The final comparative that is essential to consider is between and Le Historye A comparison between Wolsey and his onetime secretary Cromwell / Erle of Essex. Thomas Cromwell is almost inevitable, particularly as Cavendish would not only have known Cromwell personally, but would have worked with him for several years when Cromwell was lawyer and, later, secretary: both these men were plucked from Wolsey’s obscurity and common birth by Henry to become the first ministers of the realm. Both men possessed an extraordinary talent for identifying the desires and folding the king’s accomplishment of those desires into the mechanisms of bureaucracy. The obvious differences between Cromwell and Wolsey (one a Reformist layman and the other a Roman prelate) are, by this view, rendered moot: the two similarity in handling men’s the capricious Henry was rewarded in an identical manner. Cavendish draws out these common features in the recitation of early in the poem. As in Cromwell’s advancements in Cavendish emphasizes the rapidity of the promotions Le Historye, Cromwell subject’s and explains to the reader how these offices contributed to bureaucratic Cromwell’s centrality: I Rayned and Ruled / in highe estymacion Ffrome office to office / assendyng the degrees Ffirst in the prevye councell was my foundacion And cheafe secretory / with all vauntages and ffees ... The title of vicegerent / I had in my stile. Gouernor of the prelacye / and of the lawes devyne. Also master of the Rolles / I was in short while Thus began my glory / to floryshe and to shyne / As thoughe ffortune wold / hyr whele to me resigne Vnto thestate of Baron / she did me than auaunce And next to an Earle / thus was ffortunes chaunce The rapid recitation of promotions mirrors the early structure of Le Historye Cromwell’s and sets up clear parallels to that poem (and indeed, the organizing principle de casibus of all the poems in the collection). However, it is two stanzas later that Cromwell makes a surprising comparison: To Aman the Agagite / I may be compared
The final comparative that is essential to consider is between Le Historye and Cromwell / Erle of Essex. A comparison between Wolsey and his onetime secretary Thomas Cromwell is almost inevitable, particularly as Cavendish would not only have known Cromwell personally, but would have worked with him for several years when Cromwell was Wolsey’s lawyer and, later, secretary: both these men were plucked from obscurity and common birth by Henry to become the first ministers of the realm. Both men possessed an extraordinary talent for identifying the king’s desires and folding the accomplishment of those desires into the mechanisms of bureaucracy. The obvious differences between Cromwell and Wolsey (one a Reformist layman and the other a Roman prelate) are, by this view, rendered moot: the two men’s similarity in handling the capricious Henry was rewarded in an identical manner. Cavendish draws out these common features in the recitation of Cromwell’s advancements early in the poem. As in Le Historye, in Cromwell Cavendish emphasizes the rapidity of the subject’s promotions and explains to the reader how these offices contributed to Cromwell’s bureaucratic centrality: I Rayned and Ruled / in highe estymacion Ffrome office to office / assendyng the degrees Ffirst in the prevye councell was my foundacion And cheafe secretory / with all vauntages and ffees ... The title of vicegerent / I had in my stile. Gouernor of the prelacye / and of the lawes devyne. Also master of the Rolles / I was in short while Thus began my glory / to floryshe and to shyne / As thoughe ffortune wold / hyr whele to me resigne Vnto thestate of Baron / she did me than auaunce And next to an Earle / thus was ffortunes chaunce The rapid recitation of Cromwell’s promotions mirrors the early structure of Le Historye and sets up clear parallels to that poem (and indeed, the de casibus organizing principle of all the poems in the collection). However, it is two stanzas later that Cromwell makes a surprising comparison: To Aman the Agagite / I may be compared
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