Spain: September 1553, 21-30 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 11, 1553. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1916.

Citation:

'Spain: September 1553, 21-30', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 11, 1553, ed. Royall Tyler( London, 1916), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol11/pp250-261 [accessed 27 July 2024].

September 1553, 21–30



Sept. 22. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E.1.	Mary I to the Emperor.
	We have received your letters, and learned of the recall of MM. de Courrières, de Thoulouse, and Jehan Scheyfve, your ambassadors, to you; and that you have chosen and appointed the Lieutenant of Amont to succeed to the post of the said M. Scheyfve. Very dear and well-beloved good brother, although the return of the said gentlemen to you is according to our good pleasure, yet as they have been witnesses of all that occurred in the beginning of this our reign, from our accession to the government of our kingdoms and countries, unto the full and peaceable possession to which we have come by the goodness of God alone, we, knowing the true and perfect amity and alliance between us, and the great desire you have to know the success of our affairs and the safe establishment of our reign, wherefore we thank you most cordially, have made so bold as to detain the said gentlemen and prolong their stay here until after the day of our coronation, which, by the grace of God, is to be on the first of October: so that they may give you a more ample and detailed account of it. We hope and pray that you will take the delay in good part. As to the Lieutenant of Amont, his presence is and shall always be very acceptable to us; we will grant him ready access to us on all and sundry occasions when he shall desire it, and we will give him willingly a benign and favourable audience, as it behoves the true and perfect amity, confederation and intercourse between us, our kingdoms, and subjects.
	Westminster, 22 September, 1553.
	French. Signed.
Sept. 23. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E. 20.	The Ambassadors in England to the Emperor.
	Sire: We presented your Majesty's letters to the Queen at the audience she gave us on Thursday last in the presence of the Bishop of Winchester, the Earl of Arundel and Paget, and declared the occasion of our recall from our office of ambassadors, the Lieutenant of Amont's commission to fill the post of ambassador in ordinary, and made the references and remarks usual on leave-taking and the presentation of an ambassador. The Queen, having read the letters and communicated them to her Councillors, said the recall was not so definite as we seemed to think, because your Majesty said in the letters that you intended it to depend on her granting us leave and licence to go; she would not dismiss us, but exercise the right conferred upon her by your Majesty, and beg us to wait until the time of her coronation, now so near. We replied that if our presence could be of any service to her, we would not merely stay for the coronation, but longer; we did not think our tarrying would displease your Majesty, who would rather order us to stay, because of your Majesty's desire to gratify her wishes in every way. The Queen replied that she would write to your Majesty and get us excused; which has prompted us to send the present letters so as to ascertain your Majesty's will and pleasure, and the commands you may be pleased to send us. It seemed to us that the letters (from your Majesty) had arrived at the right time to dispel the Council's suspicions concerning our stay, that our object might be to negotiate a marriage.
	On the preceding day, by the Queen's request, we had gone to her at about six o'clock in the evening, at the house where she now is; we passed through the park and a garden, unperceived by anybody, except for two of her servants and Dame Clarentius (Clarence), whom she trusts. She had already requested us to stay on, declaring that her affairs were in so troubled and uncertain a condition, both on account of the mass and the plottings of certain evil men, that she knew not how to make herself safe and arrange her affairs, and still less did she dare to speak of them to anyone except ourselves. She could not trust her Council too much, well knowing the particular character of its members, the manner in which the discussion was put forward whether Parliament should assemble before the coronation or the coronation should come first, as it was now published and decided. The Council could not agree or take a resolve because of the difficulties we wrote about to your Majesty in the note we joined to our last letters; she told us that fears for her person were entertained when she should pass through the streets of the town; but nevertheless on hearing our advice she had determined that the coronation should be held on the day named and chosen, and soldiers were being raised to guard and accompany her. She entertained scruples concerning the title of Head of the Church which was given her in documents and despatches, and had been incorporated with the Crown by statutes and acts of Parliament; and she would not be able to avoid the use of it at the coronation. She had conversed on the subject with Cardinal Pole's messenger, (fn. 1) who had been sent hither to her, but only in order to get a dispensation, as she had heard that the Cardinal had been created Legate to England and was fully empowered to grant every dispensation. She added that the Cardinal had not thought fit to come hither until the general trend of affairs could be better ascertained and directed, and he had sent her much good advice for the establishment of her rule.
	We repeated the same counsel to her that we had already sent her in writing through a third person, (fn. 2) and impressed upon her, as far as it lay in our power, that she must make herself safe by force. We confirmed her own words as to the conspiracies directed against her and her reign; we knew the heretics and rebels to be plotting among themselves to cross her affairs, and their counsels and intrigues were made known to the Lady Elizabeth, who was their hope, and in whom they placed their trust for the future. In truth, if any harm happened to the Queen and the Lady Elizabeth were raised to the throne, the kingdom would become entirely heretical and catholics would be persecuted. The Queen replied that she did not trust her; that a few days before she had spoken to her and asked her if she firmly believed what the catholics now believed and had always believed concerning the holy sacrament, telling her plainly that it was said she went to mass in order to dissimulate, out of fear or hypocrisy; and she begged her to speak freely and declare what was in her mind. The Lady Elizabeth said she had considered making a public declaration that she went to mass and did as she did because her own conscience prompted and moved her to it; that she went of her own free will and without fear, hypocrisy or dissimulation. The Queen added that the said Elizabeth was very timid and that she trembled when she spoke to the Queen; but we interpreted her answer and trembling rather differently. Sire, we persisted in our opinion that it would be safer not to place any more trust (in her) now than one otherwise would, because of the information that reached us from time to time, and particularly as we perceived that the foreign heretics and preachers who were to have gone were even stronger, and they talked not of going but of staying. Some of them were saying that the Papists were having their turn but it would not last, and they named the said Elizabeth as one who would remedy the present state. Only twelve days or a fortnight ago, Captain Miotiz (fn. 3) or one of his servants wounded a passer-by twice with his dagger in a certain village near this town, because the man wanted mass to be said at the village. The said Miotiz was imprisoned (fn. 4) for it. He was the first man to receive the Queen's pardon after her accession to the throne, and had followed the late Duke of Northumberland with 400 men against the said Queen.
	After the audience, while a little child was playing the lute in accompaniment to the singing of a young lady of the Court, the Queen told us that the night before the Bishop of Winchester had a hundred men in his house to guard him, being afraid because of a tumult that had occurred at Greenwich, only four miles away, among the peasants, over the celebration of the mass. She said it was greatly feared there might be trouble over the question of religion, and she repeated again that fears were entertained for the day of the coronation, as she would be obliged to pass through the streets of the town on her way to Westminster.
	Besides the heretics, who are ill-intentioned people, the rebels who are being made to compound for their punishments will be easily to be moved to revolt, for two reasons, one that they resent having to compound and losing their offices, the other that they have always been opposed to the Queen, and will be ready to avenge the execution and punishment of the Duke of Northumberland. Both would serve and second the designs of the said Elizabeth; so that the Queen's hold on the throne is still insecure and nothing here can be said to be safe. These considerations prompted us to tell the Queen to make herself as strong as possible (i.e., to levy as many soldiers as possible) because neither her reign nor her person could otherwise be considered safe, assured or confirmed. Let her, above everything, find a good Admiral whom she might trust and who would be loyal to her, so that he might be relied upon if she ever had to call in help from outside and foreign assistance; and especially she must keep three or four sea-ports well under her command. We referred summarily to the fact that the delay in punishing the prisoners might do her harm; and there was a current report that some of her Councillors, her ladies and others took money from the prisoners to bring about their reconciliation with the Queen, and incline her to clemency.
	To return to the conversation we had with the Queen on the evening before. . . (fn. 5) the said audience, we brought up the subject of Courtenay and the eagerness of the Bishop of Winchester for the marriage between him and the Queen. We had wondered and discussed, we said, whether the Bishop of Winchester had not put forward the proposal that Parliament should be held before the coronation so as to bridle the Queen and prevent her marrying a foreigner. It was highly necessary for her in these times to marry some one with credit, authority and power; your Majesty's suggestions that she should marry were made for her good, because you judged it necessary in order that she might keep her throne, and we thought your Majesty would not be likely to put forward a candidate without first ascertaining her own inclination and will, which was your chief consideration, as you desired her above all things to be happy. Your Majesty also desired to know if her Council and the kingdom would accept a foreign match, as you would not wish to be the cause of any trouble or commotion by advising a foreign alliance; moreover, we said that her wish to see and speak to him who should be elected to be her bridegroom, before the marriage was arranged, and that he might be of her own age, might deter your Majesty from proceeding any further in the matter, unless these two points could be discussed and disposed of. We felt confident, we said, that your Majesty would give her your more than paternal advice as to the conduct and prosperity of her affairs, which you cared for as much as if they were your own. She replied that it was true that the Bishop of Winchester had a special affection for the marriage with Courtenay; the five Councillors named in our preceding letters had had the proposal of marriage submitted to her in general terms without mentioning Courtenay's name, though she knew them to be in favour of him. He was beloved of the people, and would be agreeable to them, but she had not yet spoken to him, and had always declared he was too young. He had been brought up in prison; his character would have to be better known, and his capacities. She believed that her marriage would be mentioned to her by the Parliament, but she did not believe they would try to deprive her of her liberty (of choice), nor that her Councillors would dare to speak to her in that strain, though their lives depended upon it. She would follow no other counsellor in this matter, after God, than your Majesty, whom she revered as her good father, and trusted entirely not to give her any but wise and profitable advice. Her desire was that the personage your Majesty would name to her, should be a catholic, honourable, and well-conditioned. She had considered whether it would not be well that your Majesty should write in general terms to the Council on the subject of her marriage, because certain people had been astonished that your Majesty had made no proposals to her so far. We replied we thought it more suitable to delay the matter until after Parliament had been held, so as to give no occasion to the Council to get up a party in opposition by means of the Parliament. In the meantime the difficulties already mentioned could be smoothed away. Nevertheless, we would inform your Majesty so that we might let her know the answer after hearing from you.
	At the same audience the Queen told us she wished to send for the Bishop of Norwich to be present at the Parliament, and send Mr. Mason in his stead to your Majesty. She begged your Majesty not to take his recall in bad part, because the said Bishop would give great help at the Parliament, and she would send him back at once when it was over. We replied that your Majesty would certainly not take it in bad part, and we would write to your Majesty about it.
	The Queen told us also that the office of Admiral had not been filled yet. She had no intention of leaving it in the hands of him (fn. 6) who held it under the late King Edward. She thought that the Deputy-Governor of Calais, (fn. 7) brother of the Duke of Norfolk, would be suited to the post. He had given good proof of his fidelity in keeping Calais. We have been told that the King of France had offered him 100,000 crowns to give Calais up to him.
	We believe the Spanish fleet to have arrived in Holland, as it sailed from Plymouth seven days ago, and the wind has been fair ever since. We have heard that at the same encounter where the Duke of Arscot was taken prisoner, the Prince of Ferrara (fn. 8) and the Great Prior, (fn. 9) brother of M. de Guise, were taken also and ransomed afterwards. St. Leger, who was at Amiens at the time, has assured us of it.
	London, 23 September, 1553.
	French. Mostly cipher; in Simon Reward's handwriting. Signed by the four ambassadors.
	Printed from a transcript at Brussels by Gachard, Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas, Appendix to Vol. IV.
Sept. 23. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E 20.	The Ambassadors in England to the Queen Dowager.
	Madam: In this letter we will not repeat the substance of ours to the Emperor, for we understand that the originals of those letters pass through your hands, though otherwise we would not have failed to send you separate duplicates and accounts of our negotiations. We will only add that we have heard from the Venetian ambassador that the King of France has earned the hatred of the entire Venetian republic for having brought the Turk into the Mediterranean, as Italy has suffered more than any other country from him. The Pope's love for Christendom causes him to be displeased, the Seignory of Venice is disgusted at having been forced to spend over 500,000 crowns to no good purpose in the last two years, the Duke of Florence and the state of Genoa have good reason to detest the King of France, and that unhappy policy, together with the usurpation of the Empire's territory (i.e. Lorraine) must end in the ruin of France and the exposure of all her designs. The ambassador says he hears the Frenchmen themselves talking about their dearth of money; the Switzers, to whom a payment and a half of wages are owing, are grumbling; and the Turkish forces do not get on well with the King of France's, so there is always some friction. He tells us he has had letters from Constantinople, written last June, which say that the Turk was then mating ready to go to Aleppo, and that ambassadors from the Sophy had arrived at Constantinople to treat of peace with the Turk. After further talk about current events, the ambassador said that the legates who were to have been sent to France and his Majesty's Court to persuade the sovereigns to make peace were to have started on the 22nd of August last, but as they had been ordered not to go it must be considered that their journey would be of no avail, and would not contribute to bring about the sort of peace that Christendom so badly needed. He also mentioned that common report had it that on the Emperor's side the great reason for wanting peace was his Majesty's ill-health, inferring that it would be a very serious matter were he to die while war was in progress. (fn. 10) Afterwards he began talking about English affairs, hoping to find out whether any marriage with a foreign prince were being negotiated. We, however, had heard that Courtenay sometimes went to the Venetian embassy, (fn. 11) accompanied by another gentleman, and we gave him sober replies, only quoting the rumours current here to the effect that the bridegroom was to be Courtenay, and none other. We submit this to your Majesty, that you may gather from it what may appear to you most probable.
	Since the above was written we have heard that the Bishop of Winchester has discovered a plot to kill him, that four or six conspirators have been caught, and that the Bishop has set a guard of 100 men in his house. We will seek to get to the bottom of this rumour in order to report the truth to the Emperor. It seems to strengthen our apprehensions that trouble may arise on account of religion.
	The Queen of England has sent a secretary of her Council to ask us to present her respectful commendations to your Majesty, and beg you on her behalf to give leave to Anthony Kempe, now in your service, to repair hither to her coronation and stay here two or three months. May your Majesty be pleased to signify to us what reply we shall give.
	Your Majesty is aware that wild boar is in great demand over here, and as we understand that it would be a very welcome present we are mentioning the matter to you, so that if you think fit you may order some to be killed at Bruges, or nearer if possible, and sent hither for the coronation feast. We remit this point to your Majesty's wisdom and pleasure; but we think it our duty to state that we have heard the Queen is fond of wild boar, and is unable to procure any over here.
	We have informed the Queen of Morison's importunate demands for letters of recommendation at his departure, together with other matters mentioned by your Majesty; and her reply showed that she thoroughly knew that merchant (marchant).
	We hear that Philip Hoby has been committed to the Tower, but not for what reason, and are unable to tell your Majesty what it may be. It is true that we have heard that since his return he has been holding meetings in his house that have given rise to suspicions of the sort we mentioned in our last letters to your Majesty.
	London, 23 September, 1553.
	French. In Renard's hand, and signed by all four ambassadors.
Sept. 25. Simancas, E. 1322.	Francisco de Vargas (fn. 12) to Prince Philip.
	(Extract.)
	I wrote in my last letter to your Highness an account of the recall of the legates by his Holiness, who ordered Cardinal Pole to set off at once and undertake the negotiations about peace on his way (to England). I also related how the Cardinal delayed his departure because a certain servant of his, fresh from England and well informed of the condition of the kingdom, brought him certain written information from Legate Dandino, on his way to his Holiness. After which it appears, from news brought to this Seignory by a special messenger who left (Rome) on the 20th, that his Holiness, after discussing the matter with the Cardinals, decided that Cardinal Pole should proceed on his journey. He is to negotiate first regarding the peace, with his Majesty and the King (of France). The intention is what I wrote to your Highness, and I do not think I am in any way mistaken. . . .
	Venice, 25 September, 1553.
	Spanish. Signed.
Sept. 26. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E. 20.	The Ambassadors in England to the Emperor.
	The King of France's ambassador at the Queen of England's Court has communicated to the Bishop of Winchester a writing, of which we enclose a copy, containing news which the King, his master, has sent him, concerning the condition of his camp and his army on the borders of Hainault, the truce asked for, as he says, by Don Fernando Gonzaga from M. de Brissac (fn. 13); the seizure of the island of Corsica, the weakness of Marquis Albert, (fn. 14) the troubles in Germany, the high deeds of the King's army, which he extols as a victory worthy of being chronicled, and magnifies them so much as to pretend that your Majesty's camp was obliged to withdraw. He describes the solemn ceremonies observed when he (fn. 15) was created Earl of Devonshire, and gives an account of the negotiations of the Bishop of Orleans (Morvillier) and M. de Gyé, which we will not repeat here, as we understand from other sources the aim of the communication to be the perversion of truth, in the belief that those who receive it may be blinded in their judgment. The breaking up of the French camp without performing any exploit or causing notable damage, may well count as a victory to your Majesty, and proves his (the King of France's) weakness and need. He has not been able to keep up the camp three months without running short of pay-money. He represents the taking by surprise of the island of Corsica (fn. 16) by the Turks as a piece of good fortune for himself, in order that his name may be magnified and extolled, and that he may add something to his escutcheon, which cannot, however, be interpreted to his praise. It is certain that he has shared the spoils in a manner little befitting his title of Most Christian King, having kept the land and given up Christian souls to the Turk. We leave the rest to your Majesty's just surmises of his intentions.
	We wrote in our last letters to the Queen (Dowager) how we had been informed that Hoby had been taken prisoner. We have since discovered the information to be untrue, and that he was at a certain house of his near Windsor.
	The coronation will take place on Sunday next. The Queen is to leave St. James's to-morrow for the Tower, whence she will go to Westminster on Saturday. We have no matter for a longer communication.
	London, 26 September, 1553.
	French. In Simon Reward's handwriting. Signed by the four ambassadors.
Sept. 29. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E.1.	Mary to the Emperor.
	We have written to the reverend father in God, our very faithful Councillor the Bishop of Norwich, our ambassador resident at your Court, so that he may, after having asked your leave, repair hither and learn from us the occasion of our desiring to employ him for a brief space of time about our person, and the reason that moves us to recall him. We now beg you to grant him good and favourable leave to depart. We would not wish that the good and perfect friendship and sincere intelligence between us should fail to be kept up by every means, nor that any good offices tending to the continuance of the firm alliance between us twain should be imperfectly fulfilled during his absence. We have therefore determined to send to your Court our very dear and faithful Councillor, Master Mason, Knight, Councillor of our Privy Council, to permit the said Bishop's absence during a certain time, and fill the post of our ambassador in ordinary resident at your Court. We have chosen him for the office, knowing him to be devoted to you and the good of your affairs, and to the continuance of our amity and alliance. We beg you, most high, most excellent and most puissant prince, our very dear and beloved good brother and cousin, to receive him as such, and give him credence in all things he may say to you on our behalf, as you would to ourself. Grant him ready access to your person whenever he may have occasion to demand an audience from you, and hear him favourably and with benignity as the alliance and friendship between us demand. We will not extend ourself further.
	London, 29 September, 1553.
	French. Signed original.
Sept. 30. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E. 20.	The Ambassadors in England to the Emperor.
	Sire: This day, on which this letter is dated, the Queen of England was led from the Tower of London to Westminster with the wonted ceremonies, in an adorned open litter, with the small crown on her head. She was followed by two coaches in one of which rode the Lady Elizabeth and (Anne) of Cleves, and several ladies of the Court in the other. Before her went your Majesty's ambassadors, the French King's, the Venetian and Stillyard (i.e. of the Hanse towns) ambassadors, the earls, lords, gentlemen and officers of the realm. The streets were hung with tapestry, decorated with triumphal arches, the crowd was countless, and the procession a memorable and solemn one, undisturbed by any noise or tumult and to every one's liking. To-morrow the coronation ceremony takes place, and we believe it will go off without any trouble or danger.
	Two days before she left the Tower, the Queen summoned all the members of her Council and, sinking on her knees before them, spoke at length of her coming to the throne, the duties of kings and queens, her intention to acquit herself of the task God had been pleased to lay upon her to His greater glory and service, to the public good and all her subjects' benefit. She had entrusted her affairs and person, she said, to them, and wished to adjure them to do their duty as they were bound by their oaths; and she especially appealed to her Lord High Chancellor, reminding him that he had the right administration of justice on his conscience. Her councillors were so deeply moved that not a single one refrained from tears. No one knew how to answer, amazed as they all were by this humble and lowly discourse, so unlike anything ever heard before in England, and by the Queen's great goodness and integrity. We have no doubt, Sire, that some of them put it down to timidity and fear; but however that may be, it has certainly softened several hearts and turned them away from thoughts of an evil and suspicious nature. We would have waited for the accomplishment of the coronation ceremony to give your Majesty these news had it not been that the Queen sent to ask us to use the greatest despatch in finding out whether it would be possible to obtain (in the Low Countries) a copy of the sentence pronounced by the consistory at Rome in favour of the marriage of the late King, Henry VIII, and the Lady Catherine of good memory, and against the divorce pronounced by an Act of the English Parliament. Her Majesty hopes a copy may be found among your Majesty's secretaries' papers, or that M. Chapuis (fn. 17) or some one else may have one, for it will be needed at the next session of Parliament, and Rome is too far away for there to be time to send thither for one. In this next session it is intended to repeal the divorce, and to pronounce that the said Lady Catherine was duly, canonically and lawfully married, thus annulling the former Act of Parliament and consequently declaring Elizabeth to be a bastard, as having been born while her father was married to the Lady Catherine. This appears to be a necessary measure, for otherwise the accusation of bastardy which has been brought against the Queen would always be coming up for discussion and would not be effaced from the people's minds; for the marriage between King Henry and Anne Boleyn, if one may call it a marriage, was contracted during the lifetime of the Lady Catherine, before whose death Elizabeth was born. The copy of the sentence referred to would be of great value because in it the Pope confirms the dispensation given by the consistory for the marriage of the Lady Catherine, who had before married King Henry's brother, Arthur. The Queen has urged us to cause search to be made by your Majesty's secretaries, so that the copy, if found, may be sent hither as soon as possible.
	The Queen has made twenty new knights, called Knights of the Bath. They do not wear the Garter, and are of an order the members of which are made as a rule at coronation time by being kissed on the shoulder and on the cheek. The Earl of Arundel, whom the Queen has appointed her Great Master of the Household, represented her at this ceremony; and among the new knights are Courtenay and the Controller. (fn. 18) This order is inferior to the Garter.
	It is said here that both your Majesty and the King of France have broken up your camps.
	News have been received here that the French are preparing to execute a plan conceived some time ago for making an attack on Ireland to seize two. places that might be converted into two roomy harbours, able to hold one thousand ships and more. With these ports in their hands the French might harm England, aid Scotland, and prevent, or at least render difficult, your Majesty's subjects' fisheries, commerce and carrying trade. It seems that the Wild Irish are even more turbulent and excited than usual, which gives ground for suspicion that intrigues are being carried on like those promoted by Monluc at the time of of the last war between England and France.
	We have conferred with the Council about the island of Sark as your Majesty instructed us in your last letters. They have not yet given us an answer, though we understand from some of them that the island would be acceptable, and is of the Queen's patrimony. They fear, however, that if they receive it at your Majesty's hands the French may be irritated, and that if the forts are demolished the French may build them up again. These considerations cause them to hesitate before coming to a decision, which we shall communicate to your Majesty as soon as it is made known to us.
	Adrian Crole is in this place awaiting your Majesty's orders. He tells us that the French have sent word to him that they will retake Sark though it cost the lives of 4,000 men. He also says that if it is decided to keep the island it will be necessary to garrison it with better troops than the seamen and sailors there now, who are too disorderly and dissatisfied with the rations provided for them. There is no proper place to store the beer that is sent there, so it is all drunk up at once. He informs us that the inhabitants of Guernsey have written to Mewtas, who is a prisoner, to recommend the island of Sark to the Council, and induce them not to let it fall into the Frenchman's hands again.
	London, 30 September, 1553.
	French. In Renard's hand, and signed by all four ambassadors.