Spain: June 1532, 1-20 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 4 Part 2, 1531-1533. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1882.

'Spain: June 1532, 1-20', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 4 Part 2, 1531-1533, (London, 1882) pp. 452-462. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol4/no2/pp452-462 [accessed 24 April 2024]

June 1532, 1-20



1 June.	955. Dr. Ortiz to the Empress.
S. E. L. 858, f. 152. B. M. Add. 28.585 f. 1.	Has written by the last post reporting on the state of the matrimonial cause. The cardinals are at present examining it in detail (se informan) in order to pronounce a definitive sentence respecting the last point, viz., whether the English excusator is to be admitted or not without express mandate from the King, his master. May God permit that the trial be proceeded with as it ought to be, for it cannot he denied that somehow or other it goes on very slowly indeed!
	The Queen has lately written to His Holiness about her just complaint (su quexa). and has also written to him (Ortiz) a letter to the same purpose. The greatest advantage to he derived from this suit is the evidence (probacion) of the many heroic virtues with which the Queen is adorned, and the great perfection she has attained by her Christian resignation. Has reason to believe that the contents of the ciphered letters received by the Imperial ambassador [in England] have been duly communicated to Her Imperial Majesty. (fn. n1) If so that will acquaint Her Majesty with the state of the case in England.
	Commends to her favour the cause of his brother, Fr. Francisco Ortiz, whose guilt, if any, proceeds from too much zeal and perhaps also some indiscretion. Had he (Ortiz) been allowed to correspond with his brother, he has no doubt that he might have prevailed on him to acknowledge his errors. Though Her Majesty herself and the queen of France (Eleonor) have given the orders for his imprisonment to be alleviated; though he (Ortiz) has frequently written to the cardinal of Santiago de Compostella (Tavera), and to the admiral of Castille (D. Alonso Enriquez) on his behalf, Fr. Francisco has not been permitted to write.—Rome, 1st June 1532.
	Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz."
	Addressed; "To the Catholic and Imperial Majesty of the Empress and Queen, our Lady."
	Spanish. Holograph, pp. 3.
2 June.	956. The Emperor to Dr. Ortiz.
S. E. L. 636, f. 143. B. M. Add. 28,585, f. 3.	We have read your letters and seen the care you take of the queen of England's affairs. We request you to continue your exertions and follow exactly the directions of our ambassador at the Papal Court (Miçer Miguel Mai).
	With regard to the brief sent to England our ambassador there (Master Eustace Chapuys) writes that the Queen is of opinion that no use should be made of it for the present; there is therefore no need of your asking [the Pope] for a second brief before the end of the vacations. What is urgent is to solicit and press the conclusion of the trial, and stop all attempts at delay.—Ratisbon, 2nd June 1532.
	Signed : "Yo el Rey."
	Countersigned: "Cobos (sic) Comendador Mayor."
	Addressed "To Dr. Ortiz, our preacher.''
	Spanish. Original minute in the handwriting of secretary Idiaquez. p. 1.
5 June.	957. Eustace Chapuys to the Emperor.
K. u. K. Haus- Hof-u-StaatsArch, Wien.Rep.P.Fasc. c. 227, No. 27.	Since my last of the 31st ult. Mons. de Rosymboz has arrived from Scotland. He has been most graciously received by this king and court, but as I am aware that he himself intends writing at full length upon his reception [at Edinburgh], his conversations there with different people, and the information he has been able to gather, I will abstain from any reference to this subject.
	(Cipher:) The day before yesterday Master Thomas Heliot (Elyot) on his return from Your Majesty's court, where he has been residing as ambassador, came to visit me, and told me a great deal about his conversation with this king, which he said had been greatly to the benefit of Your Majesty, of the Queen, your aunt, and principally of the King, his master, who (he said) knowing about it, still shewed great desire to hear all the particulars of his mission. (fn. n2) But whatever may be Master Heliot's assertions, I have strong doubts of his report having produced as good effect as he says on the King, for whatever remonstrances have been addressed to him by different parties have hitherto been disregarded, and a smile or tear from the Lady has been enough to undo any good that might have been done in that quarter. (fn. n3) The said ambassador (Elyot), as he tells me, has put down in writing the whole of his conversation with this king, and addressed it to Señor Don Fernando de la Peubla (Puebla) (fn. n4) according to Your Majesty's wishes in the very cipher which that gentleman gave him for the purpose, and, therefore, I will forbear saying anything more about it.
	I am daily expecting to hear what the Italian gentleman whom Camillo Orsino left behind him here, is really about, and likewise the return of the spy I sent after him. As soon as I am in possession of reliable information I will not fail to acquaint Your Majesty, and will also try to pump the ambassador (Elyot) and pay him as much court as possible for the better success of the Queen's case.—London, 5th June [15]32.
	Signed: "Eustace Chapuys."
	Addressed: " To the Emperor."
	French. Holograph almost entirely in cipher. pp. 2.
7 June.	958. Rodrigo Niño to the Same.
S. E. L. 1,309, ff. 92–4. B. M. Add. 28,585 f. 5.	The enclosed (fn. n5) despatch, informing the king of the Romans of late events at Clissa, would have been sent by the last post had I not wished to ascertain first what meant this sudden arrival of count Annibale di Novellara, who came the day before yesterday [to Venice], and called immediately on count Guido, and after that went to the College Hall in company with the French ambassador. As he came out of it the Signory sent me one of their secretaries to say that, according to his own statement, the Count had come to Italy on private business only, but that having told the king of France at his departure of his intention to visit this city he had been requested to wait upon the Signory and offer his commendations. The Doge then asked him whether he brought any letters from the King, where he had left him last, and how long it was since he (the Count) had left the Court of France. The Count's answer was that he had brought no letters from the King; he (the Count) had quitted Chatea Brian (Chateaubriand) on the 25th ult., and left the King and court at that place. Thence the King was to go to a town called Vanes (Vannes), where all foreign ambassadors had been ordered to repair and await him. The Count added that ever since entering Britanny king Francis had made very little stay at any place, owing to his having visited the whole of that Duchy (estado). administered justice, and punished many criminals. (fn. n6)
	He was having some ships built, and rebuilding another which was so large that it could not be navigated. The King was only accompanied on his tour by his son the dauphin (Francois), by the grand master of France (Anne de Montmorency), and by the admiral (Philippe Chabot). He was to return soon to Bles (Blois). He (the Count) only intended stopping four or five days in Venice, and after that returning to France as hastily as he had come.
	(Cipher:) I was further told by the Secretary, whom the Signory sent to me on this occasion, that all the Councillors present at the College Hall when the Count was introduced could not help being astonished at his having come from such a distance merely to see Venice, and that they did not believe his account. Nor more did I, and therefore I set spies on him to watch his movements and ascertain what he was about. There happened to be here (at Venice) at the time a Spanish captain (named Francisco Beltran), who had once been in the service of France. I persuaded him to visit the Count at his lodgings, and offer his services in case the King again meditated making war in Italy. The Captain saw the Count, told him that he was out of service, and that he had refused entering that of some Italian lords, because it was publicly said that His Highness the king of France would soon come [to Italy] in person. Since the Count himself was in the service of France he begged him as a friend to tell him whether there was any chance of his soon finding employment in that way. The Count answered that he could not say for certain, but no doubt that a great and bloody war would be very soon stirred up here in Italy, and, therefore, strongly advised him to take no engagement, since the Most Christian King would very soon need his services. The King (he added) had actually departed from Chateaubriand on the 25th of May last, and would have left 20 days sooner had a despatch he was expecting from England, and which he (the Count) received afterwards on his way to Lyons, arrived sooner. He (the Count) had passed through the Imperial camp, spoken with the marquis del Gasto (Vasto), gone thence to Mantua and Ferrara.
	Beltran then asked him: " Pray what foundation is there for the rumour so prevalent in this city that the Most Christian King of France, our present master, has made alliance with the Turk? I cannot bring my mind to believe it, as it would be so dishonourable an act, and one so injurious to Christendom, and so decidedly against the Pope and the Emperor, with whom king Francis is now on the best possible terms." " Do not believe that," replied the Count; "besides, what would this Signory of Venice or any other estate in Italy lose by an alliance of this sort? I cannot just now enter into details, but I can assure you that very soon you will see part of the Turkish army here in Italy." "Do you think that the Grand Turk in person will come to Italy? " "No, I believe he will not come beyond Belgrade; but you may be sure that never at any time was the Emperor in greater danger than he is at present, for just at this moment the companies of Lorenço de Cherri (da Ceri) and Francesco Monsirone, (fn. n7) and all the men-at-arms that the King once had here [in Italy], are collecting in the marquisate of Saluzzo, where the greater part of their arrears is to be paid to them. The King could count immediately upon 10,000 Switzers, and had at Marseilles 14 galleys ready to put to sea, besides 15 others that were being built, Renzo da Ceri being there [at that port] for the purpose of embarking.
	Upon Beltran observing that it seemed to him as if king Francis had no captain here, in Italy, capable of enlisting a force, however small, and that he wondered how he could have afforded to dismiss count Guido from his service, the Count said: "Do not be afraid of that; if the King has only the will and the money required—and I can assure you that he has both—plenty of 'condottieri' will offer their services. I myself am now going to Rome, where as many can he found as the King himself may wish for."
	As long as the Count remains in this city Francisco Beltran will visit him, and try to ascertain what his plans are. I have also directed the Mantuan ambassador, who is a friend of mine, to offer him apartments in his hotel, for he is not staying, as was thought at first, at the French ambassador's, but at an inn. Until now we have not been able to find out what sort of a despatch it was which the king of France was expecting from England, and which was at last committed to the Count; but if I should hear any more on this subject I shall not fail to apprize Your Imperial Majesty.
	(Common writing:) My impression is that the business which the Count says he had with the marquis del Gasto (Vasto) must have originated in some difference with Mr. de Labrit (fn. n8) about the price of his ransom. They say that the Count brought a mere letter of introduction from the King to the duke of Mantua (Federico Gonzaga), and that he was with the duke of Ferrara (Alfonso d'Este) from Monday at the 15 hours until Tuesday morning. (Cipher:) What was the subject of such a long conference no one knows, but surely if the Duke is as good a servant of Your Imperial Majesty as he professes to be it is to be presumed that you have already been fully informed of it through him.
	(Common writing:) A courier from Lyons has arrived who brings notice to these merchants that the King has prorogued the payments at the fair of that city for 15 days, and some add that one of the royal treasurers is expected in that city with 200,000 crs. This news of the prorogation of payments at Lyons has induced merchants here to adopt similar measures. If, however, it should turn out true that the King destines so large a sum for Italy as reported, we are sure to know in time, for most of the bills must necessarily be drawn on bankers of this city. Count Novellara is a young man, 22 or 23 years old. Considering his age and want of experience I should say that the principal business that has brought him here is the one above alluded to between the marquis del Gasto and Mr. De Labrit, and also to engage captains for the King's service, especially count Guido, that is if he should be disengaged and want to serve. If this be not the Count's object the King must have sent him to look after Ryncon (Rincon), who is known to have fallen very ill somewhere, that he may take from him the despatches he has for the Grand Turk and the Vayvod, and carry them himself (common writing:) for I cannot persuade myself that a man like the Count could come riding post all the way from France to Venice for the sole purpose of visiting this place, as he has told the Signory. Had he come, as I imagine, to take charge of Rincon's despatches we are sure to know in time. In my opinion this last conjecture is the most plausible, for only the other day the Doge told me that Rincon was detained at Ragusa by illness, and that he had had a relapse and could not move.
	All the information which count Novellara gave Captain Beltran agrees with the king of France's plans as revealed by Rincon to count Guido [Rangone] when he was last in Venice. Therefore it is most probable that had not Rincon been taken ill on the road he would have been by this time in Turkey, and that the Most Christian King, in order to get hold of Milan, would not have scrupled in making an alliance with the Infidel, and bringing him over against Christendom! Yet I must say that hitherto no preparations for war have been made in France.
	This Signory purposes sending to Hungary a man called Querea, (fn. n9) that he may accompany the Turk and report. I am told that after reaching Andrinopoli the secretary of the Venetian embassy [who was] with the Turk left him and returned to Constantinople, as the Signory has at present no one to represent them in those parts, their ambassador having remained at Constantinople to fill the office of "balio" (bailli).
	The galley of the Proveditor General of this Signory is ready, and expected to set sail on Sunday.—Venice, 7th June 1532.
	Signed: "Rodrigo Niño."
	Addressed: " S. C. C. M.."
	Spanish. Original. pp. 5.
16 June.	959. The Same to the Same.
S. E. L. 1,309, ff. 56–8. B. M. Add. 28,585, f. 10.	I wrote last on the 11th. After that, on Friday, at the 24 hours, a brig from Ragusa anchored in this port, bringing letters from the representative (balio) this Signory has at Constantinople. One hour after the Doge (Andrea Gritti) sent me word that the letters received were dated the 27th of May, and that the substance of them was that the whole of the Turkish fleet had sailed from Constantinople on the 23rd, save four galleys, whose crews were not yet complete. The fleet had not yet passed Gallipoli owing to those four galleys having remained behind; but as soon as they had joined they would together sail for Modon. The whole fleet consisted of 75 sail, exclusive of privateers and others, who were to join them in those seas. Having then asked the Doge whether he knew the destination of so formidable an armament he told me that the Turkish admiral had called upon the Signory's representative at Constantinople and asked him: "How long will it take me to sail from Modon to the coast of Sicily?" and that the Admiral had answered cautiously: "That depends upon the weather and the wind;" from which he (the Doge) concluded that when all the ships and galleys had joined they would come strait down from Modon to the coast of Sicily.
	(Common writing:) The Doge also told me that the Turkish Admiral had declared that he had positive orders from his master, the Sultan, not to attack Venetian vessels, and likewise (cipher;) to do no injury to the vassals and property of the kings of France and England, so that if the report be true—as I have no doubt it is—here is further proof of what I wrote to Your Majesty days ago, namely, that the threatening storm is only intended to fall upon His Holiness the Pope, and upon Your Majesty, and that if the king of France, as he proposes, sends a fleet for the defence of Italy it will be only for the purpose of joining the Turk and working in company with him.
	The Doge also said he had letters of the 30th from a country called Dulcinio, between Slavonia and Albania, stating that a man coming from Sofia (Sophia) had announced the arrival of the Turks in that city; but this news cannot be relied upon, for although it is believed that after passing Filipoli (Philippopoli) the enemy must have made very long marches, yet the distance is too great for him to be already at Sophia, as it is said, with the whole of his force.
	I am every day soliciting an answer from this Signory with regard to the proposed league for the protection of Italy. The Doge always answers me that the matter is too important for the Senate to decide without previous mature deliberation. He has, however, promised me that between this and next Wednesday I shall get an answer.
	Your Majesty's indisposition is much felt here, especially at this juncture.
	(Cipher:) Advices have been received here that the duke of Saxony, the landgrave of Hesse, and other princes of the Empire, besides some free towns, intend to refuse their allegiance to the king of the Romans, and that this is done entirely at the instigation of the kings of France and England. If so, it is to be feared that instead of giving help against the Turk the said kings and princes will do all they can to assist and favour the Infidel.
	Count Novellara left last Thursday. I am told that before his departure he caused certain friends of France to convey to the Signory a message to this effect: "the French had always been the oldest and best allies of Venice; that was a known fact which required no confirmation. They also knew how many titles the French king had to the possession of Milan. If, therefore, one of these days the King made war for the recovery of what he considered his own, he expected help, or at least neutrality from the Signory. In either case the King was willing to give securities. His having made peace at Cambray without including them in it was only that he might exclusively devote himself to the delivery of his sons from captivity. Should they (the Venetians) object to the Duchy forming part of the crown of France, he (the King) would make it over to one of his sons, whom he would send at once to Venice, there to be married to an Italian, so that his grandsons might inherit the estate and be Italian born, as was the case with king Alonso of Aragon, who conquered Naples." All this has been told to me with the greatest possible caution by the general of the Augustines himself, &c.
	Happening to meet the Doge the other day I asked him whether he was aware of the ridiculous nonsense which this count of Novellara had spread throughout Venice. He told me: "I am not astonished at anything the Count may have said; we know the nature and condition of the French, and how they lie whenever it suits them. The Signory knows too well what the kings of that country are, and especially king Francis; we shall never forget or forgive the insult he did us at Cambray."
	I have been very explicit in my account of this gentleman, because (as I said above) I cannot believe that he came posting all the way from Chateaubriand in 11 days merely to have a look at Venice, as he says.
	The enclosed (fn. n10) is from prothonotary Caracciolo with advices from Switzerland. All of it seems to me to be a pure invention of the French, for if the Lutheran Swiss, as it is said, really want his help it is that he may protect them against the Pope.—Venice, 16th June 1532.
	Signed: "Rodrigo Niño."
	Addressed: "S. C. C. M."
	Spanish. Original partly in cipher. pp. 6.
16 June.	960. Dr. Ortiz to the Same.
S. E. L. 858, f. 153. B.M.Add. 28,585, f. 17.	Has received the Emperor's letter of the 2nd of June. The day before yesterday, whilst conversing with His Holiness the latter told him (Ortiz) that his Nuncio in England had recently written that he had, by the command of the Queen, presented to the King the monitory brief (breve exhortatorio). and that the King had immediately complained to him of the Queen's pertinacity in that business. He knew not (he said) the contents of the brief, nor what the Pope intended to command him by it; he would read it at his leisure and make a reply. This answer of the King His Holiness knows not how to qualify, for to say the truth it is really wonderful how far the Enemy of Mankind has prevailed over this king; not only does he refuse to acknowledge the mortal sin in which he lives, but tries to turn good into evil (fn. n11) upbraiding the Queen for her praiseworthy conduct in this affair, in seeking to uphold the truth and persuade the King to return to the right path which is the only way of obtaining the salvation of his soul!! Told His Holiness that he was positively hound by the office he holds of vicar and messenger (pregonero) of God on earth, to order his Nuncio in England distinctly to tell the King that he is living in mortal sin, and that unless he at once cast away from him that woman, through whose means the Devil has got hold of him, and treat his own legitimate queen with the decorum due to her rank and position he must be damned. All this the Papal Nuncio ought to tell him (the King) in the name of God, and in the name of His Holiness, and if the King should still persist in his obstinancy threaten him with all the censures of the Church.
	Told the Pope that the Christian Church was at this time threatened by three great calamities. The first was this very divorce case and its consequences, at which the whole of Christendom was scandalized. The second was the separation of heretics from the Faith, and the consequent schism in the Church; and the third the impending invasion of the Turks. To avert such dire calamities as these His Holiness ought to see that this cause is sentenced at once, and heresy put down so that the whole of the Christian forces may be turned against the Turk; a general jubilee ought to be published throughout Christendom granting indulgence of their sins to all those who should confess and communicate, pray, and do pious works to that end.
	This the Pope promised at once, and I hear that to-day, Sunday, the promulgation has been made from the pulpits of all the churches at Rome, and after that the said jubilee will be announced to the rest of the Christian World.
	Wrote by the last post respecting the matrimonial cause that after the matter was duly disputed in Consistory by the lawyers on both sides, the cardinals were being instructed on the matter in detail that the Consistory may decide whether the said cause is to be pleaded here at Rome, or elsewhere, to enable the king of England to be present. On this subject our opponents have lately printed and published the allegation of a Bolognese lawyer who came here, and have now printed a book by the same author, wherein all the arguments adduced in favour of the King have been collected. It is evident that all this is done for no other purpose than to cause delay. Though the point in question is not a judicial one, and has nothing to do with his profession as a theologian, he (Ortiz) considers it his duty to importune the Pope and his cardinals should he find them in any way remiss. He will prove to them that the only reason the king of England has for advoking the cause to his kingdom, is that the case being arduous, and concerning him personally, necessitates his appearance at the trial; he maintains that he is not obliged to send a procurator, and that since by the said causes and others he is prevented from coming to Rome, the cause ought to be advoked either to his own kingdom, or to some other place near it, where he may appear without detriment to his kingdom through his absence. This is the principal reason given by the contrary party, but in his (Ortiz's) opinion it is the chief argument against the King, shewing that this divorce suit ought to be tried here, inasmuch as it is a matter of Faith, they (the English) pretending that this marriage is forbidden by Divine Law, and as our Holy Faith is Catholic and Universal, no one has consequently more right, or is more stringently bound to take cognizance of this cause than His Holiness, the Pope, who is the shepherd of the universal Christian flock. Also because papal authority having been brought into question, and a doubt raised as to whether pope Julius had or had not the power of dispensing in that marriage, the right hitherto exercised by the Apostolic See seems to be contested. What the opponents aver is that some of the canons on which the Apostolic See found their right to dispensation are actually erroneous ; all this evidently appertains more to the Pope and to the Holy Apostolic See, to whom the cognizance of these things properly belongs than to the king of England, whose concern in the matter is personal to himself. It seems therefore far more natural that the said king come to Rome, or send his procurator, than that the Pope or the Apostolic See, as it were, should go to England. Such was the view the Rota took of the affair, and there can be no doubt that the Consistory will approve it.
	Juan Luis [Aragon], the Imperial advocate, has just printed and circulated the learned report (informacion) which the ambassador Miçer Mai has forwarded to Court.
	Reminds the Emperor of the affairs of Fr. Francisco Ortiz, his brother. Has written to the Empress about them.—Rome, 16th June 1532.
	Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz."
	Addressed "To the Sacred, Imperial, Catholic Majesty the Emperor and King, our Lord."
	Spanish. Holograph. pp. 5.
16 June.	961. The Same to the Empress.
S. E. L. 857, f. 5. B. M. Add. 28,585, f. 20.	[Copies textually his letter to the Emperor and then adds:]
	With regard to the monitory brief (breve exhortatorio) which His Holiness sent the other day to the king of England, exhorting him not to separate from the Queen, his wife, as long as the trial was undecided, a copy of which brief I forwarded to Your Highness, I must state that the Emperor wrote to me—as will be seen by the enclosed copy of his letter— that the Queen's opinion was that no use should be made of it for the present. The Imperial ambassador residing in England (Eustace Chapuys) wrote to me in the same sense. Since then it appears from letters of the Papal Nuncio that the Queen has changed her mind and insists upon the brief being presented, and that the Nuncio having in conformity with His Holiness' orders attempted to speak to the King on the subject, the latter had referred him to a gentleman whose name I think he said was Montfort. (fn. n12) The Nuncio, however, not wishing to declare beforehand what sort of communication he had to make, said to the gentleman in question that his business was with the King alone, not with him. The King, therefore, had been obliged to grant him audience upon which the Nuncio began to broach the subject as if he spoke in His Holiness' name. The King's answer was that the Queen was very tenacious (proterva) in this her determination. He could not conceive what orders the Pope could give him respecting the matrimonial cause, for he himself had carefully read and studied what ever was enjoined by Divine as well as by Canon Law on the subject of marriage, and where he had any doubt about it had engaged very good counsel to consult with. He could not imagine what orders the Pope could give him in such a matter as that. Upon which the Papal Nuncio produced the brief, and the King perceiving that it was long, said he would read it and give his answer. This, His Holiness says, has not come to hand yet, &c.
	Juan Luis, Your Majesty's advocate, has written and printed a small treatise, whilst the opposite party have also printed certain articles of a Bolognese doctor, who came here [to Rome] lately, and published a book on the subject, wherein he embodied all the various arguments brought forward in favour of the King. Copies of both (fn. n13) have been forwarded by me to the cardinal of Santiago, de Compostella.
	[The rest of the letter as in No. 965.]
	Rome, 16th June 1532.
	Signed: "El Doctor Ortiz."
	Addressed: "To the very high and very powerful Lady the Empress and Queen."
	Spanish. Holograph. pp. 5.