[316] The originals of these letters are at the Château of Villiers near La Ferté Alais, and belong to the Marquis de Selve, to whose courtesy the writer is indebted for their use here. Copies are to be found in the Bibl. Nat. at Paris (Carrés d’Hozier, vol. 579). They bear no date of year in either series, but only of day and month. Those addressed to the Cardinal-Legate must, however, have been written in the spring following Selve’s appointment, i.e., in 1527. Two series of letters are mixed up both in the originals and the copies, as at least one letter from the Queen of Navarre was not written till after the death of the Président de Selve, which occurred in 1529.
[317] “... for love of me, and at my request, to abandon your claim to the said bishopric, resigning in favour of the son of the Premier Président every right you may have or claim to the said bishopric.”
[318] “My cousin, you have already heard of the king’s desire, and mine, that the son of Monsʳ. the Premier Président should be provided with the bishopric of Lavaur; and as the king and I have not yet received a reply from you which satisfies our intention, I have been moved, my cousin, to write to you again about it, begging you very affectionately and as much as I know how to beg for anything, that you would desist, at the request of the said lord and of me, from your claim, and also would dispose to the profit and in favour of the son of the said Premier Président of all right that you may pretend to the said benefice; assuring you that the said lord and I will recollect this favour in a thing of greater consequence, in such a way that you will be satisfied. For the rest, and in conclusion, you must know that the said lord and I will support the son of the said Premier Président right through this affair, making it our own; for which reason I earnestly beg you again, my cousin, to be so good as to think over it, and to yield in this matter to the very affectionate request made by the said lord and by me. And thus fare well, my cousin, etc.... Written at St. Germain en Laye, 1st April. (Postscript.) I pray you my cousin to oblige the king and me in the matter above treated of, and you will find it to your advantage.
“Your good cousin,
“Loyse.”
“To my cousin, Cardinal Clermont, Legate of Avignon.”
[319] “... have the thing so greatly at heart that I cannot sufficiently write it to you.”
[320] “Monsr. de Lavaur, my friend, I have received the letter that you wrote to me, and there is no need that you should thank me, for I am too much and too old a friend of your father’s, and should wish to please him and all his race. You, on your side, will consider whether there is anything else I can do for you, and you will never fail to find me a good brother, yet more in deeds than in words, and this I beg you to believe. Which shall be the conclusion of this present, etc. From Avignon this 22nd June.
“Your best brother and friend,
“F. Cardˡ. de Clermont.”
“To Monsʳ. de Lavaur.”
[321] St. Germain, 3rd May, 1528. Paris, Arch. Nat., P556¹, côte 710. Bibl. de l’Institut, Coll. Godefroy, Mémoire de M. de Camusat sur les enfants et descendants du Premier Président de Selve.
[322] “Gallia Christiana,” 1656, vol. iii., p. 1142. The notice there given respecting the missions of 1529 is omitted in the edition of 1715 (hitherto quoted in this work), where the article on George de Selve was rewritten and enlarged. This circumstance might appear to throw doubt on the accuracy of the information conveyed in the earlier edition. But as it receives confirmation from several other independent sources, it is probable that the facts of the previous edition are correct; but that the early diplomatic labours of the Bishop were thrown into shade by the more important work of his riper years dwelt upon in the later edition.
[323] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Cab. d’Hozier, vol. 304, f. 28.
[325] Most observers will agree that the appearance of the Bishop of Lavaur in Holbein’s portrait bears out this remark.
[326] “Œuvres de Feu Révérend Père en Dieu, George de Selve, Evesque de la Vaur,” Paris, 1559. “Autres Remonstrances faictes par ledict De Selve auxdicts Alemans.”
[327] The Diet of Spires of 1529 was, as is well known, one of the most reactionary of the great assemblies held at the epoch of the Reformation. A large majority of those who attended it were partisans of Rome. Consequently, the resolutions passed were all in favour of the old order of things, and actually reversed many decisions advantageous to the Lutherans which had formerly been agreed upon. For a moment, the Reformation received a sharp check. As a result of the proceedings, the minority drew up the famous declaration which first gave rise to the name of “Protestants.”
[328] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. fr. 842, f. 122ᵇ.
[329] Archives of the Château de Villiers (Marquis de Selve); and Paris, Bibl. Nat., Carrés d’Hozier, vol. 579, f. 341. Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, to the Grand-Maître de Montmorency, Blois, 18th April.
[330] Paris, Bibl. de l’lnstitut, Coll. Godefroy, f. 414. Obsèques de la femme du premier président de Selve, 27th November, 1532.
[331] Easter fell in this year on the 13th April.
[333] “A Mʳᵉ George de Selve, évesque de Lavaur, ... pour aller comme ambassadeur devers le duc et seigneurie de Venise, et illec ... devant ledit temps, pour leur communiquer les choses dont il lui a donné charge et celles qui adviendroient ci après.”—Lyons, 2nd December, 1533. Paris, Bibl. Nat., Cabinet d’Hozier, vol. 304 (Dossier Selve), f. 15, Extraits de Comptes, etc. See also page 151.
[334] “Gallia Christiana” (1715), vol. xiii. (1722), p. 344. Ecclesia Vaurensis, No. xxi., Georgius de Selve.
[335] Thevet, “Histoire des plus illustres Hommes,” etc., Paris, 1661, vol. viii., chap. ii., p. 25.
[336] Pierre Bunel, called by Bayle (“Dict.,” second edition, 1735) “one of the politest Latin writers that lived in the sixteenth century,” was born at Toulouse in 1499. He studied with much distinction at the University of Paris, and proceeded thence to Padua. He was three years in the service of Lazare de Baif at Venice (the friend, as we know, of the Bishop of Auxerre); afterwards entering that of George de Selve, with whom he remained until the death of that prelate. He then found himself plunged into poverty, from which he was rescued by the Du Faur family, one of whom sent Bunel to Italy as tutor to his sons. Bunel died of fever, at Turin, in 1546.
[337] Reginald Pole, the celebrated Cardinal, was born in 1500, and was the son of Sir Richard Pole and of Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury. He was educated at Charterhouse and Oxford, after which he was sent by King Henry VIII. to study at Padua. He steadily opposed the divorce of the king, and in 1532 had drawn such a hornets’ nest about his ears in England that he asked permission to go abroad again to study theology. He now resided for some years at Padua, and either there or at Venice made acquaintance with Selve. Bembo, Longolius, Sadoleto, Contarini, Ludovico Priuli, were among the circle of his friends. The Pope employed him on a committee for reforming the discipline of the Church, but the greater part of his time was spent in endeavouring to raise the European powers against Henry VIII., with the view to re-establish the Papal authority in England. He was one of the Legates sent to the Council of Trent. On the death of Cranmer in 1557 Pole became Archbishop of Canterbury. He died on the same day as Queen Mary, November 17, 1558.
[338] Pietro Bembo, born at Venice in 1470, was one of the most celebrated Italian writers of the sixteenth century. After a varied existence he was appointed secretary to Leo X. in conjunction with Sadoleto. On the death of that Pope he retired to Padua, where his house became a centre of intellectual life. He was made a Cardinal in 1539, and subsequently Bishop of Gubbio and of Bergamo. He died, covered with honours, in 1547.
[339] Jacopo Sadoleto, Cardinal, in whom brilliant talents were united with extraordinary charm of disposition, was born at Modena in 1477. He studied at Ferrara at the same time as Bembo, which was the origin of their friendship, and was afterwards secretary to Leo X. Sadoleto never asked a favour for himself. He was appointed Bishop of Carpentras (a Papal see in the south of France, depending from Avignon) in 1517. Although reluctant to leave his diocese, such were his qualities of mind and character that he was frequently summoned to Rome on important commissions, and was made a Cardinal in 1536, without having in any way sought or coveted distinction. His gentleness, goodness, and moderation made him beloved by all; he even protected heretics, saying, “Je ne sais comment la nature m’a créé, mais je ne puis haïr parce qu’on ne partage pas mon opinion” (Guettée, “Hist. de l’Eglise de France,” vol. viii., p. 222). His correspondence with Calvin (from whose opinions he of course entirely differed) is well known. Melanchthon sent him every new work he published. After being employed in many high offices, Sadoleto died at Rome in 1547.
[340] Renée of France bore this title until her husband succeeded, as Ercole II., to the dukedom of Ferrara, which happened later in this same year (1534).
[341] Selve even tried to obtain for her the release of some of her French protégés who had been imprisoned on the accusation of heresy. (Bart. Fontana, “Renata di Francia,” vol. i., p. 344.)
[342] See note 2, p. 145.
[343] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” p. 114. To Odet de Selve, from Venice, 16 January 1534.
[344] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” pp. 30 and 45.
[345] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xii., part i., No. 14, Geo. Selva, Bp. of La Vaur to Cardinal Pole. Venice, 3 Non. Jan. 1536 (Latin).
[346] “Dict. Nat. Biography,” Art. Pole.
[348] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xii., No. 516, Geo. Selva, etc., to Card. Pole.
[349] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. Clairembault, 1215, f. 75. The payments for the post of ambassador at Venice expire February 19; those for Rome begin on the following day.
[350] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. Clairembault, 1215, f. 78.
[351] Ibid., MS. fr. 2968, f. 87; Ribier, “Lettres et Mémoires d’Estat,” vol. i., p. 66.
[352] Ribier, “Lettres et Mémoires d’Estat,” vol. i., p. 41. Cardinal Mascon and the Bishop of Lavaur to the King of France, Rome, 12th July, 1537. Ibid., p. 76. The same to the Grand-Maître de Montmorency, Rome, December, 1537.
[353] Ribier, “Lettres et Mém. d’Estat,” vol. i., p. 128, Card. Mascon and the Bp. of Lavaur to the Conn. de Montmorency, Rome, 14th March, 1538.
[354] Strictly speaking the Bishop of Lavaur alone was accredited as French ambassador to the Holy See, but throughout this period he and Cardinal Mâcon acted in concert.
[355] Letters and Papers, vol. xiii., part i. (1538), No. 972, Card. Tournon to Card. Carpi, Valentia, May 10.
[356] Ibid., same time and place.
[357] Ribier, “Lett. et Mém. d’Estat,” vol. i., pages 147 and 150. Mascon and Lavaur to the Connétable de Montmorency. Carpi to the same. Piacenza, 1st May, 1538.
[358] Ibid., page 150. The Connétable de Montmorency to Cardinal Mascon and the Bishop of Lavaur, 14th May, 1538.
[359] Letters and Papers, vol. xiii., part i., No. 1004, Montmorency to Castillon, Avignon, 14th May, 1538.
[360] “Monseigneur de Lavaur ... est parti ce jourd’huy matin en diligence, pour aller trouver le Roy....”—Ribier, “Lett. et Mém. d’Estat,” vol. i., page 154. Cardinal Mascon to the Connétable, Savona, 11th May, 1538.
[361] June, 1538.
[362] Which was broken at the end of four years (1542), when war was again declared between France and the Empire.
[363] The final payment he received as ambassador to the Holy See expired June 30, 1538.
[364] The shell of the castle of the Pico family still exists, though in a half-ruinous condition. A theatre has been established in one part of the building, which has lost all traces of former magnificence. The latter can only be guessed at from the great height of some of the apartments. The decision of the municipal authorities some years ago, to pull down the old city walls of La Mirandola, has fatally robbed the little town of poetry and picturesqueness, but it contains one or two interesting churches.
[365] Paris, Archives des Affaires Etrangères, Corr. politiques, Rome, vol. iii., f. 401ᵇ, La Mirandola.
[366] Paris, Bibl. Nat., Fonds Dupuy, vol. xliv., f. 27ᵃ, and Aff. Etrang., Corr. polit., Rome, vol. iii., f. 401.
[367] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. Clairembault, 1215, f. 78. Compiègne, 9th October, 1538.
[368] Perhaps it refers to 1529. There would be nothing surprising in the long postponement, as the ambassadors’ salaries were in chronic arrears.
[369] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiii., part i., No. 11. Geo. de Selve, Bp. of Lavaur, to Cardinal Pole.
[370] The episcopal palace was demolished in the present century by the person who had acquired it at the time of the French Revolution, who pulled it to pieces, and sold it stone by stone, lest the edifice should be claimed as ecclesiastical property. The grounds and site are now used as public gardens. Lavaur ceased to be a bishopric towards the end of the eighteenth century.
[371] “The gate by which we have entered into the park of Jesus Christ where we are now, bearing the name and mark of His sheep.”—“Œuvres de Feu Révérend Père en Dieu, George de Selve, Evesque de la Vaur.” Paris, 1559.
[372] “Œuvres de George de Selve,” etc.
[373] “It seems to me, when writing to you, that I am with you in conversation, which is so great a consolation to me that I cannot or will not find an ending to it.”—Ibid.
[374] “Discourse containing the only true means by which a servant favoured by his Prince and entrusted by him with the administration of affairs, may preserve eternal and temporal felicity, and avoid those things which might cause him to lose either one or the other.”—“Œuvres,” etc.
[375] “... speak to-day of living in obedience, or of doing good works as necessary to eternal life, one half of the world cries out that he is a Papist and an advocate of justification by works. If he preach salvation through Jesus Christ and the redemption of sins, the other half of the world exclaims that he is a Lutheran and a disseminator of false doctrine....”—Ibid. (Letter addressed to a certain “Frère François” who was preaching at Lavaur in the bishop’s absence.)
[376] Ribier, “Lett. et Pap. d’Estat,” vol. i., page 468. Relation of the Bishop-Elect of Avranches on his return from Spain in September, 1539. The Bishop-Elect of Avranches had been sent on a special mission to the Spanish Court, where Anthoine de Castelnau, Bp. of Tarbes, was now resident French ambassador.
[377] “Remonstrances addressed to the Germans, composed and put in writing by George de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur, to be publicly pronounced at the Diet which will be held in Germany [when he was summoned by the Most Christian King, at the request of the Emperor, to go thither in order to procure the reconciliation of the said Germans with the order ecclesiastical].”—“Œuvres de George de Selve,” and Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. fr. 3114, f. 1. The portion of the title placed in brackets was evidently added as a docket in the customary manner by a later hand.
[378] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiv., part 1, No. 1090. Card. Pole to Card. Contarini, Carpentras, 8 June, 1539. (Pole had found a refuge near Sadoleto, at Carpentras, in the intervals between his diplomatic missions.)
[379] “Petri Bunelli Familiares Aliquot Epistolæ,” Lutetia, 1551, page 80. To the Bishop of Tarbes, French ambassador with the Emperor. (Latin.)
[380] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. Clairembault, 1215, f. 77.
[381] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., pp. 376, 377.
[382] Mary, Queen-dowager of Hungary, regent of Flanders, sister of Charles V.
[383] Ribier, “Lett. et Mém. d’Estat,” vol. i., p. 353. Hellin had been appointed to that post on account of his intimate knowledge of the Flemish tongue.
[384] Ibid., vol. i., p. 449. Grignan, ambassador at Rome, to the Connétable, April, 1539.
[385] Decrue de Stoutz, “Anne de Montmorency,” part i., p. 383.
[386] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xv. (1540), No. 448. Wyat to Cromwell, Ghent, 2nd April, 1540.
[387] Ibid., No. 457. Instructions given to the Bishop of La Vaur, etc. Aumale, 4 April, 1540.
[388] Ibid., No. 508. Sir Thomas Wyat to Cromwell. Wyat was at this time English ambassador at the Imperial Court.
[389] “Discourse upon the true and only means by which a good and perpetual peace may be made between the Emperor and the Most Christian King: composed by George de Selve, Bishop of la Vaur, when ambassador of the said King with the said Emperor.” (“Œuvres de G. de Selve,” etc.)
[390] Gasp. Contarini, born at Venice in 1483, was sent by that republic as ambassador to Charles V.; and, after the release of Clement VII. from the Castle of Sant’ Angelo, which Contarini had helped to bring about, filled a similar post at the Holy See. Paul III. made him a Cardinal in 1535. He was Papal Legate at the Diet of Ratisbon in 1540. Contarini urged upon Charles V. the desirability of restoring peace between the nations, and exhorted the bishops assembled at the Diet to renounce luxury, ambition, and avarice, to succour the poor, to stay in their dioceses, and to be careful to select worthy persons for ecclesiastical promotion; in all of which we see the counterpart of the opinions held by George de Selve. Contarini died at Bologna in 1542.
[391] Although convened in 1542, the first session of the Council of Trent was only opened in December, 1545; the final one, after many breaks, one of which lasted ten years, took place in 1563. A famous bon-mot is recorded of Danès when assisting at the conferences. As one of the French representatives was declaiming against the delinquencies of the Papal Court, the Bishop of Orvieto exclaimed scornfully, Gallus cantat. Instantly Danès replied, Utinam ad Galli cantum Petrus resipiscerat! (Quoted by Sismondi, “Hist. des Français,” tom. xi., page 380.)
[392] The collapse of the friendship with Charles V., and the failure to promote a marriage between the Duke of Orleans and the Infanta of Spain which should bring in its train the restitution of Milan to France, were the signal for the fall of the Connétable. Throughout his career attached to the Spanish alliance, the success of these negotiations would have placed the brightest jewel in his crown of fame. They failed; and the position of the great minister trembled in the balance. Madame d’Etampes, jealous of his good understanding with the Dauphin, used her influence against him. Finally, in October, 1540, the Emperor gave the coup-de-grâce to French aspirations by bestowing Milan on his son Philip. Henceforth that territory was lost to French ambition. Montmorency, shortly after deprived of all share in the management of public affairs, lived in complete retirement until the accession of the Dauphin (Henri II.), in 1547, restored to him position and importance.
[393] “Imploring you, Monseigneur, after having done me so many other favours, not to forget me so far as to leave me here any longer.”—“Correspondance de Guillaume Pellicier,” edited by M. Tausserat-Radel for the French Foreign Office. George de Selve to the Connétable, The Hague, 7th August, 1540.
[394] M. de Saveuse, formerly Bailly of Amiens, and M. de Castillon, late ambassador in England.
[395] “Corr. de Pellicier,” edited by M. Tausserat-Radel. George de Selve to the Connétable, Antwerp, 25th August, 1540.
[396] Ibid., 1st September, 1540.
[397] Ibid., Brussels, 8th September, 1540.
[398] “Corr. de Pellicier,” G. de Selve to the Connétable. Brussels, September, 1540.
[399] Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xvi. (1540-41), No. 161. Pate to the Privy Council, 14th October, 1540.
[400] Paris, Bibl. Nat., MS. Clairembault, 1215, f. 79.
[401] Bunel writes to justify himself from the accusation (see page 175), that he had influenced the bishop’s decision to retire to his diocese, thus cutting short a brilliant worldly career. It was also believed that Bunel had encouraged his patron to lead a life of exaggerated austerity, which had hurried him to a premature death.
[402] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” Paris, 1551. To P. Danès. Tholosæ, 14 Calend. Sextil., MDXLI. (Latin).—Bayle’s “Dictionary,” Art. Bunel.
[403] Many authorities give the date of Selve’s death as 1542. The inscription on his portrait at Villiers, however (see page 193), and Bunel’s letters, place beyond dispute the fact that it occurred in 1541, as stated above. Several of Bunel’s letters dated in the summer and latter part of this year enlarge upon the grief caused by the bishop’s decease. Bayle’s “Dictionary” (Art. Bunel), the “Nouvelle Biographie Générale,” etc., also give the year correctly.
[404] “Gallia Christiana,” loc. cit.
[405] “Œuvres de feu révérend Père en Dieu,” etc.
[406] The following is a rough literal translation of the epitaph. It makes no pretence to finish or metre, being merely intended to give the meaning.
[407] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” page 94. To Odet de Selve—Tholosæ, prid. Calend. Januar., 1541. (Latin.)
[408] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” page 95. To Peter Danès. Tholosæ, 14 Calend. Sextil., 1541. (Latin.)
[409] Sismondi, “Hist. des Français,” vol. xi., page 380.
[410] Poverty is the probable explanation of Bunel’s inability to give his time to the writing of his patron’s life. See note 2, page 157.
[411] “Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” page 94. To Odet de Selve.
[412] “Benvenuto Cellini, Life,” translated by J. A. Symonds, vol. ii., p. 187.
[413] H. Green, “Andrea Alciati and his Book of Emblems,” London, 1872. Mr. Green believes that the collection of 1522 was never published, years of laborious research having failed to reveal a single copy. That it should have been reputed published shows, however, the wide fame the emblems at once attained. Pierre Bunel speaks of Alciati’s emblems in a letter dated from Venice in 1530 (“Petri Bunelli Epistolæ,” Lutetiæ, 1551). This must have referred to the Milan collection, as the first edition brought out at Augsburg by Steyner was only published in the following year.
[414] “Robe longue” was worn by lawyers and ecclesiastics; “robe courte” by laymen.
[415] Feathers were not yet as universal in 1533 as they became a few years later, when Brantôme wrote.
[416] The short cape also came into fashion at a rather later period.
[417] Brantôme, “Hommes Illustres François,” Discours xlv. (François I.), Digression contre les ambassadeurs de robe longue. “One thing I should like much to know; if there had been present some brave and valiant knight of the King’s Order, or a captain of gensdarmes, or any other valorous gentleman with a good sword and bravado, whatever the Emperor might have advanced in words, whether he would not have thought twice on seeing the other speak and reply to him bravely; sometimes putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, sometimes to his side as though to draw his dagger, sometimes making a defiant gesture, sometimes drawing himself up proudly, now with his cap drawn down, now raised up with its feather, now placed on one side, now forward, now backward, now letting his cape hang half-way as one who is about to twist it round his arm, in order to draw his sword.... Instead of which M. de Mascon and M. de Vely, although he (sic) replied fairly well for his calling and profession, could show no other front than to smooth his square cap from time to time with his fingers; to re-dispose his skull-cap of taffetas, to listen well, with his two hands clasped and his thumbs extended, to gather up the sides of his long gown of velvet or satin: all this could not inspire the smallest terror in the world, nor instil any thought of fear into any soul....”
[418] It may be pointed out that Dinteville’s costume shows many points of similarity with that of Morette, in the portrait by Holbein at Dresden.
[419] Besides the allusion already quoted from Brantôme, the literature of the time has many allusions to “la dague et l’épée,” the ordinary accoutrement at this period of the French gentleman. In 1530, when the children of France were released from captivity on the payment of their father’s ransom, it was ordered that the French and Spanish gentlemen who met on the Bidassoa to effect the exchange, were to be armed only with “dagger and sword,” i.e., to wear their every-day dress and not full armour, so as to forestall any possibility of treachery on either side. (Du Bellay, “Mémoires,” ed. Petitot, vol. ii., page 93.) See also for the mention of the same arms, the “Life of Benvenuto Cellini,” translated by Symonds, page 169. In pictures the double weapon is frequently seen: in England more especially among those representing persons who favoured Continental fashions. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, wears dagger, tassel, and sword in the well-known portrait at Hampton Court. Instances could easily be multiplied. Planché (“Cyclopædia of Costume,” vol. ii., page 159) states that Rabelais attributes the origin of this fashion to Spain.