632 F 
cattle and property into places of fecurity, that the king 
of Scotland was foiled in his attempt, and, by the advance 
of the earl ot Surrey with a powerful force, was obliged 
to retreat to his own kingdom. Shortly afterwards the 
bifhop was fent ambaflador to Scotland, where he figned a 
feven-years truce between that kingdom and England. 
About that time overtures were made by king Henry, for 
a marriage between the king of Scotland and bis eldeft 
daughter Margaret ; and as they were well received, bi¬ 
fhop I'ox was fent into Scotland to negociate that affair, 
which was not fully concluded before the beginning of the 
year ijoi-2. In the mean time the univerfity of Cam¬ 
bridge cliofe the bi (hop their chancellor, in 1500, which 
office he held for about two years; and in the fame year 
he was tranflated to the valuable fee of Winchefter. Here 
lie chiefly fpent the reft of his life, in great affluence and 
profperity, excepting when (fate affairs required his at¬ 
tendance at court, or he was engaged in conducting nego- 
ciationsof moment with foreign powers. In 1507 he was 
'chofen mafter of Pembroke-hall, in Cambridge, which 
place lie retained till the year 1519. His talents at nego¬ 
tiationwere again employed in 1507, and part of 1508, at 
Calais, with other commilftoners, to bring about a treaty 
of marriage between Mary, the king’s third daughter, 
and Charles, archduke of Auftria, afterwards the empe¬ 
ror Charles V. which was at length agreed upon, but 
broken in the reign of Henry VIII. who bellowed his filter 
on Louis XII. king of France. Thus was hilltop Fox 
engaged in matters of the greateft importance, and pof. 
feffed of the greateft weight and influence in public af¬ 
fairs, during the whole reign of Henry VII. who appointed 
him one of the executors to his will,.and particularly re¬ 
commended him to his foil and fuccelfor Henry VIII. In 
the reign of that prince, however, his influence foon de¬ 
clined at court; and Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey and 
lord-treafurer, began rapidly to gain an afcendancy' over 
him in the king’s regard. In order to fupplant fo danger¬ 
ous a rival, bifhop Fox introduced Wolfey, one of his 
chaplains, to court; where that able and artful man fpee- 
dily fucceeded in wholly engroffing the favour of Henry. 
In 1510, bifhop Fox was fent on an embalfy to France, 
with the earl of Surrey and the bifhop of Durham, during 
which a treaty of alliance was concluded with Louis XII. 
About the fame time, a warm difpute arofe between bi¬ 
fhop Fox and Warham archbifhop of Canterbury, con¬ 
cerning the extent of the jurifdiction of the prerogative 
court; which after an appeal to the pope, and a reference 
back to the king, was terminated by the latter in the bi- 
fitop’s favour, againft the claims of his metropolitan. In 
the year 1513 the bilhop attended the king in his expe¬ 
dition into France, with a large retinue, and was prefent 
at the taking of Terouenne ; and in the fame year, jointly 
with Thomas Grey marquis of Dorfet, concluded with 
the emperor Maximilian a new treaty of alliance againft 
France. But in 151.5, chagrined at feeing his own intereft 
with the king completely undermined by Wolfey, whom 
be had himfelf been the means of railing to- power, and 
receiving from that ungrateful man infults and mortifica¬ 
tions which his fpirit could not brook, he retired in dif- 
guft to his palace at Winchefter. The reft of Iris days 
were fpent in ails of munificence and charity. To him 
js the univerfity of Oxford indebted for the foundation of 
Corpus Chrifti college, on which he employed himfelf 
after he had withdrawn from court. It was his intention 
at firlt to erect his college as a feminary for the monks of 
St. Swithin’s priory in Winchefter ; but he was perfuaded 
to alter his defign, by Hugh Oldham bilhop of Exeter, 
who contributed a confiderable ftim towards the build- 
; n tr, and, next to the founder, frauds the firll among its 
benefactors. Billvip Fox alfo fiiewed his regard for the 
interefts of learning, by ellablilhing free-fehools at Taun¬ 
ton, in Somerletfhu e, where he had a manor as bilhop of 
Winchefter, and at Grantham, near his native place. 
During the ten laft years of his life he had the misfor¬ 
tune to be deprived of his fight; which circumftance, 
O X. 
however, did not prevent him From attending the parlia¬ 
ment in 1523. But Wolfey, meanly defirous of taking 
advantage of his infirmities, endeavoured to perfuade him 
to refign his bifliopric to him, and to be fatisfied with a 
penfion. Powerful as that minifter was, he nmft have 
been mortified at the fpirited anfwer which the old pre¬ 
late returned to the propofal made to him. He ordered 
the perfon employed to deliver it to tell his mafter, “that 
though, by reafon of his blindnefs, he was not able to 
diftinguilh white from black, yet he could difeern between 
true and talfe, right and wrong ; and plainly enough favv, 
without eyes, the malice of that ungrateful man, which 
he did not fee before. 'I hat it behoved the cardinal to 
take care, not to be fo blinded with ambition as not to 
forefee bis own end. He needed not trouble h-imfelf with 
the bilhopric of Winchefter, but father Ihould mind the 
king’s affairs.” Bilhop Fox died in 1528, at a very ad¬ 
vanced age, leaving behind him a charafiter eminent for 
political iagneity, and the ability and addrefswitli which 
he conducted the mod important and difficult (late nego- 
ciations of his time. He is faid to have been a generous 
patron of learned men; and certainly is entitled to the 
gratitude of pofterity, on account of tlie noble and ufeful 
inftitutions which he founded for the encouragement of 
literature and fcience. He does not appear to have pub- 
lilhed any thing; but a letter of his is printed in Strype’s 
Memorials, and in the coilc-dlions at the'ena of Fiddes’s 
Life of Wolfey, on the fubjedt of the cardinal’s intended 
general vifitation and reformation of the Englilh clergy. 
That day, he fays, he wilhed as ardently to fee, as Simeon 
did to behold the Meftiah ; and lie adds, tHat for three 
years pall, almoft all his ftudies, labours, thoughts, and 
cares, had been directed to that object within it is own 
particular jurifdiction. 
FOX (Edward), an eminent Englifti prelate, born at 
Durlley, in Gloucefterfhire, but in what year we are not 
informed. He was educated at Eton fchool, whence he 
was lent to the univerfity of Cambridge, and admitted 
fcholar of King’s college in 1512. He appears to have 
po He fled excellent natural talents; and he fo well im¬ 
proved by the advantages of his fituation, that he ac¬ 
quired a high reputation for learning, and the other ac- 
complifliments of his time. In 1528 lie was elected pro- 
volt of his college, and retained that poll to the time of 
his death. Being recommended to cardinal Wolfey, as 
admirably qualified by his knowledge, his acutenefs, and 
addrefs, to conduct political negociations, he tool; him 
into his fervice^ and in 1528 obtained for him the ap¬ 
pointment of ambaflador 10 Rome, jointly with Stephen 
Gardiner, afterwards bilhop of Winchefter, in order 
to procure the bull of pope Clement VII. for king 
Henry VUIth’s divorce from his queen, Catharine of 
Aragon. At that time lie was almoner to the king, and 
had tite reputation of being one of the bed divines in 
England. Afier his return home, he had the honour of 
being employed in etnbaflies both to France and Germany. 
Preferments now began to flow in upon Fox, who was in- 
ftalled archdeacon of Leicefter in 1531, and made arch¬ 
deacon of Dorfet in 1.533. When after the fall of Wolfey 
an indiftment was bro light into the court of king’s-bencii 
againft all the clergy of England, for having incurred a 
prenuinire, Fox had confiderable influence in convincing 
the convocation of Canterbury of their perilous fituation, 
and in perftiading them to make their lubmiflioh to the 
king; which they did, by acknowledging him the pro¬ 
tector and fupreme head of the church and clergy of 
England, and praying his acceptance of a hundred thou- 
fand pounds, by way of competition for their delinquency. 
In 1535 lie was promoted to the bifliopric of Hereford ; 
and in the fame year was fent ambaflador, jointly with 
Heath, at that time archdeacon of Stafford, to the pro- 
tellant princes of Germany, then affembled at Snialkalde, 
whom he exhorted to unite in point of doctrine with the 
church of England. He fpent the w interat Wittemberg, 
where he had repeated conferences with the German di- 
2. vines. 
