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KING HENRY VIII : THE SECOND KING OF THE TUDORS
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HENRY VIII'S MILITARY AMBITIONS
As King Henry VIII's interest in politics lessened, so did Wolsey's power increase. Henry had ambitions of military glory and his chance came when Pope Julius II proclaimed a Holy League against Louis XII of France in 1511.
When Cardinal Thomas Wolsey heard of the Pope's proclamation and the King's desire to invade France, his pacifist views changed. He was very persuasive in his speeches to the Privy Council in favour of war.
It was at this point that
King Henry VIII, decided to join the Pope, along with the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I and Henry's father-in-law, Ferdinand II, of Aragon in the Holy League Alliance against Louis XII of France. He signed the treaty of Westminster with Spain in November 1511, which pledged mutual aid against France.
It was a treaty which Henry VIII of England was pleased to sign, as it was an excuse to attempt to regain and possibly expand English holdings in France, which had been lost at the end of The Hundred Tears War in 1453. Twenty two years after Joan of Arc, (the Maid of Orleans), had been burned at the stake.
ABOVE: A PORTRAIT OF KING HENRY VIII of England.
After invading France in 1513, the English army under King Henry VIII, joined forces with the Imperial troops under Maximilian I and together they routed a body of French cavalry, at the Battle of Guinegate.
The French cavalry had come to the aid of the besieged town of Therouanne, but were surprised when they came face to face with the Anglo-Imperial army, the size and location of which they had completely misjudged.
Repelled, the French turned and fled, with the English and Imperial cavalry in hot pursuit. It came to be known as the Battle of the Spurs, due to the haste of the French cavalrymen to leave the battlefield. At the end of the battle both the towns of Therouanne and Tournai were in the hands of the English King Henry VIII.
ABOVE:A PORTRAIT OF POPE JULIUS II BY RAPHAEL.
In his efforts to draw King Henry VIII's attention away from France, the French King Louis XII, pleaded for help from King James IV of Scotland, who happened to be Henry's brother in law.
The Scottish army invaded England, but suffered a huge defeat at the hands of the English at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513.
In Henry's absence, he had appointed his wife Katherine-of-Aragon to act as Regent. In this capacity, although pregnant with his longed for son and heir, she rode north in full armour with the troops. After addressing the troops prior to battle, she was there to witness the defeat of the Scottish invaders.
Along with the blood soaked coat of James IV, the King of Scotland, who had died in the battle, she sent a letter to Henry informing him of the victory. No doubt there was a subtle meaning attached to this message of victory.
On Henry's return from France, Katherine had lost the child. Another son, it is uncertain if he was stillborn or if he had died shortly after birth. In November 1514, she had another stillborn son.
At The Palace of Placentia (Greenwich Palace) on 18 February 1516, Queen Katherine bore Henry his first child to survive infancy, Princess Mary of England, who later reigned as Queen Mary I of England.
Financially, King Henry VIII's reign was a disaster. He spent heavily on his quest for Military glory, building ships to expand the navy from a mere three to fifty three ships. He also spent heavily on a large collection of weapons, including archery equipment, guns and cannons.
The Mary Rose, reclaimed from the bottom of the Solent in 1982, was one of the ships he built. She had been the pride of King Henry's navy, the earliest example of a purpose built warship. She was able to fire the most recent type of heavy guns through specially built gunports and was one of the first to be able to fire a broadside.
After serving for thirty three years and taking part in several naval engagements, she sank on 19th July 1545 in mysterious circumstances, whilst leading an attack on a French invasion fleet in the Solent, (the straits to the north of the Isle of Wight).
His desire for military glory was matched by his love for palaces. His palaces are legendary. The existing ones he refurbished, but he built many more.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey had made a name for himself during the battle of Guinegate, which took place on 16th August 1513, by providing the army for King Henry VIII.
His ability to keep these troops supplied and equipped with state of the art weapons for the entire war was a major factor in it's success.
ABOVE:CARDINAL WOLSEY.
Henry negotiated the Anglo-French treaty of 1514, securing a temporary peace. Under the terms of the treaty, the King's young sister Mary was to marry the French King Louis XII. England were to keep the captured city of Tournai and an increase in the annual pension, was agreed to be paid by France. However, less than three months later, Louis XII, who was not in good health, died. His successor was the very ambitious King Francis 1.
With the death of King Louis, Mary, with the aid of the new French King, secretly married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, which automatically put a stop to another marriage alliance. This was a vicious blow to Henry, as Mary was the only princess, who King Henry VIII could use for marriage alliances.
Another blow was the death on 23rd January 1516, of King Ferdinand of Aragon, the father-in-law of Henry VIII of England. He was succeeded by Charles V, who in 1519 was elected Holy Roman Emperor on the death of Maximillion 1.
However, in 1518 through the merits of Cardinal Wolsey, King Henry VIII, was able to bask in considerable glory. Central and Western Europe were coming under increasing pressure from an expansionist Ottoman Empire, which had started encroaching into the Balkans.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had campaigned for Christian European States to stop fighting amongst themseves, with the idea of fighting the non-Christian world only. So it was in 1517, that Pope Leo X, sought peace in Europe in order to counter the threat now posed by the Ottoman Empire.
ABOVE: KING HENRY VIII IN ABOUT 1520.
When Cardinal Wolsey was made Papal Legate in 1518, it afforded him the chance to bring about the Pope's wishes, by organising a huge peace summit involving twenty nations. It started in London initially between England and France, and since it had been designed by the Cardinal, it was signed by the ambassadors of each nation in London and became known as the Treaty of London.
The Treaty committed the signatory States, not only to not make war on any of the other signatories, but also bound them to make war on any State that broke the terms of the Treaty. Although it was a huge triumph for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, it reflected much glory on King Henry VIII, as well.
THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.
ABOVE: THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.
The Field of the Cloth of Gold is the name given to the site of a meeting which took place from 7th June to 24th June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. Not far from Calais, it is situated between Guines and Ardres.
There were two powers on the continent of Europe at this time, the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Emperor Charle V, and France, which was ruled by Francis I. Both of them wanted to be allied to England under King Henry VIII. The non-aggression pact had been signed two years earlier in London by the major European States to counter the Ottoman expansion into Europe.
Wolsey immediately saw the benefits that could be gained from the ongoing rivalry between the two. He opened up negotiations between the two of them. He agreed that Henry VIII of England would meet Francis I of France. It was to be one of the most expensive events ever staged.
Henry also met with Emperor Charles V, a month before the Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting and agreed to meet him afterwards at Calais. The whole event of the Field of the Cloth of Gold had been planned and executed by Cardinal Wolsey. It had been designed to show how grand each court was, with the purpose of achieving the basis for mutual respect and peace between traditionally warring nations.
A temporary palace was erected for the reception of King Henry VIII. Contemporary accounts describe It as having four sides, each measuring three hundred feet (just over ninety metres) long. The walls, each measuring thirty feet in height (just under ten metres) were made of cloth above a brickwork base and painted to give the impression of brickwork.
ABOVE: KING FRANCIS 1 OF FRANCE.
The roof, which was slanted, was of oiled cloth, painted to give an illusion of slates. A huge expanse of glass gave the feeling of being in the open air. It was furnished and decorated in the most expensive and magnificent fashion. It appears that red wine flowed from the two fountains outside.
Again contemporary accounts recorded that the chapel had thirty five priests and the French royal chapel as having one of the finest choirs in Europe which "delighted their hearers."
The two Kings tried to outdo each other, All the tents and costumes, were of an expensive fabric, woven with silk and gold thread. There were huge feasts, music, jousting and games.
The followers of King Henry VIII alone, are recorded as having consumed two thousand two hundred sheep at the event, giving some idea of the size of his retinue, which was estimated at five thousand people.
Henry arrived at Guines and Francis at Ardres on 4th June. After Cardinal Wolsey first visited the French King, the two monarchs met at the Val d'Or, midway between the two places on 7th June. On 24th June the two parties seperated, after Cardinal Wolsey had said Mass.
ABOVE: THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR CHARLES V.
Another meeting was held with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, three weeks later and a Treaty was signed, which infuriated the King of France. Charles V declared war on France (which meant that England was again at war with the French ) and defeated them at the battle of Pavia in 1525, capturing the French King in the process.
England did not gain much from this latest war of 1522 to 1523, although the contribution they did make certainly helped Charles defeat the French at Pavia.
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