W O L 



faTOur and confidence he conciliated by his blending amufe- 

 ment with bulinefs, infomuch tliat he fupplanted the minif- 

 ter8 of the late king, and became himfelf uncontrouled minif- 

 ter. His preferments, civil and ecclefiaftical, very fpeedily 

 fucceeded one another, and even profufely accumulated. 

 He was introduced into the privy-council in 1510, made 

 reporter of the ftar-chamber, regiftrar, and afterwards chan- 

 cellor of the garter ; and advanced to the fees of Tournay 

 and Lincoln in 15 13, to that of York in 15 14, and to the 

 dignity of cardinal in 1 5 1 5 . Thus promoted, his pride and love 

 of pomp kept pace with his elevation of rank. In his train of 

 fervants, 800 in number, were many knights and gentlemen ; 

 and the fons of noblemen afted occafionally as his domeftic 

 menials. His equipage and furniture were of the moft coftly 

 kind ; but it is needlefs to multiply particulars. The moft 

 pardonable, not to fay laudable, difplay of his magnificence 

 was exhibited in his patronage of literary men and promo- 

 tion of literature, both by the exercife of private bounty 

 and the eftabhfhment of public inftitutions. The pope 

 nominated him legate a latere, by which oiEce he acquired 

 legal pre-eminence over the archbifhop of Canterbury ; and 

 in December 15 15, he was elevated to the office of high- 

 chancellor. By the equity of his decifions m the exercife 

 of this office he gained great credit, but his conduft as le- 

 gate a latere was fo arbitrary and oppreffive, as to produce 

 complaints againtt him to the king. Charles V. and Fre- 

 deric I. purchafed his intereft with Henry VIH. by pen- 

 fions, and he was alfo retained in the fame way by the 

 pope. Charles flattered him with hopes of the papal 

 crown, and fettled upon him the revenues of two bilhop- 

 rics in Spain. Still infatiable in the purfuit of ecclefiafti- 

 cal preferments, he obtained the adminiftration of the fee 

 of Bath and Wells, and the temporahties of the abbey of 

 St. Alban's, to which were afterwards added fucceffively the 

 rich biftioprics of Durham and Winchefter. His revenues, 

 thus amounting nearly to that of the crown, were expended 

 partly in the oftentation of pomp, and partly in laudable 

 munificence. He founded fevcral leftures at Oxford for 

 liberal and ufeful ftudies, and at length erefted in that uni- 

 verfity the celebrated college of Chriftchurch. He alfo 

 eftabUfiied a collegiate fchool in his native town of Ipfwich. 

 The palace which he built at Hampton Court he prefented, 

 in 1528, to the king, ana he further ingratiated himfelf with 

 Henry by an arbitrary loan for the fupply of his wants ; 

 but by thefe meafures he became more and more odious to 

 the nation. But his fall was approaching ; and the firft 

 ftep to it was the divorce of queen Catharine. This was fol- 

 lowed by the marriage of Henry with Ann Boleyn, whofe 

 influence was employed in effefting his downfall. At 

 length the king, not without hefitation and reluftance, em- 

 ployed the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, in 1529, to re- 

 quire him to furrender the great feal, and to quit York- 

 place, a palace which he had built in London, and which 

 afterwards became a royal refidenee under the name of 

 Whitehall. His furniture and plate were feized for the 

 king's ufe, and he was ordered to retire to Efher, a palace 

 which belonged to him as biftiop of Winchefter. Thefe 

 meafures overwhelmed the favourite, deftitute of any inward 

 refources of magnanimity ; and when he received a (light 

 token of the king's favour in this ftate of mental depreffion, 

 he was tranfported with joy, difmounted on meeting the 

 meflenger, and fell upon his knees in the dirt to receive the 

 expreffion of his mafter's kindnefs. Henry, however, was 

 capricious and inconftant ; a cloud overfpread this gleam, 

 and Wolfey was ordered to be indifted in the ftar-cham- 

 ber, and abandoned by his fovereign to the rigour of 

 parliament. An accufation, .confifting of 44 articles, was 

 ■ Vol. XXXVHL 



W O L 



exhibited againtt him by the houfe of lords ; and in the 

 commons, he was fo ably defended by Thomas Cromwell, 

 who had been raifed by the cardinal from a low condition to 

 a high ftation, that his enemies were defeated. They thu« 

 changed their plan, and indifted him upon the ftatute of 

 provifors, which prohibited his procuring bulls from Rome, 

 and which he had violated by obtaining the legantine power ; 

 and this was made the ground of a fentence, putting him 

 out of the king's proteftion, forfeiting all his lands and 

 goods, and declaring him liable to imprifonment. When 

 thefe meafures had induced him to refign to the king York- 

 place with all its furniture, he obtained a full pardon for all 

 his paft off'ences, and the reftoration of the revenues of his 

 archbiftiopric, with part of his goods. But frefli tokens of 

 royal difpleafure awaited him. The earl of Northumber- 

 land was ordered to arreft him for high treafon, and to con- 

 duft him to London for trial. In his way from York to 

 London, he was feized with a diforder which obliged him 

 to ftop at Leicefter, where he was hofpitably received in the 

 abbey. His diforder in a few days terminated his life, in 

 the 60th year of his age. Shortly before he expired he 

 clofed a converfation with the conftable of the Tower, which 

 related to the king, with this exclamation, " Had but I 

 ferved God as diligently as I have ferved the king, he would 

 not have given me over in my grey hairs !" Thus he funk 

 to the grave as a viftim to tyranny, but to a tyranny which 

 he had himfelf formed ; exhibiting an inftruftive example to 

 all future minifters of the infecure pofleffion of power and 

 wealth acquired by extortion and oppreffion, and of the 

 folly of placing confidence in princes embracing arbitrary 

 and defpotic meafures, and governed by caprice and per- 

 fonal ambition. Biog. Brit. 



The magnificence of the cardinal's chapel-eftablifhment, 

 as defcribed by Cavendifti, his contemporary and domeftic, 

 feems far to have furpafied that of the Roman pontiff 

 himfelf. 



" Firft, he had there a deane, a great divine, and a man 

 of excellent learning ; a fub-dean, a repeatour of the quire, 

 a gofpeller and epiftoUor ; of finging priefts, ten, a mafter 

 of the children. The feculars of the chapell, being fing- 

 ing-men, twelve ; finging-children, ten, with one fervant to 

 waite upon them. In the veftry, a yeoman and two 

 grooms ; over and befides other retainers that came thither 

 at principal feafts. And for the furniture of his chapell, it 

 pafleth my weak capacity to declare the number of the 

 coftly ornaments and rich jewels that were occupied in the 

 fame. For I have feen in proceffion about the hall forty- 

 four rich copes, befides the rich candlefticks, and other 

 neceflary ornaments to the furniture of the fame." 



The earl of Northumberland, whofe paffion for Ann 

 Boleyn is fuppofed to have occafioned his difgrace at court, 

 feems to have been treated with great infolence and in- 

 dignity by the cardinal, who, by an extraordinary extenfion 

 of power, demanded his choral books for the ufe of his own 

 chapel. Letters concerning this requifition are ttill pre- 

 ferved in the family, in which the earl fays, " I do per- 

 ceayff' my lorde cardinall's pleafour ys to have fuch boks as 

 was in the chapell of my lat lorde and ff'ayther (wos foil 

 Jhu pardon.) To the accomplychment of which, at your 

 defyer, I am confformable, nqtwithftandinge I truft to be 

 able ons to fet up a chapell off myne owne. — I ftiall with all 

 fped fend up the boks unto my lord's grace, as to fay iiij 

 Antiffonars (Antiphoners), fuch as I think wher not feen a 

 gret wyll — v Grails (Graduals) — an Ordeorly (Ordinal) — 

 a Manuall — v\\^ Proffejftoners ( Proceffionals ) ." Northum- 

 berland Houfehold Book. 



WOLSINGHAM, in Geography, an irregular town in 

 4 E the 



