Rise of Thomas Wolsey

Timeline
1. 1473
  1. Born as the son of a butcher
2. 1488
  1. Got a 1st from Oxford at the age of 15
3. 1498
  1. Was a priest then became a personal chaplain to John Morton
4. 1506
  1. Became personal Chaplain to Governor of Calais where he met Henry 7th
5. 1507
  1. Became personal Chaplain to Henry 7th
6. 1509
  1. Turned to be Henry VIII's Royal Almoner and privy councillor
7. 1513
  1. Successfully organised an army for the invasion of France
8. 1514
  1. Made Bishop of Lincoln then Archbishop of York
9. 1515
  1. Became cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England
Timeline
1. 1518
  1. Appointed Papal Legate and Bishop of Bath and Wells
2. 1521
  1. Abbot of St. Albans
3. 1523
  1. Bishop of Durham
4. 1524
  1. Papal Legate for life
5. 1528
  1. Bishop of Winchester (exchanged for Durham)
    1. Removed from power
6. 1529
  1. Stripped of possessions
7. 1530
  1. Death at Leicester
Luck
1. Becoming Henry VII's chaplain in 1507 meant that he knew the King on a personal level
2. Wolsey's appointment to Deane of Canterbury in 1502 meant he worked in the most powerful Church in England
3. Many of Henry VII's advisers were old and unwilling to act decisively or become the new King's men
  1. Henry VIII was 17 and muscular and able
4. When Henry VII died in 1509 Wolsey took the chance to become Royal Almoner which meant he had automatically become a member of the Royal Council
  1. Royal Almoner was an official whose take it was to distribute the King's charity
5. He was assisted by the fact that key leading figures were removed from the scene like Empson and Dudley
  1. He had an uncontested rise to the top
6. He was in a position to have regular access to the King and plenty of opportunities to shine
7. In 1509 Henry was young, inexperienced and more interested in sporting pursuits like hunting, Wolsey was willing to take on the bureaucratic tasks and make himself indispensable to Henry
8. Wolsey was quick to convince the King that the King's honour and dignity demanded that his leading Counsellor should both hold positions of the greatest possible status and receive an income allowing him to adopt a lifestyle befitting as Henry's most favourable servant.
  1. There the cheapest way that Henry could do this would be by securing Wolsey's appointments in posts that were not paid for from the Royal finances- The Church was therefore the main area
9. Wolsey was given the title Bishop of Tournai in 1514 and Archbishop of York (particularly important as it made him the second most senior person within the church in England)
10. He was also made the King's chief Minister
11. In the same year that he become Cardinal, Wolsey was also appointed Lord Chancellor, the most powerful political advisor in Tudor England
  1. It was difficult for Nobles to challenge his decisions
  2. He wanted to have more power, therefore he campaigned vigorously (with Henry's support) for the Pope to appoint him as legate a latere (personal representative of the Pope)
    1. He exploited diplomatic advantages. The position gave him authority to reform the church and appoint new benefices (clerical appointments in England)
12. By 1518 Wolsey had risen to a position of extreme power as long as the King was prepared to back up his decisions he had nothing to fear from his fellow countrymen
13. In 1518 it must have seemed as if he had complete control of the English Church
Skill
1. Wolsey was born the son of a lowly butcher in Ipswich in 1473 but he possessed a fine mind and got a 1st Degree from Oxford aged 15
2. He was extremely academically able and possessed drive and confidence- from this he went to become a priest in 1498
3. He was an effective, efficient and flamboyant administrator where he organised small scale diplomatic expeditions to The Netherlands and Scotland
4. He was prepared to give the King what he wanted to hear and encouraged the King to persue the life of gaiety and leave the 'boring' government work to him
5. In 1512-13 Wolsey shod remarkable skill in organising and expeditionary force to invade France, after which was won Tournai
6. Wolsey ensured the right people were in the right place at the right time with the right resources
  1. He ordered results to tight deadlines
7. He impressed the young King as he had found someone willing and capable
8. Wolsey orchestrated a campaign to exert pressure on the Pope to make him a Cardinal. This was a position that outranked all churchmen except the Pope
  1. Henry fulled supported Wolsey and Pope Leo X succumbed and gave it to him

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Rise of Thomas Wolsey

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