle every point in debate, as he should judge most conducive to the joint honour of the two kings. 1520. Having received the permission of Henry, the cardinal Mar. decreed that the interview should take place between 12. Ardres and Guisnes, to which towns the two courts

should repair before the last day of May, and that, to celebrate the meeting, a tournament should be held at the same time, in which the kings of England and France, with eighteen assistants, should answer all opponents at tilt, tourney, and barriers*. Still the struggle continued between the two monarchs, the one labouring to evade, the other to enforce this award.

Among the artifices to which Henry resorted, there is one which will amuse the reader. As a proof of his sincerity, he swore before the French ambassador that he would never more cut his beard till he had visited "his good brother:" and Francis, anxious to bind him still faster, imm.diately took a similar oath. But the former neglected, the latter fulfilled his promise; and,

See it in Hall, 70.

A. D. 1520.] MEETING OF HENRY AND FRANCIS.

49

when long beards had in consequence become the prevailing fashion in the French court, sir Thomas Boleyn was compelled to apologise for the bad faith of his master, by alleging that the queen of England felt an insuperable antipathy to a bushy chin. At length Henry with a numerous and splendid retinue left Green- May wich, and proceeded by slow stages to Canterbury; 21. where, to the surprise of all who had not been admitted into the secret, advice was received that Charles with a 25. squadron of Spanish ships had cast anchor in the harbour of Hythe. He hal been impelled (so it was pretended) by the most urgent motives to visit his paternal dominions in the Netherlands; and hearing, as he sailed up the Channel, that the English court was near the coast, had landed to pay his respects to his uncle 26. and aunt. This apparently accidental meeting was celebrated at Canterbury with feasts and rejoicings; 27. the young emperor by his flattery and attentions rooted himself in the affections of Henry, and by promises and presents secured the friendship of Wolsey; and on the fourth day, when he sailed from Sandwich, the 31 king, with his court, crossed the strait from Dover to Calais*.

For several weeks a thousand workmen had been busily employed in erecting a palace of fiame work near the castle of Guisnes. It was of a quadrangular form, and measured in compass four hundred and thirty-seven yards, con aining a most sumptuous chapel, several apartments of state, and ample accommodations for the king and queen, and their numerous attendants. No expense had been spared in internal or external decorations. The furniture was new and of the most costly description; the ceilings were,covered with silk, and the walls hung with cloth of arras. Near the town of Ardres an edifice of similar magnificence had been

* Hall, 72. Pet. Mart. p. 369. So far was this visit from being accidental, that Henry, on the 8th of April, had instructed his ambassadors to fix the time and place. Chron. Catalogue, 130,

4.

6.

erected for the king of France, and adjoining to it a pavilion or banqueting room, supported from the summit of a mast standing in the centre, and covered entirely with cloth of gold. As soon as the kings had June reached their respective residences, the cardinal paid a visit to Francis, and remained with him two days. The result was an additional treaty, which proves the extreme anxiety of that monarch to secure the friendship, or at least the forbearance of the English king. He was already bound to pay one million of crowns within a fixed period: he now engaged for himself and his successors to pay to Henry, and the heirs of Henry for ever, the yearly sum of one hundred thousand crowns, in the event of the marriage between the dauphin and the princess Mary being afterwards solemnised, and the issue of that marriage seated on the English throne. Moreover, as the affairs of Scotland had long been a source of jealousy and contention between the two crowns, he consented that they should be referred to the amicable determination of the cardinal of York, and of Louisa, his own mother*. After these preliminaries the monarchs rode from their several residences to the valley of Andern, situate within the territory of Guisnes. Their attendants halted on the opposite declivities. Henry and Francis descended into the valley, alighted from their horses, embraced each other, and walked arm-in-arm into a pavilion, which had been prepared for their reception. The next fortnight was consumed in feats of arms, in ba..quets, and in disguisings. During six days the kings and their associates tilted with spears against all comers; the tourney with the broad sword on horseback occupied two more; and the last was employed in fighting at the barriers on foot. The queens of England and France with their ladies and officers beheld the combatants from the galleries; and the heralds daily registered the names, the arms, and the feats of the knights.

* Rym. xiii. 719–722, 723, 724.