'...He glanced over the parchment, and instantly replied,--"Oh! my dear and royal mistress, only treason itself could give you other advice than Lord Seyton has here expressed. He, Herries, Huntly, the English ambassador Throgmorton, and others, your friends, are all alike of opinion, that whatever deeds or instruments you execute within these walls, must lose all force and effect, as extorted from your Grace by duresse, by sufferance of present evil, and fear of men, and harm to ensue on your refusal. Yield, therefore, to the tide, and be assured, that in subscribing what parchments they present to you, you bind yourself to nothing, since your act of signature wants that which alone can make it valid, the free will of the granter."...'
Ambassador Throgmorton in Walter Scott "The Abbot" or Sir Nicholas Throckmorton as he is better known, first served Henry VIII of England. Throckmorton accompanied Henry in battle against France. After Henry's death, he served Katherine Parr and Princess Elizabeth. Throckmorton supported Mary Tudor's claim to the throne, and later worked for Elizabeth when she became Queen. Elizabeth commissioned Throckmorton to negotiate with Mary Queen of Scots not to marry Lord Darnley. He also worked in an official capacity to restore Mary to power when Scottish Barons imprisoned her at Lochleven. Nicholas Throckmorton died on February 12 1571.
Showing posts with label Henry VIII of England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henry VIII of England. Show all posts
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Church of England
On February 11, 1531, Henry VIII of England became supreme head of the Church of England. This institution was important to Edward Waverley's pro-Hanoverian family as shown in Walter Scott's "Waverley". From the chapter titled The Adieus of Waverley:
'...My dear Edward, it is God's will, and also the will of your father, whom, under God, it is your duty to obey, that you should leave us to take up the profession of arms, in which so many of your ancestors have been distinguished. I have made such arrangements as will enable you to take the field as their descendant, and as the probable heir of the house of Waverley; and, sir, in the field of battle you will remember what name you bear. And, Edward, my dear boy, remember also that you are the last of that race, and the only hope of its revival depends upon you; therefore, as far as duty and honour will permit, avoid danger--I mean unnecessary danger--and keep no company with rakes, gamblers, and Whigs, of whom, it is to be feared, there are but too many in the service into which you are going. Your colonel, as I am informed, is an excellent man--for a Presbyterian; but you will remember your duty to God, the Church of England, and the--' (this breach ought to have been supplied, according to the rubric, with the word KING; but as, unfortunately, that word conveyed a double and embarrassing sense, one meaning de facto and the other de jure, the knight filled up the blank otherwise)--'the Church of England, and all constituted authorities.' Then, not trusting himself with any further oratory, he carried his nephew to his stables to see the horses destined for his campaign. Two were black (the regimental colour), superb chargers both; the other three were stout active hacks, designed for the road, or for his domestics, of whom two were to attend him from the Hall; an additional groom, if necessary, might be picked up in Scotland...'
'...My dear Edward, it is God's will, and also the will of your father, whom, under God, it is your duty to obey, that you should leave us to take up the profession of arms, in which so many of your ancestors have been distinguished. I have made such arrangements as will enable you to take the field as their descendant, and as the probable heir of the house of Waverley; and, sir, in the field of battle you will remember what name you bear. And, Edward, my dear boy, remember also that you are the last of that race, and the only hope of its revival depends upon you; therefore, as far as duty and honour will permit, avoid danger--I mean unnecessary danger--and keep no company with rakes, gamblers, and Whigs, of whom, it is to be feared, there are but too many in the service into which you are going. Your colonel, as I am informed, is an excellent man--for a Presbyterian; but you will remember your duty to God, the Church of England, and the--' (this breach ought to have been supplied, according to the rubric, with the word KING; but as, unfortunately, that word conveyed a double and embarrassing sense, one meaning de facto and the other de jure, the knight filled up the blank otherwise)--'the Church of England, and all constituted authorities.' Then, not trusting himself with any further oratory, he carried his nephew to his stables to see the horses destined for his campaign. Two were black (the regimental colour), superb chargers both; the other three were stout active hacks, designed for the road, or for his domestics, of whom two were to attend him from the Hall; an additional groom, if necessary, might be picked up in Scotland...'
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Silken Thomas
'The influence of these bards upon their patrons, and their admitted title to interfere in matters of the weightiest concern may be also proved from the behavior of one of them at an interview between Thomas Fitzgerald, son of the Earl of Kildare, then about to renounce the English allegiance, and the Lord Chancellor Cromer, who made a long and goodly oration to dissuade him from his purpose. The young lord had come to the council “armed and wcaponed”, and attended by seven score horsemen in their shirts of mail; and we are assured that the chancellor, having set forth his oration " with such a lamentable action as his cheekes were all beblubbered with tears, the horsemen, namelie such as understood not English, began to divine what the lord-chancellor meant with all this long circumstance; some of them reporting that he was preaching a sermon, others said that he stood making of some heroical poetry in the praise of the Lord Thomas. And thus as every idiot shot his foolish bolt at the wise chancellor his discourse.. who in effect had nought else but drop pretious stones before hogs, one Bard de Nelan, an Irish rithmour, and a rotten sheepe to infect a whole flocke, was chatting of Irish verses, as though his toong had run on pattens, in commendation of the Lord Thomas, investing him with the title of Silken Thomas, bicaus his horsemens jacks were gorgeously imbroidered with silkc: and in the end he told him that he lingered there ouer long; whereat the Lord Thomas being quickened," as Holinshed expresses it, bid defiance to the chancellor, threw down contemptuously the sword of office, which, in his father's absence, he held as deputy, and rushed forth to engage in open insurrection.'
Thomas Fitzgerald, or Silken Thomas, was executed by Henry VIII on February 3, 1537. His crime was insurrection, including an attack on Dublin Castle. The text above appears in a note to "The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott".
Thomas Fitzgerald, or Silken Thomas, was executed by Henry VIII on February 3, 1537. His crime was insurrection, including an attack on Dublin Castle. The text above appears in a note to "The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott".
Friday, September 10, 2010
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
"So please your noble fatherhood," answered Dame Glendinning with a deep curtsy, "I should know somewhat of archery to my cost, seeing my husband--God assoilzie him!--was slain in the field of Pinkie with an arrow-shot, while he was fighting under the Kirk's banner, as became a liege vassal of the Halidome. He was a valiant man, please your reverence, and an honest; and saving that he loved a bit of venison, and shifted for his living at a time as Border-men will sometimes do, I wot not of sin that he did. And yet, though I have paid for mass after mass to the matter of a forty shilling, besides a quarter of wheat and four firlocks of rye, I can have no assurance yet that he has been delivered from purgatory."
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh referenced in Walter Scott's "The Monastery" (above), occurred on September 10, 1547. Pinkie Cleugh was part of the War of the Rough Wooing, which phrase Scott himself coined.
The object of these battles, five year old Mary, Queen of Scots' hand in marriage to Henry VIII's son Edward VI, failed to materialize, as Mary escaped to France. Pinkie Cleugh is remembered in part for being the first instance of the use of British naval artillery in a land battle. Despite a larger force, the Scottish death toll was in the thousands, while numbering only hundreds for the English.
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh referenced in Walter Scott's "The Monastery" (above), occurred on September 10, 1547. Pinkie Cleugh was part of the War of the Rough Wooing, which phrase Scott himself coined.
The object of these battles, five year old Mary, Queen of Scots' hand in marriage to Henry VIII's son Edward VI, failed to materialize, as Mary escaped to France. Pinkie Cleugh is remembered in part for being the first instance of the use of British naval artillery in a land battle. Despite a larger force, the Scottish death toll was in the thousands, while numbering only hundreds for the English.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Battle of Flodden Field
Walter Scott's poem "Marmion" is set at the Battle of Flodden Field, which took place on September 9, 1513. Scott's Lord Marmion is a favorite of England's Henry VIII, against whose army James IV of Scotland fought. James and most of his nobles were killed at Flodden Field, a disastrous event in Scottish history.
XX.
And why stands Scotland idly now,
Dark Flodden! on thy airy brow,
Since England gains the pass the while,
And struggles through the deep defile?
What checks the fiery soul of James?
Why sits that champion of the dames
Inactive on his steed,
And sees, between him and his land,
Between him and Tweed's southern strand,
His host Lord Surrey lead?
What 'vails the vain knight-errant's brand?--
O, Douglas, for thy leading wand!
Fierce Randolph, for thy speed!
O for one hour of Wallace wight,
Or well-skill'd Bruce, to rule the fight,
And cry--'Saint Andrew and our right!'
Another sight had seen that morn,
From Fate's dark book a leaf been torn,
And Flodden had been Bannockbourne!--
The precious hour has pass'd in vain,
And England's host has gain'd the plain;
Wheeling their march, and circling still,
Around the base of Flodden hill.
XX.
And why stands Scotland idly now,
Dark Flodden! on thy airy brow,
Since England gains the pass the while,
And struggles through the deep defile?
What checks the fiery soul of James?
Why sits that champion of the dames
Inactive on his steed,
And sees, between him and his land,
Between him and Tweed's southern strand,
His host Lord Surrey lead?
What 'vails the vain knight-errant's brand?--
O, Douglas, for thy leading wand!
Fierce Randolph, for thy speed!
O for one hour of Wallace wight,
Or well-skill'd Bruce, to rule the fight,
And cry--'Saint Andrew and our right!'
Another sight had seen that morn,
From Fate's dark book a leaf been torn,
And Flodden had been Bannockbourne!--
The precious hour has pass'd in vain,
And England's host has gain'd the plain;
Wheeling their march, and circling still,
Around the base of Flodden hill.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Double Header
July 28, 1540 was a big day in the life of King Henry VIII. Early on his list of to-do's that day was the beheading of his former minister Thomas Cromwell, guilty of treason for recommending Henry marry Anne of Cleves. Henry could not bring himself to consumate his marriage with Anne.
Next on his list that day was his marriage to Catherine Howard. This one he would consumate; it was Catherine who was repulsed. Catherine lasted until February 13, 1542, when she was executed for failing to disclose a marriage contract that predated her marriage to Henry. There were also many stories of Catherine's indiscretions that reached Henry's ear.
Walter Scott includes Henry VIII, or the circumstances of his times in more than one work. In his poem Marmion, the title character is a favorite of Henry's. Marmion had marital troubles of his own:
'XXIX
"Still was false Marmion's bridal staid;
To Whitby's convent fled the maid,
The hated match to shun.
'Ho! shifts she thus?' king Henry cried,
'Sir Marmion, she shall be thy bride,
If she were sworn a nun.'
One way remained—the King's command
Sent Marmion to the Scottish land:
I linger'd here, and rescue plann'd
For Clara and for me:
This caitiff Monk for gold did swear
He would to Whitby's shrine repair,
And by his drugs my rival fair
A saint in heaven should be.
is But ill the dastard kept his oath,
Whose cowardice has undone us both.
Next on his list that day was his marriage to Catherine Howard. This one he would consumate; it was Catherine who was repulsed. Catherine lasted until February 13, 1542, when she was executed for failing to disclose a marriage contract that predated her marriage to Henry. There were also many stories of Catherine's indiscretions that reached Henry's ear.
Walter Scott includes Henry VIII, or the circumstances of his times in more than one work. In his poem Marmion, the title character is a favorite of Henry's. Marmion had marital troubles of his own:
'XXIX
"Still was false Marmion's bridal staid;
To Whitby's convent fled the maid,
The hated match to shun.
'Ho! shifts she thus?' king Henry cried,
'Sir Marmion, she shall be thy bride,
If she were sworn a nun.'
One way remained—the King's command
Sent Marmion to the Scottish land:
I linger'd here, and rescue plann'd
For Clara and for me:
This caitiff Monk for gold did swear
He would to Whitby's shrine repair,
And by his drugs my rival fair
A saint in heaven should be.
is But ill the dastard kept his oath,
Whose cowardice has undone us both.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Rough Wooing
One of the phrases coined by Walter Scott, the Wars of the Rough Wooing referred to the effort on the part of England's Henry VIII to force a marriage between his son Edward and Mary Stuart. On May 7, 1542, the Earl of Hertford, who was Queen Jane Seymour's brother, invaded the Borderlands of Scotland, reaching Edinburgh in support of Henry's wishes.
Sir Walter Scott covers the Earl's (the Queene's brother) incursion the poem "Lord Ewrie", published in his Poetical Works:
Lord Ewrie was as brave a man
As ever stood in his degree;
The King has sent him a ftioad letter,
All for his courage and loyalty.!
...
With our Queene's brother * he hath been,
And rode rough shod through Scotland of late;
They have burn'd the Mers and Tiviotdale,
And knocked full loud at Edinburgh gate.
*The Earl of Hertford, afterward duke of Somerset, and brother of Queen Jane Seymour, made a furious incursion into Scotland, in 1545.
Sir Walter Scott covers the Earl's (the Queene's brother) incursion the poem "Lord Ewrie", published in his Poetical Works:
Lord Ewrie was as brave a man
As ever stood in his degree;
The King has sent him a ftioad letter,
All for his courage and loyalty.!
...
With our Queene's brother * he hath been,
And rode rough shod through Scotland of late;
They have burn'd the Mers and Tiviotdale,
And knocked full loud at Edinburgh gate.
*The Earl of Hertford, afterward duke of Somerset, and brother of Queen Jane Seymour, made a furious incursion into Scotland, in 1545.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Henry VIII Acceeds to the Throne
Henry VIII took the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII, on April 21, 1509. Aspects of Henry VIII's reign are used as material for Walter Scott's "Marmion". Marmion himself is portrayed as a favorite of King Henry. The action takes place around the Battle of Flodden Field (September 9, 1513), in which King James VI of Scotland declared war on England to honor an alliance with France. James marched into Northumberland, where he was met by English forces under Earl Thomas Howard of Surrey. Surrey carried the day, in a very one-sided battle.
From Marmion:
CANTO FIRST.
THE CASTLE.
Day set on Norham's castled steep,
And Tweed's fair river, broad and deep,
And Cheviot's mountains lone:
The battled towers, the donjon keep,
The loophole grates, where captives weep,
The flanking walls that round it sweep,
In yellow lustre shone.
The warriors on the turrets high,
Moving athwart the evening sky,
Seem'd forms of giant height:
Their armour, as it caught the rays,
Flash'd back again the western blaze,
In lines of dazzling light....
From Marmion:
CANTO FIRST.
THE CASTLE.
Day set on Norham's castled steep,
And Tweed's fair river, broad and deep,
And Cheviot's mountains lone:
The battled towers, the donjon keep,
The loophole grates, where captives weep,
The flanking walls that round it sweep,
In yellow lustre shone.
The warriors on the turrets high,
Moving athwart the evening sky,
Seem'd forms of giant height:
Their armour, as it caught the rays,
Flash'd back again the western blaze,
In lines of dazzling light....
Sunday, March 14, 2010
John Russell, Earl of Bedford
John Russell is a man who rose from a relatively prominent non-noble family to become an integral member of King Henry VII's privy chamber. Russell later served in this role for Henry's son, Henry VIII. Russell's accession developed from a special circumstance that allowed his talent for speaking foreign languages to reach the appreciation of Henry VII.
The circumstance that allowed Russell to shine occurred in 1506, when three vessels under the command of Austrian Archduke Philip appeared off the shore of Dorset, England. Philip and his new bride, Juana, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Castile and Aragon had been sailing to Spain when a storm overtook them. They took shelter in Weymouth harbor. Sir Thomas Trenchard was the Governor of the region, and when he met the travelers, he sent for John Russell to translate and accommodate the foreigners. Russell had grown up abroad, and had great facility with language.
The grateful Archduke, when he later met with Henry VII, asked that Russell accompany him. Henry took an immediate liking to Russell, and thus began Russell's rise in society. Henry VII knighted him. Edward VI made him Earl of Bedford. He continued serving the crown under Queen Mary. John Russell died on March 14, 1556.
Russell had a son, Francis, Second Earl of Beford, that appears in Walter Scott's collection "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border". On June 7, 1575, a Scotch-English Border skirmish known as the Raid of Reidswire occurred. Scott provides a history, and presents a poem of the affair. The poem includes Francis Russell, who was present at the skirmish.
"Sir Francis Russell ta'en was there,
And hurt, as we hear men rehearse;
Proud Wallinton was wounded sair,
Albeit he be a Fennick fierce..."
The circumstance that allowed Russell to shine occurred in 1506, when three vessels under the command of Austrian Archduke Philip appeared off the shore of Dorset, England. Philip and his new bride, Juana, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Castile and Aragon had been sailing to Spain when a storm overtook them. They took shelter in Weymouth harbor. Sir Thomas Trenchard was the Governor of the region, and when he met the travelers, he sent for John Russell to translate and accommodate the foreigners. Russell had grown up abroad, and had great facility with language.
The grateful Archduke, when he later met with Henry VII, asked that Russell accompany him. Henry took an immediate liking to Russell, and thus began Russell's rise in society. Henry VII knighted him. Edward VI made him Earl of Bedford. He continued serving the crown under Queen Mary. John Russell died on March 14, 1556.
Russell had a son, Francis, Second Earl of Beford, that appears in Walter Scott's collection "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border". On June 7, 1575, a Scotch-English Border skirmish known as the Raid of Reidswire occurred. Scott provides a history, and presents a poem of the affair. The poem includes Francis Russell, who was present at the skirmish.
"Sir Francis Russell ta'en was there,
And hurt, as we hear men rehearse;
Proud Wallinton was wounded sair,
Albeit he be a Fennick fierce..."
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Battle of Ancrum Moor
The Battle of Ancrum Moor occurred on February 27, 1545. Sir Walter Scott coined the term "Wars of the Rough Wooing" for the 16th century wars between England and Scotland. The wooing referred to Henry VIII's efforts to force a marriage between his son Edward, and Mary I of Scotland (Mary, Queen of Scots). These wars ended with the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Scott's great-grandfather, Sir Walter Scott (3rd Lord) of Buccleuch was part of the battle that day. Buccleuch opposed Mary's marrying Edward, and was part of the Scottish forces, led by the Earl of Douglas at Ancrum Moor.
This battle was significant to Sir Walter Scott through his direct ancestral line. In Scott's Journal, there is a reference to:
May 1.(1827) —Brought Andrew Shortreed to copy some things I want. Maxpopple came with us as far as Lessudden, and we stopped and made a pilgrimage to Fair Maiden Lilliard's Stone, which has been restored lately, to the credit of Mr. Walker of Muirhouselaw.
The rude inscription on the stone placed over the grave of this Border amazon, slain at Ancrum Moor, A.D. 1545, ran thus—
"Fair maiden Lilliard lies under this stane,
Little was her stature but great was her fame,
Upon the English louns she laid many thumps,
And when her legs were cuttet off she fought upon her stumps."
See New Stat. Account Scot., "Roxburgh," p. 244.
Scott's great-grandfather, Sir Walter Scott (3rd Lord) of Buccleuch was part of the battle that day. Buccleuch opposed Mary's marrying Edward, and was part of the Scottish forces, led by the Earl of Douglas at Ancrum Moor.
This battle was significant to Sir Walter Scott through his direct ancestral line. In Scott's Journal, there is a reference to:
May 1.(1827) —Brought Andrew Shortreed to copy some things I want. Maxpopple came with us as far as Lessudden, and we stopped and made a pilgrimage to Fair Maiden Lilliard's Stone, which has been restored lately, to the credit of Mr. Walker of Muirhouselaw.
The rude inscription on the stone placed over the grave of this Border amazon, slain at Ancrum Moor, A.D. 1545, ran thus—
"Fair maiden Lilliard lies under this stane,
Little was her stature but great was her fame,
Upon the English louns she laid many thumps,
And when her legs were cuttet off she fought upon her stumps."
See New Stat. Account Scot., "Roxburgh," p. 244.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Mary I of England
On this day in 1558, Queen Mary I of England died. Mary earned the sobriquet "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of non-Catholics. The only surviving child of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry Viii, Mary's reign was short; only 5 years.
Mary is covered in Scott's Kenilworth, with reference to the Dudley family, which attempted to raise Lady Jane Grey to the throne, following the death of King Edward VI, Henry's only son (by Jane Seymour).
Mary is covered in Scott's Kenilworth, with reference to the Dudley family, which attempted to raise Lady Jane Grey to the throne, following the death of King Edward VI, Henry's only son (by Jane Seymour).
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