[103] Paris, Arch. Nat., P. 164², côte 1494.
[104] Gaucher de Dinteville attended the coronation of Francis I. as a Knight of St. Michael. (Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fonds fr. 32865, Chevaliers de l’Ordre de St. Michel depuis 1515 jusqu’en 1560. This list is, however, incomplete, being an early attempt to reconstruct the roll of the Knights after the destruction of the original at the time of the French Revolution. The MS. expressly states, with regard to Jean, that the only documentary evidence at the disposal of the compiler was an act of 1588, in which Jean is termed Chevalier de l’Ordre du Roi, and the manuscript list of the Knights drawn up by D’Hozier, in 1660, which gives him the same quality. D’Hozier, a famous genealogist, and author of the “Nobiliaire de Champagne,” had every opportunity for obtaining correct information, and had, of course, access to the roll which was subsequently destroyed. Although the exact date of Jean’s admission to the Order is unknown, the fact of his having been a Knight of St. Michael is therefore incontestable.)
[105] Charrière, “Négociations de la France dans le Levant,” vol. i., p. 146, Villiers L’Isle-Adam to Montmorency.
[106] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., p. 172.
[107] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fonds Dupuy, 702, fol. 131.
[108] Lebeuf, “Mémoires concernant l’Eglise d’Auxerre,” pp. 138-199, quoted by Sandret, “Revue Hist. et Nobiliaire,” xiii., 220.
[110] Letters and Papers, For. and Dom., Henry VIII., vol. v., 1531-32, No. 579.
[111] Gilles de la Pommeraye was a right-hand man of Montmorency. He had previously been French ambassador at the court of the Archduchess Margaret at Brussels.
[112] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” Letter of La Pommeraye to the Bishop of Auxerre, March 10, 1532.
[113] ... “You are right to envy me being with so amiable a prince, for I think that after the king our master, there has been none for two hundred years past of greater intelligence or grace, or more magnanimous than this one. And to speak frankly to you, the said king our master is under an obligation to him for the good will he shows him, by which I profit greatly, for I am treated here, not as an ambassador, but as a prince of the country; lodged in the house of this said king, and, when I go to see him, always eating at his table. So you must not wonder if I beg and exhort you to uphold his quarrel.
“This prince has a great wish to chastise the priests of this country and not to allow them to enjoy such great privileges as has been their habit; which is caused by the wrong that is being done him at Rome, which is so great that it could not be surpassed. It is a strange thing that the Emperor should have so much power over the Pope as to prevent him doing right and justice there where he knows them to be.”
[114] Bridewell Palace.
[115] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., p. 78b, La Pommeraye to the Bishop of Auxerre, 20 March, 1532. The avowed object of La Pommeraye’s mission was to support the king’s desire that his cause should be heard in England and not at Rome. (Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. v., 1531-32, No. 614, Chapuys to Charles V.)
[116] Balavoyne was the maternal uncle of Théodore de Bèze, the historian of the French Reformation, whose uncle, on the paternal side, Monsieur de Bèze the elder, an orthodox Catholic, died beneath the protecting roof of the bishop’s house in Paris, during the absence of the latter in Rome. Paris, Bibl. de l’Institut, Coll. Godefroy, p. 254, Nos. 23, 24.
[117] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Coll. Dupuy, vol. 726, ff. 90, 91. Letter from Berthereau to the Bishop of Auxerre.
[118] Ibid., vol. 728, f. 51.
[119] Paris, Bibl. de l’Institut, Coll. Godefroy, Letter of Balavoyne to the Bishop of Auxerre, Nantes, 25 August, 1532.
[120] Du Bellay, “Mémoires,” ed. Petitot, vol. ii., p. 133. These were certainly the only English subjects admitted to the French Order at this period. The reason given by Du Bellay for the selection of the two dukes sufficiently proves the high esteem in which the distinction was held.
[121] Camusat, “Meslanges Historiques,” p. 110. Traicté touchant la contribution que le Roy et le Roy d’Angleterre doyvent faire pour la deffension du Turc. See also p. 109, Double des traictés, etc.
[122] Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv., 1527-33, No. 832. Zuan Antonio Venier to the Signory, Oct. 31, 1532.
[123] See note 7, p. 42. Morette, another of the hostages, had already been over on a short mission in the spring of 1528.
[124] Katherine of Aragon.
[125] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. v., 1531-32, No. 1579, Chapuy to Charles V., Nov. 26, 1532. The “king’s house” in question was the palace of Bridewell.
[126] Perhaps his unmarried sister at Polisy, or possibly his mother. Married women were sometimes termed Mademoiselle, though in this case the appellation would not have been strictly correct, the rank of Gaucher de Dinteville entitling his widow to the name of Madame.
[127] Paris, Bibl. de l’Institut, Coll. Godefroy, portfolio 225, ff. 23, 24.
[128] “Besides this, the Grand Maître expressly charged me to write to you that the moment they have left you can come away. I am sure it will be quite right to say good-bye. But whatever remonstrances, on the score of the king’s service or other things, are made, come away; and you will be welcomed and well received, I assure you; not by me, for you will not find me, as I leave to-morrow; and I hope, please God, that on your arrival, you will find your appeals despatched.”
[129] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fonds Dupuy, 726, f. 107. The Bailly of Troyes to the Bishop of Auxerre, 26 Jan., 1533.
[130] “Be assured, at least such is my fancy, that they are not your friends; but, also, the wisdom of a man is to sit firm in his great encounters. I can tell you that you were in as good grace with the master, when I left Court, as they. Continue as you have begun, and vary nothing, no matter what they may say; and, so long as you speak the truth, care nothing for the rest, for the patron is on your side and three of the most valiant champions.”
[131] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., p. 115b. Gilles de la Pommeraye to the Bishop of Auxerre at Rome. From La Morlaix, near Rennes (in Brittany), 4 Dec., 1532.
[132] Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv. (1527-1533), No. 188. Marco Antonio Venier to the Doge and Signory of Venice, London, 20 October, 1527.
[133] Whom Falier came to succeed as resident ambassador.
[134] Sir William Weston.
[135] Jean Du Bellay, at this time Bishop of Bayonne, was in 1528 resident French ambassador in London.
[136] Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv. (1527-33), No. 380.
[137] Letters and Papers, For. and Dom., Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), Nos. 768 and 1227, De Dinteville to Cromwell.
[138] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. v., 1531-1532, No. 627, Grant 18. Bridewell Palace has fared badly compared with some other houses of the same date, for not only has every trace of it disappeared, but few records or prints exist to give an idea of its appearance in Tudor times. The early period at which it ceased to be a royal residence probably accounts for this deficiency. Edward VI. converted it to benevolent purposes as a kind of workhouse for vagrants; and this use, gradually approaching the functions of a house of correction, was continued in the new buildings erected after the Great Fire almost to the present day. Nearly all the engravings of Bridewell refer to its later history. There are, however, one or two exceptions, on a small scale, and on these the above description is founded. Perhaps the most accurate idea of the palace in Tudor times is to be obtained from the “View of London and Southwark in 1543,” by Anthony Vanden Wyngrerde (Oxford, Bodleian Library; a facsimile in pen-and-ink by N. Whittock may be seen at the Guildhall, London). As certain details of this view agree with a later drawing of about 1660, it is likely that it is more correct than the intermediate version by Ralph Aggas, which shows variations not to be found either in the earlier or later engraving mentioned (“Civitas Londinum,” a map of London, Westminster and Southwark, surveyed by Ralph Aggas about the year 1560, Guildhall Library). The view of 1660 may be seen in “Bridewell Palace as it appeared about the year 1660” (Published for the Proprietors by W. Herbert, Penlington Place, Lambeth, 1817). The same work gives a vignette professing to represent Bridewell in the year 1540. As this view differs equally from that given by Wyngrerde (1543) and that of 1660, it should probably be received with caution.
[139] State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv. (1527-1533), No. 374, Gerardo Molza to the Marchioness of Mantua. So great was the throng that, in leaving, some of the Italians actually lost their shoes.
[140] Subsequently known as Whitehall.
[141] Letters and Papers, For. and Dom., Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), No. 1595, Grant 10, February 16, 24 Henry VIII.
[142] Mario Savorgnano, State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv. (1527-1533), No. 682, quoted from the Sanuto Diaries, 25 August, 1531. The whole letter is of great interest, as is also No. 694 in the same volume (Report of England made to the Senate by Ludovico Falier, 10 November, 1531). The Venetians write with enthusiastic admiration of the country and capital.
[143] Old London Bridge; the only bridge London at that time possessed. It was massively constructed on a large number of boat-shaped piers, and covered with houses and shops. There was also a beautiful Gothic Chapel upon it.
[144] St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. The latter part of the sentence alludes of course to Henry VII.’s Chapel.
[145] Westminster (in which York Place was now included) and Bridewell.
[146] Howard, Duke of Norfolk; Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond. (State Papers, Venetian, vol. iv., No. 682.)
[147] Grey, Marquis of Dorset; Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter. (Ibid.)
[148] Apparently of the lesser citizens, apart from the palaces previously described.
[149] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. iv. (1531-1532), pp. 310 and 316, March and November, 1529. The ambassador was one of Dinteville’s predecessors.
[150] Ibid., vol. vi. (1533), No. 111, Montpesat to Montmorency.
[151] Ibid., vol. vi. (1533), No. 160, Chapuys to Charles V., London, 15 February, 1533.
[152] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” p. 4. Mémoire et Instruction a Monsieur le Bailly de Troyes, etc., 27 January, 1533.
[153] Letters and Papers, vol. vi. (1533), No. 160, Chapuys to Charles V., 15 February, 1533.
[154] Ibid., vol. v. (1532), No. 1545, Clement VII. to Henry VIII., 15 November, 1532.
[155] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., pp. 207, 213, where a list of authorities will be found.
[156] It is quite possible that Dinteville was acquainted with More before the embassy of 1533. La Pommeraye, writing from England to the Bishop of Auxerre in the summer of the previous year, says, “Mr. Morres, que vous congnoissez, qui estoit Chancelier de ce Roy s’est desfaict, ou l’on l’a desfaict, ne sçay lequel, de sa Chancellerie, & est demeuré personne privée....” (Mr. Morres [note by Camusat: Th. Morus], whom you know, who was Chancellor to this king, has resigned or has been deprived of his Chancellorship, I do not know which, and has retired into private life.) Camusat, “Meslanges Historiques,” p. 93, Gilles de la Pommeraye, from London, to the Bishop of Auxerre at Rome, June 21st, 1532.
[157] Some of the instruments seen in the picture of the “Ambassadors” are identical with those introduced into the portrait of Kratzer, and may have been lent by him (see Part IV., chap. ii.).
[158] In 1533 George Gyze, or Gisze, the subject of Holbein’s fine portrait now at Berlin, was the Alderman’s Deputy (see Appendix A.).
[159] On one occasion the king sent instructions to Cromwell to despatch Barnes immediately in post, to Germany, with Deryk (or Diryk). (Foxe, “Life of Melanchthon,” p. 385.) Holbein, as is well known, painted two Dericks in 1533: Derick Born, whose portrait is now at Windsor, Derick Tybis at Vienna. The latter certainly, the former probably, was a German merchant of London. As the king’s servants were frequently spoken of by their Christian names only (Holbein as “Haunce,” Kratzer as “Nicolas”), either of these Dericks may have been the one sent on the diplomatic mission. Augustus de Augustinus, a foreign agent in English pay, writing to Cromwell from Ratisbon, incloses a copy of an Imperial decree, presumably written in German, with the comment, “Any of the Steelyard merchants will interpret it to you.” (Letters and Papers, vol. v., 1532, No. 1027.) In 1538 Kratzer forwarded to Cromwell various papers through the agency of Hans Holbein. It is well known that Kratzer never acquired the English tongue. Had Holbein more success? (Ellis’s “Original Letters,” 3rd series, vol. i., p. 230.)
[161] See the extract from Camusat’s memoir on the children and descendants of the Premier Président de Selve, p. 20. Camusat there states that the Bishop of Lavaur came over to England on a visit to Dinteville in 1532; which year ended, according to the old French reckoning, on Easter eve, 1533.
[163] Selve had almost certainly been already employed in this capacity by the King of France. See Part III.
[165] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), No. 465, Chapuys to Charles V., 10 May, 1533.
[166] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” p. 128, Bailly of Troyes to Francis I., 23 May, 1533.
[167] “I have received your letter written from Sommevoyre, by which I understand you to tell me that some time ago you said to the ambassadors of this king [i.e., the King of England] when in Italy, that you had heard the Pope say that, regarding the affair of this said king, the marriage would be better made than to make. If this was so, it is a thing which would be of great service to him [i.e., to the King of England]. Pray let me know whether, in case the Pope does not desire to take another course than the one mentioned respecting the affairs of this country, I might inform this said king of what you told me; and similarly, if things should become very threatening, whether you would remind the Pope of the expressions he then used to you, telling him that you at once communicated them to the ambassadors of this said king, seeing the affairs of the king [of France] and his, to be but one. If you please, send me your opinion on this matter, which you will do well to discuss a little with our friends, and perhaps with Monseigneur the Grand-Maître and the Bishop of Paris [Jean du Bellay], for the thing is of considerable importance.
“For the rest, we thank you very much, M. de la Tournelle, my cousin and I, for the branches of your yew-tree which you offer to us, but over here we are well furnished with arquebuses and with bad archers, of whom I am the worst.
“Pray send me a drawing of the oval compass of which you wrote; I cannot at all understand the fashion in which it is made.
“I am growing very weary in this country, while awaiting the end of the six months, which will expire on the 22nd July. The Grand-Maître promised me that I should only remain here for the said six months. I pray God he may keep his word. I have had tertian fever, but recovered from it long ago. Please consult a little with M. de Paris about my return. I assure you very earnestly that I am the most melancholy, weary and wearisome ambassador that ever was seen.
“M. de Lavor did me the honour to come to see me, which was no small pleasure to me. There is no need for the Grand-Maître to hear anything about it.
“I have had letters from Scotland from M. de Beauvois. I hope the truce will soon be concluded, for one year, between these two princes.
“The Duke of Norfolk will leave here in two or three days to go and join the king [of France]. Pray make his acquaintance, for here his master holds you in good esteem; he told me so within a week.
“As for the vultures [a species of hawk is here meant], I think it would only be an expense to send them, for this king does not like falconry, and this country is full of such birds.
“I cannot believe that if you go to Rome, it will only be for a short time. If you will believe me, do your utmost to get the commission given to somebody else. Pray attend well to your legal appeals. I cannot think it well that you should leave them behind.
“I am longing to have news of you and to know what you say to the tower and to the pictures. Sir, etc. From London this 23rd May.
“I shall have to go to great expense for this coronation. I have written on the subject to the Grand-Maître, begging him to ask the king to give me some money to meet it with. I should be very glad to hear something of it. I also wrote to M. de Paris, who may mention it to you, and who can help me a great deal about it.
“Your humble servant,
“The Bailly.”
[168] The family to which this gentleman belonged was a distinguished one, but it does not appear which individual this was.
[169] The italics are the present writer’s.
[170] French ambassador in Scotland.
[171] The Kings of England and Scotland.
[172] “Evocation” was a legal term which signified the removal of a cause from the jurisdiction of a lower tribunal to that of a higher one.
[173] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Coll. Dupuy, vol. 726, f. 46. From the Bailly of Troyes to his brother, the Bishop of Auxerre, 23rd May, 1533.
[174] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), No. 465, Chapuys to Charles V., May 10, 1533. Bonner returned from Rome in January, 1533. See also Froude, “Divorce of Catherine of Aragon,” chap. xii.
[175] Paris, Arch. Nat., J. 962, No. 527. Pagny, 21 Dec., 1533.
[176] Camusat found it amongst the Polisy papers. See “Meslanges Historiques,” part ii., p. 211.
[177] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., p. 205.
[178] “The Queen of England left Greenwich on Thursday at about four o’clock in the afternoon, and came by water in a flat barque, like a brigantine, which was painted in her colours outside, and had several flags flying from it; her ladies and maids of honour being with her. There were besides a hundred or a hundred and twenty other similar barques, which accompanied her, and were much decorated with banners and standards. They had erected on the said barques small masts, slender and very high, to which were attached a great quantity of ropes, as on a large ship, these ropes being all dressed with little flags of taffetas, and, in my opinion, of gold metal, for they shone strongly in the sun. There were also many tambourines, trumpets, flutes, and hautbois. All came in less than half-an-hour from Greenwich to the Tower, where the artillery was very loud. It was very beautiful to see this arrival, for besides the barques, there were, I think, more than two hundred small craft following behind; the whole surface of the river was covered with boats.
“On Friday the Queen did not leave her apartments.
“On Saturday at about five o’clock in the afternoon, the said Lady, attired in her royal robes, which are in the fashion of those of France, or nearly so, mounted a litter, covered within and without with white satin. The litter was open, and above her was carried a canopy of cloth of gold. Behind came twelve ladies on hackneys, who were all dressed in cloth of gold, and their hackneys draped in the same. Then came twelve young ladies on hackneys, all arrayed in crimson velvet. There followed a chariot covered with cloth of gold, with trappings to match. In this chariot were only the Duchess of Norfolk and the Queen’s mother. Then came three gilt chariots, where sat various young ladies; and, behind these, twenty or thirty others on hackneys draped with black velvet.
“Around the litter of the Queen were the Duke of Suffolk, who for that day was High Constable, and the brother of the Duke of Norfolk, Lord William, who was serving in the place of his said brother as Earl Marshal and Lord Chamberlain, which offices are hereditary in this kingdom. Before them went two men, called equerries, who had great bonnets lined with ermine, almost similar to those of the Premier Huissier of Paris.
“After these came the Ambassador of France, accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“Afterwards, the Ambassador of Venice, with the Lord Chancellor.
“After these, several bishops, and then the rest of the great lords and gentlemen of this kingdom, to the number, perhaps, of two or three hundred.
“And, before all, went the merchants of France, clad in violet velvet, having each one sleeve in the colours of the Queen; their horses caparisoned in violet taffetas powdered with white crosses.
“At the cross-ways there were scaffoldings, where Mysteries were being played, and fountains running wine; the streets were all lined with the tradespeople, who were kept stationary....
“On Sunday morning, accompanied by all the said lords and gentlemen, the Lady went on foot from her apartments to the church; the road by which she walked was all covered with cloth, and might be of about the same length as the garden of Chantilly. All the bishops and abbots went to fetch the said Lady, accoutred in their mitres and pontifical ornaments, and conducted her to the church; and after having heard a low mass, she mounted on a daïs that had been arranged for her in front of the high altar, which daïs was all covered with red cloth; and round the spot where she sat, which was further raised by two steps, was laid a velvet carpet. And in this place the Lady remained after having been crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who placed the crown on her head and anointed her at the high altar, and then completed the office and mass of the said coronation.
“The Duke of Suffolk, High Constable for that day, remained always near the said Lady, with a great white staff in his hand; close by were also the said Lord William and the Lord Chamberlain. Behind the said Lady were various ladies; duchesses and countesses dressed in scarlet, with cloaks lined with ermine, which are the robes of duchesses and countesses, and their hats on their heads. Similarly the dukes and earls, with many other knights, were dressed in robes of scarlet lined with ermine, almost of the fashion of those of the Premiers Présidents at Paris, with their hoods.
“When the coronation was over the Lady was conducted back as on arrival, with the exception of the bishops, and taken to a great hall where dinner was prepared....
“The hall is very large and was not crowded, for very good order was kept. Beneath the queen’s daïs there were four great tables which filled the whole length of the hall. At the upper end were those of this kingdom who have charge of the Ports, and beneath them, at the same table, various gentlemen: at the corresponding table, at the top and side, were the Archbishops and Bishops, the Lord Chancellor, and several Earl-Knights. At the two other tables on the other side of the hall, at the upper one were the Mayor of London accompanied by the Aldermen; and, at the other table, the ladies, Duchesses, Countesses, and other ladies and young ladies.
“The Duke of Suffolk was gorgeously accoutred, with many stones and pearls, on a courser caparisoned in crimson velvet: he rode about on his horse, round the hall and amongst the tables. Lord William did the same, looking after the service and keeping order. Both remained always bare-headed, which you know is the custom of this country. The king was in a place that he had had made for the occasion, whence he could see all the ceremony without being seen; where he took with him the Ambassadors of France and of Venice.
“At the door of the hall there were conduits spouting wine, anyone who pleased might take some. Similarly there were kitchens to provide food for anyone who came that day; it was a marvel how much was eaten. Trumpets and hautbois sounded for every service, and heralds cried largesse.”
[179] May 29 Anne Boleyn was fetched in state by the Mayor and Corporation of London, and brought to the Tower, whence she returned to Westminster on Saturday for her coronation on Whit Sunday, June 1. (Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), No. 601.
[180] The stepmother of the Duke.
[181] The Countess of Wiltshire.
[182] Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
[183] Lord William Howard, brother to the Duke of Norfolk, who, it will be remembered, was now absent in France.
[184] Dinteville and Cranmer.
[185] Carlo Capello and Sir Thomas Audley.
[186] Peeress’s robes corresponding to those still worn by peers.
[187] Westminster Hall.
[188] The hall seems, in fact, to have been arranged much like a College hall at the present day, with the high table across the top and the long tables below placed at right angles to it.
[189] The Barons of the Cinque Ports.
[190] Knights of the Garter?
[191] Camusat, “Meslanges Historiques,” part ii., p. 17. Narration de l’Entrée et couronnement de la Royne d’Angleterre Anne de Boulan à Londres, le 2 (it should be, le 1) juin, 1533.
[192] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. vi. (1533), No. 707. Francis wrote back a pacifying answer denying all knowledge of the rumours referred to.
[193] The 22nd July. Dinteville’s embassy was reckoned from the 22nd January.
[194] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., p. 130b, Mr. de Polizy, Bailly of Troyes, to M. Du Bellay, Bishop of Paris, 7 June, 1533.
[196] His name was really Maraviglia, but had become gallicized by long residence in France.
[197] The subject, at a later period, when a young widow, of Holbein’s beautiful portrait, now the property of the Duke of Norfolk.
[198] Ranke, “Zeitalter der Reformation,” vol. iii., p. 313. Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., p. 207.
[199] Decrue, etc., p. 213, where a list of authorities is given.
[200] Camusat, “Meslanges Historiques,” part ii., p. 135. Francis I. to the Bailly de Troyes, 16 July, 1533. See also the following letter from the same to the same, 12 August, 1533.
[201] Camusat, “Meslanges Historiques,” p. 139. The Bailly of Troyes to Francis I., 3 September, 1533.
[202] “M. le Bailly, knowing well how long you have been over there, and that it is very reasonable you should go to your home to put your affairs in order, I have been willing to grant you leave to depart whenever it may please you; and am sending to take your place the Sieur de Castillon, a gentleman of my chamber, who is the bearer of this.”
[203] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., page 9. Francis I. to the Bailly of Troyes, 6 Sept., 1533.
[204] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., page 142. The Bailly of Troyes to the King of France, Greenwich, 2 Nov., 1533.
[205] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., page 213.
[206] “Nota, that often the king after his tempers has said to me that he esteems me such that I should neither say nor write anything to diminish friendship between them, and that his Council have begged me to the same effect.”
[207] Camusat, “Mesl. Hist.,” part ii., pp. 19-21.