The Life and Political Significance of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, 1525-1536. Beverley Anne ...

365 Pages·2016·25.23 MB·English

The Life Political
and
Significance Henry Fitzroy,
of
1525-1536.
Duke Richmond,
of
Beverley Anne Murphy
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Thesis Wales
to the University
submitted of
Candidature for the Degree Doctor Philosophy
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1997
Department
History Welsh History,
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Dedication
In
memory of Andy Downham, legacy is beyond
whose own measure.
Summary
This thesis aims to examine Richmond's life in the context of
his king's As
role as a magnate, a courtier, and the only son.
a much neglected subject this includes a good deal of
biographical in duke the
to the
material, order present within
in
context which he lived. This also allows a re-assessment of
his in
part the
succession crisis, with particular reference
to the significance of his elevation in 1525, and the
in
speculation regarding the king's intentions, as represented
the Succession Act 1536. An his
of examination of
responsibilities, least Lord Lieutenant in the
not as north,
of Ireland and as Lord Admiral, queries how far his extreme
youth and his illegitimacy inhibited facilitated the role
or
Henry VIII wished him to fulfil. In tandem with this, a
special study of the duke landlord looks the
as a at
between
relationship the bestowed Richmond
authority upon and
the freedom
actual of action allowed to the child. A view of
his importance, in
political
matters such as marriage
diplomacy, is
alliances and considered alongside an appraisal
of the personal standing of the duke, both in England and
abroad. In order to provide a complete picture of Richmond's
circumstances, there is the fortunes his
also an account of of
maternal relations, the Blounts Kinlet, tracing their
of
descent, in
wealth and and particular those connections and
alliances which assisted their daughter's acceptance at court.
An
analysis of Elizabeth Blount's relationship with Henry VIII
leads into
how her liaison
a consideration of royal affected
her life. In discussing the legacy left by Richmond's
overall
demise,
the right and title of his widow, Mary Richmond, to
her jointure,
her fortunes,
agreed
and subsequent are weighed
against the priorities the king.
of
Contents
Acknowledgments P"i"
iii.
Declarations p.
iv.
Abbreviations p.
Introduction P"1"
9.
Chapter One: The Blounts Kinlet P.
of
46.
Chapter Two: Elizabeth Henry VIII p.
and
80.
Chapter Three: Sheriff Hutton P.
137.
Chapter Four: The Young Courtier p.
168.
Chapter Five The Heir Apparent p.
195.
Chapter Six: Mary Richmond P.
243.
Chapter Seven: The Landed Magnate p.
298.
Conclusion p.
304.
Appendix I Armorial Bearings p.
310.
Appendix II Elizabeth Blount's Funeral Brass p.
311.
Appendix III Inventory Richmond's 1531 p.
of goods,
339.
Appendix IV The Duke Richmond's Tomb p.
of
343.
Appendix VI The Blounts Kinlet p.
of
344.
Appendix VII The Stanleys p.
345.
Appendix VIII The Peshalls p.
346.
Appendix IX The Suttons, Lords Dudley p.
347.
Appendix X The Connections Elizabeth Blount p.
of
348.
Appendix XI The Counts Guisnes p.
of
349.
Appendix XII The Connections the Duchess p.
of
350.
Appendix XIII The Principal Movements the Duke p.
of
355.
Appendix XIV Richmond's Lands in 1525 p.
360.
Appendix XV The Jointure Lands the Duchess p.
of
361.
Bibliography
p.
Acknowledgments
My principal debt is to Professor David Loades,
my supervisor,
has been
who my constant guide through the complexities of
personalities and politics that is Tudor history. He not only
trusted that Henry Fitzroy
subject
would prove a worthwhile
for research, but his door was always open whenever support or
assistance was required. I must also acknowledge the aid of
the British Academy, funded
who my research through a major
award, and the Department History Bangor
of at who
supplemented my travel expenses. In the course of writing the
thesis I have benefited
greatly from the work of a number of
Tudor historians,
eminent debt I have to
a which endeavoured
in
acknowledge the footnotes. Of those
who gave unstintingly
of their time and expertise, I would particularly like to
thank Professor Colin Richmond, to
who generously agreed read
the draft, for his kind comments, Dr Nigel Tringham, editor of
the VCH, Staffordshire
Mr George Burgh the VCH
and of
Shropshire,
who allowed me access to their unpublished
material, David Baldwin, the Chapel Royal,
sergeant at arms of
St James' Palace, for his to discuss his
willingness work on
the royal apartments, and Glen Richardson, for sharing his
investigations into
the Dauphin's household. I
am also
indebted
to Pearl Andrews,
the
assistant archivist of office
of the Duchy of Cornwall, Dr Eileen Scarff, archivist, and Mrs
Enid Davies,
assistant archivist, of St George's Chapel at
Windsor,
Dr Matthew Lockyer, Ixworth Surgery, Dr Emma
of
Hebblethwaite,
Framlingham Church, Dr E. S.
assistant curate of
Leedham-Green, deputy keeper the University Archives,
of
Cambridge,
Mr Malcolm Underwood, St John's
archivist of
College, Cambridge,
Mr H. E. Paston-Bedingfeld, York
and
Herald
The College
of Arms,
of who not only most courteously
responded to my enquiries, but went to considerable trouble to
provide me with additional information. Thanks are also due to
the Right Honourable
the Earl Bathurst, Dr M. C. Carpenter,
of
Ms Valerie Lacey,
and Prof M. J. Wilks, for their kind
assistance. To the staff of all the libraries and records
have
offices
who aided me, I am profoundly grateful. I should
like
especially to Wales,
mention those at the University of
Bangor,
the Public
Record Offices Chancery Lane Kew,
at and
the British
Library,
the Bodleian, the Bibliotheque Nationale,
Paris,
and the
county Shrewsbury,
records offices of
i
Staffordshire, Hereford Worcester Lincoln for being so
and and
kind
helpful. My facilitated by to the
and work was access
libraries
of the Society of Antiquaries, the Institute of
Historical
Research the University London. I
and of am
grateful to the the Department History Bangor,
staff of of at
for
their
continuing support and to my fellow postgraduates
for
their Not least
company, conversation, and contributions.
Dr Hazel Pierce, has been in
who my constant companion many
dusty
archives, yet still found time to draw Mary Richmond's
arms and Simon Harris Latin documents
whose skill with early
is
valued as much as his sense of humour. I also owe a great
debt
to my friends and family. Especially Christine James who
braved
cheerfully the "boring dead
antics of people" once
again to proof-read the draft, father to
and my who allowed me
dramatically
shorten the life his
of printer and photocopier,
and patiently reproduced the tables. Also
genealogical my my
sincere thanks to Bob Lewis for his
technical
on-site support,
to Rachel Cave, Joan Murphy, Shirley Jones, Kristiina
and
Laine, both for their love for
and care, and always managing
to look interested
whenever Henry Fitzroy
was mentioned.
Finally
many thanks to Steve James displayed
who endless
humour in
patience and
answering my computer related queries,
learnt
and eventually to say "that's nice Bev" in most of the
right places.
ii
Abbreviations
J. R.,
APC Acts the Privy Council, Dasent, ed.,
of
(London,
1890-1918)
BIHR Bulletin of the Institute of Historical
Research
BL British Library
BN Bibliotheque Nationale de France
CCR Calendar Close Rolls 1399-1509 (18 Volumes,
of
London, 1927-63)
CFR Calendar Fine Rolls 1399-1509 (11 Volumes,
of
London, 1931-62)
CIPM Henry VII Calendar Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry
of
VII, (3 Volumes, London, 1898-1955)
CPR Calendar Patent Rolls 1399-1509 (17 Volumes,
of
London, 1903-16)
Collectanea Leland, J., De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea (6
Volumes, London, 1784)
CSP Scotland Calendar the State Papers Relating to
of
Scotland Bain, J., (12 Volumes,
et al., eds.,
Edinburgh 1898-1969).
CSP Spanish Calendar Letters, Despatches State
of and
Papers Relating to the Negotiations Between
England And Spain, Bergenroth, G. A.
et al.,
(13 Volumes, Supplements, London, 1862
eds.,
-1954)
CSP Venetian Calendar State Papers Manuscripts
of and
in
Relating to English Affairs Existing the
in
Archives Collections Venice Other
and of and
Libraries of Northern Italy, Brown, Rawdon, et
(38 Volumes, London, 1864-1954)
al., eds.,
DRO
Derbyshire Record Office
EHR
English Historical Review
EETS
Early English Text Society
HMC
Historical Manuscript Commission
HWRO
Hereford Worcester Record Office
and
Inventories Stuff
Inventories the Wardrobe Plate Chapel
of
etc of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond
...
Edited Memoir Letters the Duke
with a and of
of Richmond, Nichols, John Gough, ed., Camden
Misc, (iii), [61], (Camden Society, 1855)
iv
IHR Institute Historical Research, London
of
LJRO Lichfield Joint Record Office
LP Letters Papers Foreign Domestic of the
and and
Reign of Henry VIII, Brewer, J. S., et al.,
(London,
1862-1932)
eds.,
Materials Materials for History the Reign Henry
a of of
VII, Campbell, William, (2 Volumes,
ed.,
London, 1873-77)
MHS Collections for History Staffordshire,
a of
William Salt Archaeological Society, (Kendal,
1880-.. )
NRO Norwich Record Office
PRO
Public Record Office
SP Henry VIII State Papers King Henry VIII, (11 Volumes,
of
London,
1830-52)
SP Edward VI Calendar State Papers Domestic the
of of
Reign Edward VI, Knighton, C. S.,
of ed.,
(London,
1992)
SRO
Shropshire
Record Office
StRO
Staffordshire
Record Office
Valor
Valor Ecclesiasticus, Caley, J., Hunter,
and
J., (6
Volumes, London, 1810-34)
eds.,
VCH
The Victoria History the Counties
of of
England
WHR
Welsh History Review
General Conventions
In
all quotations the
punctuation, capitalization, and
spelling, have been
Latin, French,
modernized. and similar
in
sources, appear translation. The is taken to begin on
year
1 January.
V
Introduction
The
marital misfortunes Henry VIII the
of are one of most
in
notorious episodes English history. Even those little
with
interest in
or no Tudor times the king
can name with six
His
wives. pursuit of a legitimate son and heir was not the
factor in
sole
engendering those England,
events which shook
became
and the scandal of Europe, in the
sixteenth century.
However, Henry's desire
to father the
a male child, and secure
future of his dynasty, be However, it
cannot understated. was
to be twenty eight years before his third Queen, Jane Seymour,
presented the King England his
of The
with prince. events of
those
Catherine
years, with Aragon the
of as wronged wife and
Anne Boleyn the in
as other woman, would not seem out of place
a modern soap opera. As the
such, popular perception of events
is
often at odds with historical fact. Henry VIII is berated
for his
repudiation Catherine
of
on a whim, without any
appreciation that the lived for
couple as man and wife almost
twenty Anne Boleyn's is
years.
reputation as a whore not
dimmed by
the centuries, despite the fact that
she was
apparently Henry's for five before
obsession
years she
actually slept with him. Any the fact that for
mention of
seventeen of those twenty Henry VIII in
eight years was
possession living, healthy, inconveniently
of a
albeit
illegitimate,
invariably
son, evokes one of two responses.
Either there is
the assumption that all monarchs had hordes of
illicit
offspring, rendering them insignificant in the broader
fabric
of political
affairs, or, more commonly, a profoundly
skeptical identity
enquiry as to the the
of child.
This is
not entirely unreasonable. Richmond has fared little
better in
attracting the historians. The
notice of main
printed source for the duke's life John Gough
young remains
Nichols' Inventories
in
published 1855 1. This groundbreaking
collection letters
of documents includes
and still material
beyond
the
scope the but
of general calendars of the reign, as
biography
a it has its limitations. it
Since
was primarily
designed
to familiarize
the the
the
reader with subject of
1 Inventories
the Wardrobe
of Plate Chapel Stuff etc of
Henry
Fitzroy,
Duke
Richmond
of Edited memoir and
with a
...
Letters
of the Duke Richmond,
of Nichols, John Gough, ed.,
Camden
Misc, (iii), [611,
(Camden
Society, 1855).
1
1536 Inventory, forms the focus the book, there
which main of
is
duke.
no attempt to analyse the role or significance of the
Conversely
the by Michael
only other major study, produced
Lechnar in includes
1977, fair degree but lacks
a of analysis,
any manuscript sources at all 2. In keeping with this
piecemeal approach Richmond has benefited from the
on occasion
notoriety of other figures at the Tudor court, featuring most
in
strongly the biographies his the Earl
of companion of
Surrey 3. In addition, his in Ireland has
role stirred some
interest
4. But in
general, a cursory glance through most
standard Tudor text books leave the impression that
would
there
were only two in Richmond's life his
events of note
-
elevation to the peerage in 1525, followed by his
shortly
death in
1536 5.
The true is,
picture Much
of course, rather more complex. of
the discussion
which surrounds these two episodes centres on
importance
the
attributed to Richmond times
at when
speculation over the succession to the English throne was at
its
intense.
most After numerous disappointments, the birth of
Mary in 1516 had been
not completely unwelcome, although
Elizabeth in
1533 doubt blow. Being
was no more of a mere
daughters,
rather than providing a convenient solution, they
simply raised a whole new crop of problems
There
for
was no precedent to the
a queen regnant and,
minds of many men, the prospect of a reigning queen
seemed to threaten the
country with civil war, or
foreign
domination
at the hands of a foreign prince as
6.
consort
2 Lechnar,
Michael,
Henry VIII's Bastard: Henry Fitzroy,
Duke Richmond
of Partial fulfillmemt Ph. D., (West Virginia,
1977).
3 Bapst, Edmond, Deux Gentilshommes Poetes de la Cour de
Henri VIII (Paris,
1891) Casady, Edwin, Henry Howard, Earl
and
Surrey (New
of York,
1938).
4 Derrett,
J., Duncan,
"Henry Fitzroy Henry VIII's
and
"Scruple
Conscience""
of Renaissance News, [16], (1963),
Quinn,
David,
"Henry Fitzroy, Duke Richmond his
of and
Connection
with Ireland 1529-30" BIHR., [12], (1935).
5 Guy,
John,
Tudor England (Oxford, 142.
1990) p. 116, p.
6
Parmiter.,
Geoffrey de, C., The King's Great Matter
(London,
1967),
l.
p.
2