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THE DIVORCE OF CATHERINE OF ARAGON




  THE DIVORCE
  OF
  CATHERINE OF ARAGON


  THE STORY AS TOLD BY THE IMPERIAL AMBASSADORS
  RESIDENT AT THE COURT OF
  HENRY VIII.


  _IN USUM LAICORUM_


  BY
  J. A. FROUDE


  _BEING A SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO THE
  AUTHOR'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND_


  NEW YORK
  CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
  1891

  [_All rights reserved_]



  Copyright, 1891,
  BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.


  _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
  Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.




CONTENTS


                                                                      PAGE

  INTRODUCTION                                                           1


  CHAPTER I.

  Prospects of a disputed succession to the crown--Various
  claimants--Catherine incapable of having further children--
  Irregularity of her marriage with the King--Papal dispensations--
  First mention of the divorce--Situation of the Papacy--Charles
  V.--Policy of Wolsey--Anglo-French alliance--Imperial troops in
  Italy--Appeal of the Pope--Mission of Inigo de Mendoza--The
  Bishop of Tarbes--Legitimacy of the Princess Mary called in
  question--Secret meeting of the Legates' court--Alarms of
  Catherine--Sack of Rome by the Duke of Bourbon--Proposed reform
  of the Papacy--The divorce promoted by Wolsey--Unpopular in
  England---Attempts of the Emperor to gain Wolsey                      21


  CHAPTER II.

  Mission of Wolsey to Paris--Visits Bishop Fisher on the way--
  Anxieties of the Emperor--Letter of the Emperor to Henry VIII.--
  Large offers to Wolsey--Address of the French Cardinals to the
  Pope--Anne Boleyn chosen by Henry to succeed Catherine--Surprise
  and displeasure of Wolsey--Fresh attempts of the Emperor to bribe
  him--Wolsey forced to continue to advocate the divorce--Mission
  of Dr. Knight to Rome--The Pope at Orvieto--The King applies for
  a dispensation to make a second marriage--Language of the
  dispensation demanded--Inferences drawn from it--Alleged intrigue
  between the King and Mary Boleyn                                      41


  CHAPTER III.

  Anxiety of the Pope to satisfy the King--Fears of the Emperor--
  Proposed alternatives--France and England declare war in the
  Pope's defence--Campeggio to be sent to England--The King's
  account of the Pope's conduct--The Pope's distress and alarm--The
  secret decretal--Instructions to Campeggio                            62


  CHAPTER IV.

  Anne Boleyn--Letters to her from the King--The Convent at
  Wilton--The Divorce--The Pope's promises--Arrival of Campeggio
  in England--Reception at the Bridewell Palace--Proposal to
  Catherine to take the veil--Her refusal--Uncertainty of the
  succession--A singular expedient--Alarms of Wolsey--The true
  issue--Speech of the King in the City--Threats of the Emperor--
  Defects in the Bull of Pope Julius--Alleged discovery of a brief
  supplying them--Distress of Clement                                   70


  CHAPTER V.

  Demands of the Imperial Agent at Rome--The alleged Brief--Illness
  of the Pope--Aspirations of Wolsey--The Pope recovers--Imperial
  menaces--Clement between the anvil and the hammer--Appeal of
  Henry to Francis--The trial of the cause to proceed--Instructions
  to Campeggio--Opinion at Rome--Recall of Mendoza--Final interview
  between Mendoza and the King                                          86


  CHAPTER VI.

  The Court at Blackfriars--The point at issue--The Pope's
  competency as judge--Catherine appeals to Rome--Imperial pressure
  upon Clement--The Emperor insists on the Pope's admission of the
  appeal--Henry demands sentence--Interference of Bishop Fisher--
  The Legates refuse to give judgment--The Court broken up--Peace
  of Cambray                                                            99


  CHAPTER VII.

  Call of Parliament--Wolsey to be called to account--Anxiety of
  the Emperor to prevent a quarrel--Mission of Eustace Chapuys--
  Long interview with the King--Alarm of Catherine--Growth of
  Lutheranism--The English clergy--Lord Darcy's Articles against
  Wolsey--Wolsey's fall--Departure of Campeggio--Letter of