WHY DID WOLSEY RISE TO POWER?

Where was Wolsey born, who to?

Ipswich, son of a butcher

What University did Wolsey graduate from, at what age?

first from Oxford at 15

When does Wolsey become the Dean of Canterbury?

1502

What was Wolsey’s first role under Henry VIII?

Royal almoner

How does Wolsey gain Henry’s attention?

Wolsey works for Bishop Fox as a middleman, Fox fails to organise a war for Henry but Wolsey organises the 1513 campaign

Where does Wolsey become archbishop of?

Tournai (1514) and Archbishop of York

When does Wolsey become Papal Legate?

1518

When does wolsey become a cardinal and lord Chancellor

1515

When does Wolsey become Legate for Life, what does this translate to in latin?

1524, Legatus Natus

What years was Wolsey Lord chancellor for?

1515-1529

What is Wolsey’s tenure for Archbishop of York?

1514-1530

What did Wolsey build?

Hampton Court palace

What was Wolsey brought down by?

his failure to obtain a divorce

What is the slang term for Wolsey’s background?

base born

What does the new king want?

new ministers

Where did Wolsey’s income come from?

multiple bishoprics, Abbot of St Albans (richest monastry in England), monetary gifts from clients and patrons, building of palaces, establishment of cardinal college, Oxford

How did his immense wealth create enemies?

furthered his political power, but created envy as he was from low biryh

What was Wolsey’s court like?

magnificent, household numbered 500, the same as henry’s

Why did henry trust Wolsey implictly?

due to the percieved success of France in 1513

Did Henry and Wolsey always see eye to eye?

No, but rarely had disputes between 1515-1529

What did Wolsey recognise about his position?

he owed his position to the king, and was safe as long as he continued to serve the king loyally and effectively

What was the first nail in Wolseys coffin?

the failue of the amicable grant

Why was Wolsey’s ruthlessness exagerrated?

due to his enemies in the court, his authority caused attacks on his policies

What were the most common allegations against Wolsey?

misleading the king, misreporting events, deliberatly alienating noble rivals

What fustrated many courtiers about Wolsey and Henry?

didn’t consult other nobles about decisions, often had clearly decided upon policy in private before it was presented to the council

What happened to polydore Vergil?

supposedly imprisoned on Wolsey’s orders in 1515

Wat happened to the Duke of Buckingham?

Wolsey rumoured to have a role in his execution in 1521

What did Wolsey do to Richard Pace?

sen abroad, like many other nobles

What is the traditional view of Wolsey?

Alter rex, wolsey as master, king as puppet

what is the revisionist view on Wolsey?

a political partnership, Henry had free reign in the early years to go off hunting, but had the final say on decisions

What is the more recent view on Wolsey?

a partnership but at times henry was vulnerable to faction and Wolsey had the kings ear and was able to put ideas into the kings ear and make him think that they were his ideas

How did Wolseys hard work help him to gain power?

high standard of work, an insatiable appetite for work, henry had to encourage him to take a holiday

What is an example of Wolsey’s hard work?

Wolsey was ordered to go to Flanders as a special envoy to Maximillian, Wolsey completed this in 3 days, the king berated him as he didn’t think Wolsey had eft yet

What did Wolsey do in 1519 to henry’s minions?

expell them from court as he worried about their influence over henry, he told Henry that he had to remove them due to costs but once removed, wolsey never carried out the monetary reforms

What did Wolsey do about the Eltham ordinances (1526)?

minions were back, know as gentleman as the privy chamber, Wolsey worried about them so due to costs cut them from 12 to 6 people, claimed it was due to money, then he dropped the other financial reforms

How did Wolsey utilise his charms?

gauge his audience, flatter, sponser musicians and artists

How did Wolsey utilise his position as Lord Chancellor?

used this to control the nobles

How did Wolsey use the church to his advantage?

held the highest positions in the church in England, thus diffivupt to get rid of

How was Wolsey brutal with his opposition?

opened expensive lawsuits, obsessive in the destruction of his enemies, , he would ‘punish’ offenders with some unconnected incident.

How did Wolsey deal with Amyas Paulet?

put wolsey in the stocks when he was younger, so Wolsey opened a legal case against him.Paulet had to attend court every day until his case was heard, wolsey made him wait 5 yrs to hear his case, runing him financially

How did Henry VIII’s attitude help wolsey?

Henry distanced himself from nobles and just got Wolsey to deal with it

How was Wolsey lucky in getting his position?

new minsiter at a time when henry wanted new ministers, able to gte Henry war

When was Wolsey forced to apologise to henry?

when Wolsey appointed his own nominee to be Abbess of Wilton Abbey, forced to grovel to Henry

How rich was Wolsey?

10 times richer than his nearest rival, York was worth 3,000, probably richer than the king himself

How did Wolsey show his wealth?

dressed well, kept 500 servants in silks and velvets

How was Wolsey opportunistic?

against war, but happy to enable it when it would benefit him