of Christendom. In the mean time, Francis Ma. A. C. 1517. ria de la Rovera; by the help of the Spanish forces, Ld, Herbert. tecovered the dutchy of Urbino, of which he had been stripped in favour of Laurence de Medicis, the pope's nephew; and to the maintenance of this war was converted part of the tythe which he levied on the English clergy; by the hands of cardinal Wolsey. About this period a conspiracy was formed against the life of his holiness, by the cardinal of Sienna, who, being detected in his design, was decoyed to Rome by a safe conduct, and Itrangled in the castle of St. Angelo. Francis I. being afraid of lofing Milan by the intrigues of the pope, courted his friendship not only by supplying him with troops for the war of Urbino, but likewife, by offering Catherine heiress of the house of Boulogne, in marriage to Laurence of Medicis, tho espoused her accordingly ; and the pope was so well pleased with the match, that he indulged Francis with a tenth upon his clergy, on pretence of maintaining the war against the infidels. The same pretext he used for selling plenary indulgences at a very moderate price, to all who would purchase their falvation. Christendom was divided into different departments, in which collectors were appointed to receive the inoney, together with certain priests instructed to preach up the utility of the indulgences. The archbishop of Mentz, who nominated the preachers in Germany, assigned the province of Saxony to the Jacobins, whereas in the preceding crusades, that employment had been always bestowed upon the Augustines. These last were fo incensed at this supposed injury, that they industriously fifted the conduct of the preachers as well as the collectors, which they exposed," ridicüled, and censured in public. Martin Luther, an Augustine monk, and professor of theology in the new university of Wirtemberg; wrote against those CC 2 388 ance of Martin Luther. HISTORY 01 ENGLAND. A.C. 1517. those agents; and in his writings inserted some fee Firft appear- vere animadversions against the nature of the indul gences. By these bold attacks he incurred the resentment of a great number of ecclefiaftics, and their opposition infengbly engaged him in a careful examination of the authority on which indulgences Sleidan, were founded. He was soon satisfied of their being altogether unsupported by scripture; and from that day laboured to disabuse che public with respect to their opinion of the papal power : though he is faid to have been animated by the dictates of pri-, vate resentment, in forwarding the reformation, which foon diffused itself over great part of Germany; and afterwards extended into other countries. The pope payed very little regard at first to Luther's efforts, thinking it imposible, that a simple monk could ever affect the power and au. thority of the sovereign pontiff; he therefore continued to sell his indulgences, and to exhort all good christians to contribute towards the fuccefs of such a necessary way. Among others he applied to the king of England, whom he extolled with the most extravagant encomiums, for his zeal in behalf of holy church, and then demanded a subsidy of two hundred thousand ducats, though he did not succeed in his negotiation. Henry's imagination was much more engaged by the proposal of Maximilian, who had promised to Herbert. resign the empire in his favour. Though he at first seemed to decline this honour, it made an imHenry hankets after pression upon his mind; and now that the emperor the imperial was in the Low Countries on a visit to his granddignity, fon, he sent the bishop of Winchester, and doctor Cuthbert Tonstal, to treat with him on the subject, and propose an interview. Maximilian told them, he would spare their king the trouble of crofing the sea, by going in person to England; but when they talked to him on the other subject, he answered with equivocation, and sought to evade his pro. A. C. 1517. mise, on various pretences; alledging, that he must first obtain the consent of the diet, that he himself might retain the title of kiog of the Romans, and render it hereditary in his family : at other times, he said his intention was to procure the imperial crown to his grandson Charles, to create Henry king of the Romans, and to erect Austria into a kingdom for Ferdinand the brother of Charles. From these vague declarations, the ambassadors concluded, that he had no intention to part with the imperial crown; and that his original proposal was no more than a scheme of adulation to extort money from the king of England. Henry had very little reason to be chagrined at his being disappointed in the hope of such a troublesome dignity. He ruled over a wealthy nation, which entirely acquiesced in his government; and the tranquillity of his people was uninterrupted, except by petty commotions, which were easily quelled. One of these happened at this juncture, in the city Riot in of- London, where the apprentices. raised a riot London, against foreigners, some of whom were robbed and murdered. The earls of Salisbury and Surrey afsembling the inns of court men, cleared the streets of the populace; and in about three days after the riot, the duke of Norfolk entering the city at the head of thirteen hundred armed men, joined the mayor, and proceeded legally against the offenders. John Lincoln, a broker, and three other ringleaders, were hanged, drawn, and quartered. Ten were hung on gibbets in the streets; the recorder and aldermen went in mourning to court, and deprecated the wrath of the king, who referred the affair to the cognizance of the cardinal, who was chancellor of the realm. In consequence of his award, all the prisoners in white shirts, with halters about their necks, appeared before the king at Weminster, Сс 3 Views of the different A. C. 1517. Westminster, and craving mercy, were pardoned. nity, that a great number of people died in three Though there was not one prince in Europe that powers in thought the pope was really in earnest in his proEurope. ject for a general league against the Infidels, or even believed such a scheme practicable, almoft every chan than which, nothing was farther from the thoughts A. C.1542. of the contracting parties. The king of France foreseeing that he should never be able to retrieve Tournay, without gaining over to his interest cardinal Wolfey, who was administrator of that bishopric, spared neither flattery, promises, nor presents, to render that prelate propitious to his views ; and at length, he prevailed upon him to agree to the restitution, on condition that the cardinal should be indemnified for the loss of the administration, by a yearly pension : that the French king should pay fix hundred thousand crowns to Henry for the city of Tournay: and, that a match should be effected between the dauphin and the princess Mary, daughter to the king of England. This private convention being settled, Wolsey all of a sudden, changing his usual strain, represented to the king, that the expence of the garrison of Tournay greatly surpaffed all the advantages he could derive from the poffeffion of a place which was at such a distance frnm Calais ; that it could not be maintained in case of a rupture between the two crowns : he therefore advised him to fill his coffers with the money which . was offered by Francis ; and embrace the propofal of the match, which would consolidace their friendship, render them the arbiters of Europe, and form a seasonable bulwark against the growing power of the house of Austria, already in poffeffion of the empire, Spain, the Low Countries, and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Henry plainly Herberto perceived Wolsey's motives for changing the tenor of his discourse in this manner; and publicly declared, that he saw Wolsey was resolved to govern both himself and the king of France. Indeed, the cardinal had made a merit of disclosing to the king the advances which the French monarch had made to him in private, observing, that the prince Сс 4 must |