Read Online The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor by Elizabeth Norton - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Norton
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husband during his life’. 9 Her intellect daunted him, but he also admired it, excusing his own literary deficiencies by saying that since he never re-read his words after they were written, ‘wherefore if any fault be, I pray you hold me excused’. 10
The problem of how to meet and correspond was a very real one, but Catherine and Thomas were soon forced to put all thoughts of gaining acceptance for their marriage aside. First and foremost, Thomas was Lord Admiral, and he relished the adventure of the role and the outlet it gave to his restless spirit. In April word reached London that a particularly notorious corsair, one Thompson of Calais, had sailed with a fleet of Scottish and French pirates and taken the Scilly Isles by force. 11 The rocky islands, lying some thirty miles off the western tip of Cornwall, were strategically important, since they effectively commanded the entrance to the English Channel. Their windswept isolation conferred protection on them and made them dangerous in the wrong hands. Thompson, with his seven or eight ships safely nestled among the rocks of his island fortress, had free rein to plunder merchant ships as they travelled between England and Spain. This was a dangerous and lawless situation, and one that could not be allowed to continue. Seymour was issued with instructions to grant the pirates a pardon, if they would only surrender to him.
Thomas Seymour duly sailed for Cornwall, where he took up residence in the Captain’s House at St Michael’s Mount. He sent some of his ships on ahead of him to challenge the privateers, waiting impatiently for news on this rocky tidal island off the Cornish coast. Against a chorus of shrieking of gulls and the sounds of the sea rushing over the slate and granite of the shore, he sat down on 20 April 1547 to write to his brother, informing him that ‘as soon as wind will serve’ he would sail to the Scilly Isles, ‘where I am sure to land safe’ since the fine galleass the Greyhound and the rest of her fellows were already there. 12 Galleasses – larger adaptations of the trusty galleys – were the pinnacle of sixteenth-century naval technology. They had in fact already pacified the pirates, making Seymour’s visit a matter of surveying his victorious fleet.
He intended to take order of his ships there before returning to Portsmouth and then hurrying, overland, to London and the court. It was the type of campaign he liked best: short and exciting, with opportunity for glory. There was also the chance of a profit. It was probably in Scilly that Seymour struck a deal with Thompson and the other pirates. They could have free rein in their illegal endeavours in return for a share of the booty – which was quickly to make the Lord Admiral rich.
Thomas Seymour revelled in his role as Admiral that spring, becoming familiar with the ports in which he docked, though many of them were ‘frontier towns’ exuding ‘beggary, misery, and desolation’ as they decayed through lack of investment. 13 The local people depended on the sea in all manner of ways. The poor there were employed in knitting nets and making and mending ships and tackle, as well as in fishing. Among those thronging the ports were the pirates. The Lord Admiral, who was popular with all, was soon on friendly terms with some of them. 14 He returned to London in May, a conquering hero. Unlike his earlier attempts at naval command, Thomas’s Admiralty had got off to an excellent start. In addition to the Scilly success, in March his fleet, sailing without him, had captured three fine Scottish ships. 15 Even the news that the Scots had – in revenge – captured some English vessels could not dampen Thomas’s jubilation. 16
There was, though, a price to pay. While enjoying life on the high seas, Thomas Seymour was also being slowly manoeuvred away from any pretence of power. With the removal of Wriothesley, the Protector had manufactured a Council of men who ‘all worship
The problem of how to meet and correspond was a very real one, but Catherine and Thomas were soon forced to put all thoughts of gaining acceptance for their marriage aside. First and foremost, Thomas was Lord Admiral, and he relished the adventure of the role and the outlet it gave to his restless spirit. In April word reached London that a particularly notorious corsair, one Thompson of Calais, had sailed with a fleet of Scottish and French pirates and taken the Scilly Isles by force. 11 The rocky islands, lying some thirty miles off the western tip of Cornwall, were strategically important, since they effectively commanded the entrance to the English Channel. Their windswept isolation conferred protection on them and made them dangerous in the wrong hands. Thompson, with his seven or eight ships safely nestled among the rocks of his island fortress, had free rein to plunder merchant ships as they travelled between England and Spain. This was a dangerous and lawless situation, and one that could not be allowed to continue. Seymour was issued with instructions to grant the pirates a pardon, if they would only surrender to him.
Thomas Seymour duly sailed for Cornwall, where he took up residence in the Captain’s House at St Michael’s Mount. He sent some of his ships on ahead of him to challenge the privateers, waiting impatiently for news on this rocky tidal island off the Cornish coast. Against a chorus of shrieking of gulls and the sounds of the sea rushing over the slate and granite of the shore, he sat down on 20 April 1547 to write to his brother, informing him that ‘as soon as wind will serve’ he would sail to the Scilly Isles, ‘where I am sure to land safe’ since the fine galleass the Greyhound and the rest of her fellows were already there. 12 Galleasses – larger adaptations of the trusty galleys – were the pinnacle of sixteenth-century naval technology. They had in fact already pacified the pirates, making Seymour’s visit a matter of surveying his victorious fleet.
He intended to take order of his ships there before returning to Portsmouth and then hurrying, overland, to London and the court. It was the type of campaign he liked best: short and exciting, with opportunity for glory. There was also the chance of a profit. It was probably in Scilly that Seymour struck a deal with Thompson and the other pirates. They could have free rein in their illegal endeavours in return for a share of the booty – which was quickly to make the Lord Admiral rich.
Thomas Seymour revelled in his role as Admiral that spring, becoming familiar with the ports in which he docked, though many of them were ‘frontier towns’ exuding ‘beggary, misery, and desolation’ as they decayed through lack of investment. 13 The local people depended on the sea in all manner of ways. The poor there were employed in knitting nets and making and mending ships and tackle, as well as in fishing. Among those thronging the ports were the pirates. The Lord Admiral, who was popular with all, was soon on friendly terms with some of them. 14 He returned to London in May, a conquering hero. Unlike his earlier attempts at naval command, Thomas’s Admiralty had got off to an excellent start. In addition to the Scilly success, in March his fleet, sailing without him, had captured three fine Scottish ships. 15 Even the news that the Scots had – in revenge – captured some English vessels could not dampen Thomas’s jubilation. 16
There was, though, a price to pay. While enjoying life on the high seas, Thomas Seymour was also being slowly manoeuvred away from any pretence of power. With the removal of Wriothesley, the Protector had manufactured a Council of men who ‘all worship
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