of Christendom. In the mean time, Francis Ma- AC. 1517. ria de la Rovera, by the help of the Spanish forces, Ld. Herbert. recovered 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 cardihal Wolfey. About this period a confpiracy was formed against the life of his holiness, by the cardinal of Sienna, who, being detected in his defign, was decoyed to Rome by a fafe conduct, and ftrangled in the caftle 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, who efpoufed her accordingly; and the pope was fo 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 fame pretext he used for felling plenary indulgences at a very moderate price, to all who would purchase their falvation. Chriftendom was divided into different departments, in which collectors were appointed to receive the money, together with certain priests inftructed to preach up the utility of the indulgences. The archbishop of Mentz, who nominated the preachers in Germany, affigned the province of Saxony to the Jacobins, whereas in the preceding crufades, that employment had been always bestowed upon the Auguftines. Thefe laft were fo incenfed at this fuppofed injury, that they induftriously fifted the conduct of the preachers as well as the collectors, which they expofed, ridiculed, and cenfured in public. Martin Luther, an Auguftine monk, and profeffor of theology in the new university of Wirtemberg, wrote againft Cc a

thofe

ance of

Martin
Luther.

Sleidan.

A. C. 157. thofe agents; and in his writings inferted fome fe First appear vere animadverfions against the nature of the indulgences. By these bold attacks he incurred the refentment of a great number of ecclefiaftics, and their oppofition infenfibly engaged him in a careful examination of the authority on which indulgences were founded. He was foon fatis fied of their being altogether unfupported by fcripture; and from that day laboured to difabuse the public with respect to their opinion of the papal power: though he is faid to have been animated by the dictates of pri-, vate refentment, in forwarding the reformation, which foon diffufed 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 impoffible, that a fimple monk could ever affect the power and au thority of the fovereign pontiff, he therefore continued to fell his indulgences, and to exhort all good chriftians to contribute towards the fuccefs of fuch a neceffary war. Among others he applied to the king of England, whom he extolled with the moft extravagant encomiums, for his zeal in behalf of holy church; and then demanded a fubfidy of two hundred thousand ducats, though he did not fucceed in his negotiation.

Herbert.

dignity.

Henry's imagination was much more engaged by the propofal of Maximilian, who had promised to refign the empire in his favour. Though he at firft feemed to decline this honour, it made an imHenry hankers after preffion upon his mind; and now that the emperor the imperial was in the Low Countries on a vifit to his grandfon, he fent the bishop of Winchester, and doctor Cuthbert Tonftal, to treat with him on the subject, and propose an interview. Maximilian told them, he would fpare their king the trouble of croffing the fea, by going in perfon to England; but when they talked to him on the other fubject, he answered

pro

A. C. 1517

with equivocation, and fought to evade his mife, on various pretences; alledging, that he muft firft obtain the confent of the diet, that he himself might retain the title of king of the Romans, and render it hereditary in his family at other times, he faid his intention was to procure the imperial crown to his grandson Charles, to create Henry king of the Romans, and to erect Auftria into a kingdom for Ferdinand the brother of Charles. From thefe vague declarations, the ambaffadors concluded, that he had no intention to part with the imperial crown; and that his original propofal was no more than a scheme of adulation to extort money from the king of England. Henry had very little reafon to be chagrined at his being disappointed in the hope of fuch a troublesome dignity. He ruled over a wealthy nation, which entirely acquiefced in his government; and the tranquillity of his people was uninterrupted, except by petty commotions, which were eafily quelled. One of these happened at this juncture, in the city Riot in of London, where the apprentices raised a riot London. against foreigners, fome of whom were robbed and murdered. The earls of Salisbury and Surrey affembling 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 confequence of his award, all the prisoners in white shirts, with halters about their necks, appeared before the king at Weminfter,

Cc 3

Sweating

A. C. 157. Westminster, and craving mercy, were pardoned. This disturbance was fucceeded by the fweating ficknefs.fickness, which raged in England with fuch malig

Views of

the different

Europe.

nity, that a great number of people died in three hours after they were feized with the distemper, which, in fome towns, deftroyed one third, and in others, one half of the inhabitants.

Though there was not one prince in Europe that powers in thought the pope was really in earnest in his project for a general league against the Infidels, or even believed fuch a fcheme practicable, almoft every individual potentate ufed it as a pretext for covering his own interested defigns. The emperor being defirous of feeing one of his grand-children elected king of the Romans, availed himself of this pretended war against the Turks, to perfuade the Germans, that the imperial dignity ought to be preferved in the houfe of Auftria, as-no other family in the empire had power enough to refift their attempts. Charles king of Spain made ufe of the fame pretence for the fame purpose, and as he had occafion for fome years of peace, ftrenuously infifted upon the conclufion of a general truce, that the chriftian princes might be at liberty to unite their forces against the Infidels. Such a proposal could not be difagreeable to the French king, alarmed by the defenfive league which had been formed against him, and eager to recover Tournay, which he could not hope to retrieve in time of peace; and Henry VIII. was glad to engage in the alliance formed by the pope, the emperor, the kings of France and Spain; because his refufal might have furnished them with a pretence, for undertaking fomething to his prejudice. The example of fuch powerful fovereigns was followed by all the petty powers in Europe; and the pope began to think that this project would be put in execution,

than

391

than which, nothing was farther from the thoughts A. C. 2547. of the contracting parties.

The king of France foreseeing that he should never be able to retrieve Tournay, without gaining over to his intereft cardinal Wolfey, who was administrator of that bishopric, fpared neither flattery, promises, nor prefents, to render that prelate propitious to his views; and at length, he prevailed upon him to agree to the reftitution, on condition that the cardinal fhould be indemnified for the lofs of the administration, by a yearly penfion that the French king fhould pay fix hundred thoufand crowns to Henry for the city of Tournay: and, that a match fhould be effected between the dauphin and the princess Mary, daughter to the king of England. This private convention being settled, Wolfey all of a sudden, changing his usual strain, represented to the king, that the expence of the garrifon of Tournay greatly furpaffed all the advantages he could derive from the poffeffion of a place which was at fuch a distance frnm Calais ; that it could not be maintained in cafe of a rupture between the two crowns: he therefore advifed him to fill his coffers with the money which was offered by Francis; and embrace the propofal of the match, which would confolidate their friendhip, render them the arbiters of Europe, and form a feasonable bulwark against the growing power of the houfe of Auftria, already in poffeffion of the empire, Spain, the Low Countries, and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Henry plainly perceived Wolfey's motives for changing the tenor of his difcourfe in this manner; and publicly declared, that he faw Wolfey was refolved 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, obferving, that the prince CC 4 muft

盅

Herbert.