Whole Works, Tracts 1 · Tract 5 · Body of tract · Part 17
How the Emperour came thorow England.
AFter that the Emperour would The Emperor came thorough England.into Spaine, & came through England, where he was receaued wt great honour and with all that partaineth to louelove and amitie. The kings grace lent him mony, and promiſed him more: & the Emperour ſhould tary a certayne yeres and mary our princeſſe: not that the Cardinal entended that, thou maiſt be ſure, for it was not profitable for their kingdome: but his minde was to daly with the Emperour, and to keepe him without a wife that (inſomuch as he was yong and luſty) he might hauehave bene nozeled & entangled with hores, (which is their nurturing of kinges) & Nurturing of kinges.made ſo effeminate and beaſtly, that he ſhould neuer hauehave bene able to lift vp hys hart to any goodneſſe or vertue: that Cardinals and Biſhoppes might hauehave adminiſtred hys dominions in the meane time, vntounto our holy fathers profite.
The king of Fraunce hearing the fauour Pract…e.that was ſhewed vntounto the Emperour, ſent imediatly a defiaunce vntounto our king, not without our Cardinals and Biſhops counſell thou mayſt well The french king ſendeth a defiance to K. Henry vi….wite. For frenchmen are not ſo foliſh to hauehave done it ſo vnaduiſedly and ſo raſhly, ſeing they had to many in their toppes already. Then our king ſpake many great woordes, that he would driue the frenchking out of his realme, or els the frenchking ſhould driue him out of his. But had he added as the legate Pandulph taught king Iohn, with the Popes licence, his words had ſoū ded much better. For there can no vow ſtand in effecte, except the holy father confirmed it.
We ſent out our ſouldiers two ſummers Armies ſée into ſtance.agaynſt the Frenchmen, vntounto whoſe cheef Captaynes the Cardinall had appointed how far they ſhould go and what they ſhould do: and therfore the French king was nothing afrayd, but brought all his power againſt the Emperour in other places: & ſo was the Emperor euer betrayed. And thus the Cardinall was the Emperours The Cardinal was the Emperours frēd openly, and the french kinges ſecreatly.frend openly, and the french kinges ſecreatly. For at the meeting with the french king beſide Cales he vtterly betrayed the Emperour, yet for no louelove that he had to Fraunce, but to helpe the Pope, and to hauehave bene Pope happly, & to ſaue their kingdome. Which treaſon though all the world ſmelled it, yet it brake not out openly to the eye, tyll the ſeege of Pauia. And the Cardinall The ſege of Pauie.lent the Emperour much mony openly, and gaue the French king more ſecretly. He played with both handes to ſerue their ſecreat that all men know not, as y• Biſhop of Durham ſayd. But whatſoeuer the frenchmē did, they had euer the worſe notwithſtanding the ſecreat working of our holy prelates on their ſide.
Finally vntounto the ſege of Pauie, came the French king perſonally with lx. Pauie.thouſand men of warre, of which xij. thouſand were horſemen, & with mony enough. And the Emperours hoſt was vnderunder xx. thouſād, of which were but iij. thouſand horſmen, with no mony at all. For he truſted vntounto the pope for ayde of men, and vntounto our Cardinall for mony. But the pope kept back A falſe pope and leud Cardinall.his men till the Frenchmen had geuen them a feeld: and our Cardinall kept back his mony for the ſame purpoſe. And thus was the ſely Emperour betrayed, as all his predeceſſoures hauehave bene this viij. hundred yeares. Howbeit there be that ſay, that the Emperours ſouldiers ſo threatened Pace the kinges graces Embaſſadour, that he was fayne to make che…iſaunce wyth Pace, the …. of Englands Ambaſſadour.marchauntes for mony in the kinges name, to pay the ſouldiers withall. Wherefore the Cardinall tooke from him all his promotions, & played tormentours wyth him, when he came home, becauſe he preſumed to do one iote more then was in his cōmiſſion. But howſoeuer it was, the Emperors men in tarying for helpe had ſpent out all their vitayles. Wherupon Burbon Burbon.the chiefe captaine of the Emperour, ſayd vntounto his vnderunder captaines: ye ſee, helpe commeth not, and yt our vitayles are ſpent: wherfore there is no remedy but to fight, though we be vnequallie matched. If we winne we ſhall finde meat enough: if we loſe we ſhall loſe no more then we muſt loſe with hunger though we fight not. And ſo they concluded to ſet vponupon the Frenchmen by night. The king of Fraunce, and his lordes ſuppoſing that the Mone wold ſooner hauehave fallen out of the ſkie, then that the Emperours hoſte durſt hauehave fought with them, were ſomwhat negligent, The Emperour ſetteth vponupon y• french king by night.& went the ſame night a mumming that Burbon ſet vponupon them. The Emperours hoſt therefore with their ſodaine comming vponupon them, amaſed the frenchmen, and draue them vppon heaps together one on another, ſo that they neuer could come in aray agayne, and tooke the king, and diuers of hys lordes, and ſlew many, and wanne the field. And there came out all the Cardinals preuy treaſon: for in the French Kinges tent (ſay men) were letters found, & beſide that in the french kings treaſure, and in all the hoſt among the ſouldiers were engliſh ſhippes found Theſe ſhippes were engliſh Angels of goldinnumerable, which had come ſayling a thouſand miles by land. But what wonder? ſhips be made to ſaile ouer y• ſea, & wings to flye into far countries, and to mount to the top of hye hilles.
When the French king was taken, we ſang, Te Deum. But for all that ſinging At the taking of the french king Te Deum, was ſong, and great triumph made in England.we made peace with frenchmen. And the Pope, the Ʋenetians, Fraūce and England were knit together, leaſt the Emperours army ſhould do any hurt in Fraunce. Wherby ye may coniecture of what minde the Pope & the Cardinall were toward the Emperor and with what hart our ſpiritualtie with their inuiſible ſecretes, ſang, Te Deum. And from that time hetherto, the Emperour & our Cardinall hauehave bene twaine.
After that when the king of Fraūce was deliuered home agayne, and hys ſonnes lefte in pledge, manye wayes were ſought to bring home the ſonnes alſo: but in vayne except the Frenchking would make good that which he had promiſed the Emperour. For the bringing home of thoſe children no mā more buſied his wits then the Cardinal. He would in any wiſe the Emperour ſhould hauehave ſent them home, & it had bene but for our kings pleaſure for y• great kindnes that he ſhewed him in times paſt. He would hauehave maried the Subtile practiſes of the Cardinall.kings daughter our princeſſe vntounto the Dolphin againe, or as y• voice went among many, vntounto the ſecōd brother, & he ſhoulde hauehave bene Prince in England, & king in time to come: ſo that he ſought all wayes to pluck vsus from the Emperor, & to ioine vsus vntounto Fraunce to make Fraunce ſtrong enough to match the Emperour, & to keepe him downe, that the Pope might raigne a god alone, and do what pleaſeth him, without controlling of any ouerſear. And for the ſame purpoſe he left nothing vnprouided to bring the marte The marte ſhold hauehave bene at Cales.from Antwarpe to Cales.
But at that time, the Pope taking part with the French king had warre with the Emperour: and at the laſt the Pope was taken, which when the Cardinall heard, he wrote vntounto the Emperour that he ſhould make hym pope. And when he had gotten an aū ſwere that pleaſed him not, but according vntounto his deſeruinges toward the Emperour, then he waxed furious mad, & ſought all meanes to diſpleaſe the Emperour, and imagined the diuorcement betwene the King and the Queene, and wrote ſharpely vntounto the Emperor with manacing letters, that if he woulde not make him Pope, he woulde make ſuch ruffling betweene A ruffelar.Chriſten princes as was not this him dred yeare, to make the Emperour repent: yea, though it ſhould coſte the whole realme of England.
The Lord Ieſus be our ſhield, what a fierce wrath of God is this vponupon vsus, The pride and arrogancie of Cardinall Wolſey.that a miſſhapen monſter ſhoulde ſpring out of a dunghill into ſuch an height, that the dread of God and man layd a part, he ſhould be ſo malepart, not onelyonly to defye vtterly the maieſtie of ſo mighty an Emperour, whoſe authoritie both Chriſt, and all his Apoſtles obeyed, and taught all other to obey, threatening damnation to them that would not: But ſhould alſo ſet ſo little by the whole realme of England which hath beſtowed ſo great coſt, and ſhed ſo much bloud to exalt and maintaine ſuch proud, churliſh, & vnthankfull hypocrites, that he ſhould not care to deſtroy it vtterly, for the ſatiſfying of his vilanous luſtes.