against the new projectiles, passed away a class distinction which had made warfare a comparatively safe amusement for the rich. Henceforward the same danger confronted the noble and the plebeian soldier. Moreover, the introduction of gunpowder was of enormous moment in the conquest of the New World. Without the advantage given by its possession it is difficult to see how the exploits of Cortez and Pizarro could have been performed, or the rapid conquest of vast territories inhabited by semi-civilised but brave people have been accomplished by such handfuls of Europeans as were then able to cross the ocean. Modern Europe. The discovery of America and of the new route to India, the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, the revival of learning, and the inventions of printing and gunpowder, are the great events which mark the change from mediæval to modern Europe, and their influence began to make itself felt in the reign of Henry VII. Born 1491; married Scotland. CHAPTER II HENRY VIII.: 1509-1547 (1509, Katharine of Arragon, divorced 1533, d. 1536. 1532, Anne Boleyn, executed 1536. 1536, Jane Seymour, died 1537. 1540, Anne of Cleves, divorced 1540, died 1557. 1540, Katharine Howard, executed 1542. 1543, Katharine Parr, survived her husband. CHIEF CONTEMPORARY PRINCES. Emperors. France. Louis XII., d. 1515. Maximilian, d. 1519. Foreign politics-Flodden-Wolsey's career-The Divorce question leads to the fall of Wolsey and the separation from Rome-Changes in the Church-Dissolution of the Monasteries-Resistance to these changes-Henry's domestic life-Later foreign policy. THE death of Henry VII. gave the crown to his son Henry, a young man of eighteen. In appearance there was little in Henry to recall his Character of father. His figure was cast in the Yorkist mould-tall, Henry. strong, and stoutly built, with round, fair-complexioned face and a profusion of reddish flaxen hair. His temperament was jovial, and delighted in all manner of games and sports in which his personal courage and agility enabled him to display himself to advantage. At the same time it must not be supposed that his addiction to such pursuits was allowed to interfere with his business as king. From his very accession Henry showed himself as determined as his father, not only to reign, but to govern. The reports of ambassadors were made directly to him. Each day he made time to despatch a vast quantity of business, and both his own letters and those written to him fully prove that he considered no detail of government as beneath his notice. Like his father he was a good judge of character, and probably was a greater adept at reading the thoughts of the masses; and his ready wit and easy manners gained him, from the very outset, a popularity so well established that no subsequent actions, however arbitrary or cruel, appear to have seriously diminished it. No change of importance was made in the composition of the council, of which the chief members continued to be Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, a painstaking and able ecclesiastic, who had The Minisucceeded to much of Morton's influence; Thomas Howard, sters. earl of Surrey, son of the duke of Norfolk who fell at Bosworth, a man of courage and determination, who represented the ideas of the nobility; and Archbishop Warham, a man of no great force. Thomas Wolsey, a young and able ecclesiastic, was acting as secretary to Fox. Under these men the quiet and orderly domestic government of Henry VII. was continued, and was broken chiefly by the disgraceful treat- Empson and ment of Empson and Dudley, who were sacrificed by the Dudley. young king to appease the popular outcry. It was no easy matter to find a legal charge, for their acts, though harsh, had come within the letter of the law, and had been fully provided for in their commissions; so an absurd charge of treason was brought against them, accusing them of plotting to get the young king into their hands, and usurping the government. On this, Dudley was convicted in London, Empson at Northampton, and the whole iniquitous transaction was confirmed by an act of attainder. For some time their lives were spared, but at length Henry, exasperated by the constant complaints of their extortions, ordered them to be put to death. At the same time some attempt was made to compensate their victims. In foreign affairs the king showed his intention of following his father's policy by marrying Katharine, with whom he declared himself so well satisfied that if he had to choose again he would take Katharine her. Katharine was then twenty-four, and, though not beau- of Arragon. tiful, was a very attractive person, and is described as being 'of a lively and gracious disposition.' She danced well, was a good musician, wrote and spoke English excellently, and, above all, was perfectly devoted to her husband. Though Henry VII. had joined the anti-French alliance, he had taken no active part in foreign affairs, in which he had been little more than a dependant of Spain. Since the death of Charles VIII. Italy had been the chief centre of affairs. In 1499, Louis XII., with the aid of the Venetians, had taken Milan; and in 1501, contrary to the general policy of the League, Ferdinand had entered into alliance with him and made an attack upon Naples, which, since the expulsion of the French, had again fallen into the hands of a branch of the house of Arragon. Next year, however, Louis and Ferdinand quarrelled about their plunder, and the French were again expelled from Naples. However, by 1508, the French and Spaniards had again patched up their quarrels, and, under the nominal leadership of Pope Julius II., had formed the League of Cambray for the purpose of partitioning the territories of the Venetians, the only power in Italy which might possibly have rallied the smaller states to keep out both French and Spaniards. In the war that followed the French acted with such vigour that they secured most of the Venetian territory on the main land; and so alarmed was Julius II. at this exhibition of French power that he immediately set on foot what was described as a Holy League for the defence of the pope and the expulsion of the French from Italy, and in 1511 requested Henry VIII. to join it. As his father-in-law, Ferdinand, was one of the leading members, Henry had no objection, and planned a joint campaign in the south of France, by which it was hoped that England would reconquer Guienne and Ferdinand acquire Navarre. The temptation to attack Guienne was great; for its trade was extremely valuable, and the possession of a piece of territory, driven like a wedge between France and Spain, would give the king of England a great advantage in dealing with their respective sovereigns. Expedition However, when the English troops, under the marquess of to Guienne. Dorset, landed in Guienne, they found Ferdinand quite unprepared. After six weeks of inaction, their commander, under the impression that Ferdinand meant to use his own troops against Navarre, brought his soldiers back to England. This expedition was a great disappointment to Henry. Accordingly, great preparations were made for the campaign of 1513, and it is in these that Wolsey first made a reputation with the king. Thomas Wolsey, who is perhaps the greatest of the long line of ecclesiastical statesmen from Lanfranc to Laud, was born at Ipswich in 1471. His father was a burgher of wealth and position, and gave Wolsey. his clever son the best education in his power. He entered Oxford as a boy and took his degree of bachelor of arts at fifteen, and became fellow and bursar of Magdalen College. While there, the beautiful tower of the college was being built, but it does not appear that Wolsey had any thing special to do with it. His next post was that of master of Magdalen College School, and while there he made the acquaintance of the marquis of Dorset whose sons he had taught. Dorset presented him to the rectory of Lymington. He next became chaplain to Deane, who succeeded Morton as archbishop of Canterbury, and he acquired a knowledge of administrative life as assistant to Sir Richard Nanfan, deputy-governor of Calais. By him he was recommended to Henry VII., and became a royal chaplain about 1506. At court Wolsey attached himself to Fox, possibly as his secretary, and was employed on several diplomatic missions for the king. The accession of Henry VIII. was favourable to his advancement, for Wolsey was full of energy and had ideas that suited the young king much better than the wary maxims and cautious traditions of the statesmen of Henry VII. It was not, however, till the preparations were begun for the French war that Wolsey was able to find an adequate field for his energies, but he then threw himself heart and soul into the task of providing an efficient force, and this brought him to the notice of Henry himself. The campaign which followed was on the whole successful; Admiral Sir Edward Howard attacked the French fleet with such violence in open boats that, though he lost his own life, and his men were Invasion beaten off, the French did not venture to impede the passage of France. of the English fleet to Calais. From Calais Henry, with Wolsey in his train, advanced to the siege of Therouenne, and, while before it, was joined by Maximilian as a volunteer. During the siege an action was fought at Guinegaste with a French relieving force which attempted to throw supplies into the town. It was a mere cavalry Battle of affair, and the French fled so soon that the fight was Guinegaste. jocularly known as the Battle of the Spurs. Therouenne surrendered, and soon afterwards the important town of Tournai; but Henry did not pursue his advantage further, for he found that both Ferdinand and Maximilian expected him to encounter the dangers while they reaped the profits of the war, and he made the excuse of being wanted at home to return to England. Invasion. There, in his absence, great events had happened. Contrary to the expectations which had been founded on the marriage of Margaret and James Iv., the hereditary friendship of the Scots for Scottish France had proved too much for the honour of James, and when Henry crossed to France he invaded Northumberland with a large army. Henry had left Katharine in charge at home, and she, perhaps remembering Philippa of Hainault and Neville's Cross, threw herself most energetically into the work of defence, attended council meetings, prepared banners with her own hand, and addressed the leaders who were setting out for the north. The chief command was entrusted to the earl of Surrey and his son, Sir Thomas Howard, who had succeeded his brother as admiral. They mustered their forces at |