moted to the

Wolfey, who directed the helm of government with A. C. 1514. the most abfolute authority. By this pacification Wolfey proHenry extricated himself from an expenfive war: archbishopand now his kingdom enjoyed profound tranquility: ric of York. for, James IV. of Scotland, who was killed at Flodden, had left two infant fons, under the tui-. tion of his queen, whom he had likewife in his laft will appointed regent of the kingdom during her widowhood. She forthwith wrote to her brother Henry, defiring he would not moleft the kingdom in the minority of his nephew James V. and he generously affured her, that he was equally difpofed for peace or war, and left the choice of either to the Scottish miniftry. This queen, however, did not long preserve her authority; for, giving her hand to Archibald Douglass earl of Angus, the faction which opposed that nobleman, headed by the earl of Hume, influenced the ftates to offer the regency to John duke of Albany, fon of Alexander duke of Albany, brother to James III. who had died in France, leaving his title to this fon, a young nobleman of reputation, and attached to the intereft of Lewis, from whom he had received repeat- Buchanan. ed marks of favour.

A. C. 1515.

of France.

The first day of the fucceeding year was rendered remarkable by the death of the French king, Francis 1. Lewis XII. after he had been between three and fucceeds to four months in poffeffion of his young confort. the crown He was fucceeded by the duke de Valois, under the name of Francis I. a young prince of an enterprifing genius, who affumed the title of the duke of Milan; thereby demonftrating that he intended to. profecute the defign of his predeceffor, in recovering that dutchy. The young dowager Mary finding herself at liberty, by the death of her husband, to bestow her hand upon the person who had already captivated her heart, married Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, in the third month of her widowhood,

2

A. C. 1515. dowhood, without the knowledge of her brother Henry, who at firit expreffed great indignation a

gainft the duke and her; but was foon reconciled Ld.Herbert, to both, and re-admitted them into his favour. By that time they returned to England, the parliament was affembled; and among other regulations of a domeftic nature, enacted three remarkable ftatutes. The firft contained a prohibition to export unmanufactured wool from the kingdom; the fecond annulled all patents lately obtained, which contradicted the purport of anterior patents, not exprefly mentioned in the latter; and the third ordained, that no member of parliament fhould abfent himself before the end of the feffion, without exprefs leave, on pain of forfeiting his wages. These affairs being tranfacted, Francis I. being refolved to march into Italy for the recovery of Milan, thought it abfolutely neceffary to fecure the friendfhip of England, and fent an ambaffador to London to renew the alliance with Henry, together with the obligation for paying the million which had been ftipulated with Lewis. This negotiation met with no difficulty, and a new treaty was immediately concluded. Henry thought proper at the fame time to fend ambaffadors to Bruffels, to excufe his conduct to the archduke, in the affair of his fifter's marriage, and to propose a new alliance; but they were received with great indifference, and a confiderable time elapsed before they received an anfwer.

Francis I.

conquers

of Milan.

Mean while Francis began to make great preparations for his Italian expedition; and Ferdinand, the dutchy being apprehenfive that his real defign was upon Navarre, engaged in a league with the emperor, the duke of Milan, and the Swifs, for obftructing his progress, whether he should attack that kingdom, or penetrate into Italy. The pope himfelfacceded privately to this treaty; and fent an army

into Lombardy, under the command of Laurence A. C. 1515.
de Medicis. The king of Arragon raifed forces
for the defence of Navarre, and the Swifs fent
troops to take poffeffion of the paffes into Italy;
but Ferdinand no fooner understood the real defign
of France, than he difbanded his army which he
had raised for the protection of Navarre, and for-
bad the viceroy of Naples, who commanded his
forces in Italy, to join the allies. The emperor
continued inactive at Infpruck, according to cuf-
tom, and Leo made no motion towards affisting the
Swifs, who were left to bear the whole burden of
the war. Francis, having found means to pass the
mountains by a way which was thought impracti-
cable, the Swiss retired to Milan; and he, approach-
ing the fame city, offered them a great fum of mo-
ney, if they would return to their own country.
The negotiation was already pretty far advanced,
when they received a reinforcement of fifteen thou-
fand men, and not only rejected his propofal, but
refolved to give him battle without delay. Ac-
cordingly they attacked him at Marignan, and
were defeated with great flaughter: then they re-
tired to Swifferland, and their ally, Maximilian
Sforza, being obliged to furrender himself, with
the citadel of Milan, to the victor, was fent prifon-
er to France. The pope, feeing Francis triumph
over all his machinations, refolved to make his
peace with that monarch; and an accommodation
was immediately effected on fuch advantageous
terms as his holiness had no reafon to expect from Guicciardi
a prince whom he had fo grievously injured.

By this time Henry king of England began to alter in his difpofition towards Francis. He became jealous and envious of that monarch's greatness and glory; he was inftigated against him by Wolfey, who wanted to gratify his animofity against the French king, for having done him ill offices with

the

ni.

1

A. C. 1515. the pope, concerning the bishopric of Tournay, of which the English minifter was administrator. Wolfey had defired Francis to bestow another diocefe upon Lewis Guillard, bifhop of that see, and the French king had promised to gratify him in that particular; but, inftead of complying with his request, he follicited the pope to re-establish Guil. Ld. Herbert. lard, who obtained a bull for that purpose. This mandate gave great umbrage both to Henry and his favourite, who thus loft an advantageous adminiftration; but Francis, in order to pacify Wolfey, promised to employ his intereft towards his obtaining a cardinal's hat, which was the chief object of his ambition. He had hoped to fucceed Bambridge both as cardinal and archbishop of York; and employed as his follicitor, at the court of Rome, car dinal Adrian de Cornetto, the pope's collator in England, whose deputy in this office was Polydore Virgil the hiftorian. The cardinal, however, had not acted with fincerity in this negotiation; and Wolfey, receiving intelligence that he had betrayed his caufe, was fo irritated against him, that he not only seized the first pretext that occurred to fend Virgil prisoner to the Tower, but also influenced the king to write a letter with his own hand to the pope, defiring he would appoint a collator Wolfey ob- in the room of Adrian. His holinefs did not think tina car proper to refuse his requeft; but he and the cardinal, He detaches Julio de Medicis, follicited in their turn the enlargefrom the in- ment of Polydore Virgil; who, nevertheless, was

the king

tereft of. Francis.

not discharged from his confinement until Wolfey
had obtained the cardinal's hat by the good offices
of the French monarch.

Notwithstanding the joy with which he received
the news of his promotion, he would not forgive
the author of his elevation for the injury he sustain-
ed at his hands in the affair of Tournay; but refolv-
ed to engage Henry in a new league against France.

1

He

His three predominant paffions were pride, intereft, A. C. 1515.
and revenge; and these three he refolved to gratify
on this occafion. He wanted to fhew that even
fovereigns fhould not offend him with impunity.
He confulted his revenge in diftreffing Francis;
and his intereft in preferving the adminiftration
of the bishopric of Tournay, which he had no
prospect of retaining any other way than by a rup-
ture between France and England.
The king
was wholly guided by his counfels, without per-
ceiving his afcendency. Richard Fox, bishop of
Winchester, his benefactor, together with the dukes
of Norfolk and Suffolk, received fuch mortifications
from this imperious prelate, as obliged them to re-
tire from court, that they might be no longer ex-
posed to his infolence; and the reft of the privy
council was chiefly compofed of his creatures.
now fomented the king's paffions against Francis,
by exaggerating the greatnefs and glory of that
monarch, and infinuating that it was the intereft of
England to humble his pride, and hinder him from
growing more powerful. When he had thus prepared
the king's difpofition, he gave the emperor to un-
derstand that it would not be impoffible to detach
his master from the intereft of Francis; and, in the
mean time, he prevailed upon Henry to renew the
alliance between Spain and England, notwithstand- Ld.Herbert.
ing the repeated perfidy of Ferdinand. Maximilian.
overjoyed at these advances, fent a Milanese ambaf-
fador to London, to demand fuccours for Francis
Sforza, who refided in Germany, and had affumed
the title of duke of Milan fince the captivity of his
elder brother. Henry, on this occafion, convoked
a general council, to which the bishop of Winchef-
ter, and the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, were
particularly fummoned. The cardinal opened the
affembly with a studied fpeech against Francis, en-
deavouring to demonftrate that it was the interest

of

Act. Pub.