The Rise of Thomas Cromwell by Everett Michael

Author:Everett, Michael.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300207422
Publisher: Yale University Press

Although the competent handling of the French campaign was not the cause of Wolsey's rise, it undoubtedly helped to cement his position as Henry's first chief minister. As J. J. Scarisbrick has noted, ‘If Wolsey mattered, as he did, by 1512, he mattered still more by the end of 1513. It was his firm hands which had largely shaped the campaign in France of that year, providing Henry with a well-fed, remarkably healthy, disciplined and well-equipped army.’219

What has not been acknowledged is that Cromwell's own advance followed a surprisingly similar pattern, and required him to draw on the same personal attributes as Wolsey. As we have seen, Cromwell had risen gradually in the king's esteem through his ability to handle all manner of tasks, from responsibilities connected to various Crown lands and building projects to church administration and finance. Like Wolsey before him, Cromwell then further demonstrated his potential by competently handling Henry VIII's military activities. In late 1532 a small war broke out between England and Scotland, during which Cromwell supplied most of the money being sent north for the wages of the Berwick garrison.220 When doing so he worked closely with Sir George Lawson, treasurer of Berwick, who was receiving the money which Cromwell was sending north. A brief examination of their correspondence shows that Cromwell was highly efficient at ensuring that the troops were paid on time. Before one set of wages was due to the first garrison on 8 January, for instance, Cromwell sent north a new supply of £2,034 13s 4d, which Lawson received on 6 January.221 Cromwell's warrant authorising this money to be sent is dated 28 December.222 When it is considered that Lawson wrote on 23 December requesting that money be sent to meet these wages, and that the time taken to travel between London and the borders during the war appears to have been five days (at a minimal estimate), this means that Cromwell probably obtained his warrant and began arranging the supply on the day he received Lawson's request.223 Such characteristic efficiency continued throughout this military campaign. On 1 February Lawson wrote that he had received a further £3,000 from Cromwell, and that the first thousand men were now paid until 5 March.224 Cromwell's warrant for this amount is dated 6 February, meaning that he sent the money before having obtained his warrant.225 In the same letter Lawson remarked how the second garrison of one thousand, five hundred men clamoured to be ‘equall with ther moneth wages’ as the first thousand men were, and informed Cromwell that this would require an extra £1,500.226 A subsequent letter reveals that Lawson received the requested sum by 21 February, at the latest.227

Like Wolsey before him, then, Cromwell relied on his organisational and administrative skills when handling Henry's military affairs, and underlined his usefulness to the king. Cromwell's punctual arrangement for the delivery of money ensured that the wages for soldiers on the borders were consistently met, with Cromwell often sending money north before he had received a request to do so.

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