Harley MS 297

This manuscript contains transcripts of letters and other documents originally written during the reigns of Henry VII (r. 1485-1509), Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547), and Edward VI (r. 1547-1553). Many of the items are written in the hand of the archivist and merchant Ralph Starkey (d. 1628) and the volume also features added notes in the hand of the English antiquary Sir Simonds D'Ewes (b. 1602, d. 1650) throughout.

The manuscript's original binding is now detached and kept separately as Harley MS 297/1.

Contents:

ff. 1r-7r: A fragment of the acts of council of Henry VII, including only those undertaken on the 10th, 11th, 14th and 16th July in the first year of his reign (i.e. 1485).

ff. 8r-27v: The will of Henry VII; dated Canterbury, 10 April 1509.

ff. 28r-30r: An estimate of the charge for the construction of a tomb for Henry VII, to be erected in his chapel at Westminster.

ff. 31r-35r: A set of instructions given by Henry VIII to his councillors Nicholas Wotton (b. c. 1498, d. 1567), dean of Canterbury and York, Sir William Pickering (b. 1516/17, d. 1575), ambassador-resident with the king of France, and Sir Thomas Chaloner (b. 1521, d. 1565), sent to offer the French king a mediation for peace between him and the Holy Roman Emperor.

ff. 36r-38r: A memorial given by Edward VI, to his counsellors, an unnamed bishop, Sir Robert Bowes (b. 1535, d. 1597), Sir Leonard Beckwith (b. 1523, d. 1555), and Sir Thomas Chaloner, whom he appointed to treat with the ambassadors of the French king, concerning the limits between England and Scotland, the debateable ground, and fishing in the River Tweed.

ff. 39r-49v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey (b. 1473, d. 1540) to Richard Sampson (d. 1554), dean of the king's chapel, and Sir Richard Jerningham (d. 1525), the king's ambassadors to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain, concerning an offer of peace or the arrangement of a truce between the French king and the Emperor; dated Greenwich, 24 January 152...

f. 50r-v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson, the ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor, asking him to send his compliments and a gift of 200 ducets a year to Mr John L'Allemande, the Emperor's secretary; dated Westminster, 5 December 152...

ff. 51r-59v: A set of instructions given by Henry VIII to his counsellors Sir Thomas Boleyn (b. c. 1477, d. 1539), treasurer of his household, and Richard Sampson, regarding various communications and arrangements to be made with the Holy Roman Emperor.

ff. 60r-62v: A set of instructions given to Nicholas Wotton, sent to the Holy Roman Emperor to remain as ambassador in place of Edmund Boner (b. c. 1500, d. 1569), bishop of London, and Sir Francis Bryan (b. about 1490, d. 1550), and to communicate to the Emperor that he should declare that the Scots are his enemies and consider a possible invasion of France in the coming year.

ff. 63r-65v: A set of instructions for Sir William Pagett (b. 1506, d. 1563), knight and comptroller of the king's household, sent to the Holy Roman Emperor, to make a lasting peace and to declare the portion and conditions for the marriage of the Lady Mary to the Infante of Portugal, and to learn the sentiments of the Emperor and his minsters regarding a peace between England and France.

ff. 66r-68r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to John Clerk (d. 1541), bishop of Bath and ambassador to the court of Rome, concerning the furnishing of the army in Milan, under the command of the Duke of Bourbon.

ff. 69r-73r: A letter of Henry VIII to an unnamed bishop, serving as his orator at the court of Rome, complaining of a bull which the Bishop of Tournay had procured of the Pope for reinstating him in that see; dated 1517.

ff. 74r-77v: A memorial by way of instructions of actions to be taken with the Duke of Bourbon, on the behalf of the king [Henry VIII], commanding him to enter into a treaty with the Duke and to ask that the Duke acknowledge Henry as king of France and prepare for war with France in the future; dated 1523.

f. 78r-v: A report on the effect of the instructions given by the Holy Roman Emperor to Monsieur de Beaurayn, touching on matters to be treated with the Duke of Bourbon; dated Valedolite, 28 May 1523.

f. 79r-v: A report on the effect of the instructions of Monsieur de Beaurayn, concerning the actions he should take in England and support for the Duke of Bourbon and the invasion of France; dated 28 May 1523.

ff. 80r-88v: A set of instructions of Henry VIII to his clerk and counsellor William Knight (b. 1475/6, d. 1547), his ambassador with the Lady Margaret, concerning certain matters to be treated and done with the Duke of Bourbon.

ff. 89r-95r: A letter of Sir Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, ambassadors of Henry VIII to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, then in Spain, addressed to Cardinal Wolsey, concerning their complements given to the Queen of Portugal and their audiences with the Emperor; dated 3 July 1523.

ff. 96r-103v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Sir Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, concerning the Duke of Bourbon, the invasion of France, and the arrival of the king of Denmark in England; dated 3 July 1523.

ff. 104r-105v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Sir Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, concerning their lack of communication since his receipt of their last letters, and the arrival of the English army at Calais; dated 10 August 1523.

ff. 106r-111r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Sir Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, concerning the king's army arrived in Calais under the Duke of Suffolk, and the siege of Boulogne; dated Hampton Court, 30 August 1523.

ff. 112r-116r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Sir Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, replying to proposals made by the Holy Roman Emperor in regard to pushing for war against France, and the actions taken by him and the Duke of Bourbon; dated Westminster, 6 November 1523.

ff. 117r-126v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to John Clerk, bishop of Bath, Richard Pace (b. c. 1482, d. 1536), the king's secretary, and Thomas Hanyball, the king's ambassadors in Rome, concerning the election of Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-1534), and instructing them to deliver the compliments and congratulatory letters of the king; dated December 1523.

ff. 127r-134r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Jerningham and Richard Sampson, concerning the Lady Margaret's refusal to supply the Burgundian army with money and provisions, and other events relating to the war in France; dated Westminster, 4 December 1523.

ff. 135r-136v: A set of secret instructions of Henry VIII relating to certain points and articles for his ambassadors to look into; dated about 1522.

ff. 137r-144v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Thomas Boleyn and Richard Sampson, concerning the king's reply to the Holy Roman Emperor and the three points declared by his ambassador, in relation to the war with French and marriage between the king and the Emperor's sister; dated Westminster, January 1523.

ff. 145r-150v: A collection of orders for the war with France by sea and by land, written by Thomas Audley (b. c. 1488, d. 1544), on the command of Henry VIII.

ff. 151r-158v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to John Clerk, bishop of bath, Richard Pace, and Thomas Hanyball, the king's ambassadors in Rome, instructing them to continue to press the Pope to remove his support for the French and mediate a peace between Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Emperor and the French king; dated 25 March 1524.

ff. 159r-166v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to John Clerk, bishop of Bath, and Thomas Hanyball, the king's ambassadors in Rome, concerning the success of the Duke of Bourbon's army in Milan against the French, and the Pope's support of the Holy Roman Emperor and Henry VIII; dated May 1524.

ff. 167r-172v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson, the king's ambassador in Spain, concerning overtures of peace sent by the mother of the French king and Henry VIII's reply and demands; dated Westminster, 4 June 1524.

ff. 173r-180r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson, the king's ambassador in Spain, concerning the successes of the Duke of Bourbon in Southern France and the raising of an English army with which to invade France; dated 26 September 1524.

ff. 181r-184v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson, the king's ambassador in Spain, much of which was originally written in cipher, concerning the raising of the siege of Marseille by the French king and the progress of the French army into Northern Italy and the duchy of Milan; dated October 1524.

ff. 185r-195v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to John Clerk, bishop of Bath and the king's ambassador in Rome, concerning the French king and his army's attempt to conquer the kingdom of Naples, and directing him to dissuade the Pope from supporting the French, and other matters; dated end of December, 1524.

ff. 196r-201v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson and Sir Richard Jerningham, the king's ambassadors to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain, concerning the dissolving of the army in France under the Duke of Suffolk and proposals by Henry VIII to raise another army between him and the Emperor, to be put under the command of the Duke of Bourbon; incomplete (the original possibly written in cipher), dated Hampton Court, 14 January 1523.

ff. 202r-203r: A letter to Cardinal Wolsey, concerning the League concluded between the Pope, the French king, the Florentines, the Duke of Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua; dated Rome, 26 January, 1525.

ff. 204r-205v: A letter of John Clerk, bishop of Bath, Richard Pace and possibly Thomas Hanyball, to Cardinal Wolsey, stating that the Pope had given them fresh assurances that he would never forsake Henry VIII and a promise of money to assist the Holy Roman Emperor in his war with France; dated 24 February 1523.

f. 206r: A letter of John Clerk, bishop of Bath, to an unknown recipient, stating that the Duke of Bourbon was within 10 miles of the French King and was advancing to fight him; dated 26 January 1525.

ff. 207r-208v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey, possibly to Cuthburt Tunstall (b. 1474, d. 1559), bishop of London and Lord Privy Seal, and Sir Richard Wingfield (b. c. 1469, d. 1525), the king's ambassadors to the Holy Roman Emperor, concerning the Emperor's offers and Henry VIII's desires for the armies necessary for the invasion of France, and an emerald sent by the Lady Mary to the Emperor as a token of love; dated Westminster, 3 April 1525.

ff. 209r-211r: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Cuthburt Tunstall, bishop of London, and Sir Wingfield, the king's ambassadors to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain, concerning the invasion of France, and stating that the Pope is minded to enter into a league with the Emperor and Henry VIII against the French king; dated 7 April 1525.

ff. 212r-221v: A letter of Henry VIII to Cuthburt Tunstall, bishop of London, Sir Richard Wingfield, and Richard Sampson, his ambassadors to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain, outlining his reasons for making peace with the French king; dated Stony-Stratford, 8 September 1525.

ff. 222r-236v: A letter of Cardinal Wolsey to Richard Sampson, ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain, concerning Henry VIII's love for the Emperor and the war with France; dated 13 February 1525.

ff. 237r-238r: The dispensation of Pope Clement VII to Henry VIII to marry another wife, after his legal separation from Catherine of Aragon; dated 14 January 1527.

ff. 239r-248r: Articles presented to Henry VIII against Cardinal Wolsey, charging him with bribery, extortion and other misdemeanours, subscribed by lords and members of the Privy Council, including Sir Thomas More (b. 1478, d. 1535) and Charles Brandon (b. c. 1484, d. 1545), duke of Suffolk.

ff. 249r-251r: A declaration of certain acts and ordinances established by England for merchant trade with Spain; dated 24 April 1539.

f. 252r: A note concerning the covenants concluded between Henry VIII and James Hamilton (b. 1515, d. 1575), earl of Arran and governor of Scotland, for a marriage between Prince Edward (later Edward VI) and Mary (b. 1542, d. 1587, r. 1542-1567), Queen of Scots; dated 1543.

f. 253r: A summary of an indenture, whereby the Earl of Lennox is covenanted to become a servant and subject to the King of England and surrender the castle of Donbreton and that he should marry the Lady Margaret Douglass (b. 1515, d. 1578).

f. 254r: An act for the granting of the first fruits of the clergy, upon every vacancy, made during the reign of Henry VIII.

f. 255r-v: The office of a sergeant-at-arms attending the king's majesty.

ff. 255v-256v: An abridgment of the act made for the establishment of the Court of Augmentations.

f. 256v: The confession of Sir Christopher Barker (d. 1550) against the Earl of Surrey; made 7th August 1546.

f. 257r: The confession and submission of Thomas Howard (b. 1473, d. 1554), duke of Norfolk; made 12 January 1547, before lords of the Privy Council.