Cardinal Wolsey

Cardinal Wolsey by Stella Fletcher

This is an exciting new biography of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, one of the most powerful men in English history whose impact was as great in Church affairs as those of the State. The accession of Henry VIII provided the catalyst for Wolsey's dramatic rise to power and in 1514 he received first the bishopric of Lincoln and then the archbishopric of York. A month after his receipt of the coveted Cardinal's hat in 1515, Wolsey became lord chancellor, making him the king's principal minister and England's senior judge, despite having no formal education in the law.His greatest diplomatic achievements included the 1518 treaty of London (the 'universal peace'), in which he played the quasi-papal role of engineering an accord between most of the states of Europe and secured the betrothal of Princess Mary with the infant dauphin. Thanks to Wolsey, England enjoyed unprecedented influence among the states of Europe, and never more so than in 1520, when the cardinal masterminded the spectacular Anglo-French summit meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.Wolsey's pan-European vision ensured that he was well aware of the threat posed by Martin Luther's theological revolution and campaign against clerical abuses. He therefore sought to nip English heresy in the bud by taking decisive action against known religious radicals and by founding Cardinal College (now Christ Church), Oxford, with a view to forming well-educated priests who would combat heresy and institute ecclesiastical reform from within the hierarchy. Among England's senior churchmen, only Wolsey might have executed such a strategy, but circumstances were combining to thwart his plans. It was ironic that Wolsey, the arbiter of European interstate relations, was frustrated and ultimately disgraced by the essentially domestic problem of the king's determination that Anne Boleyn should be his wife and the mother of his legitimate heir. Stella Fletcher has written an engaging and dramatic biography of this colossus of the Tudor age.

Article on Wolsey, interviewing author, giving history and featuring book--no review, East Anglian Daily Times (Essex)2 May 2009.
'Anything that reminds us that Wolsey was actually a fascinating, complex historical character, loyal to his core for all the moments of puffed-up pride, is welcome.  As a short introduction to the humble boy from Ipswich who made good, Fletcher's book work works very well ... her final chapter on Wolsey's posthumous reputation is especially rewarding.' - Catholic Herald
'Scholarly but lively ... written with a light touch, with some jokes here and there ... more readable and less argumentative than some more earnest academic tomes, this scholarly history will amuse and interest many' - Church Times
'This well written biography includes a fascinating chapter on Wolsey's reputation in history and popular culture.' - Contemporary Review
'For years a good short life of Thomas Wolsey that captures the best recent research and is suitable for students has been badly needed ... [Fletcher] admirably fills a large gap in the literature.' - Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Dr Stella Fletcher has taught for the Continuing Education departments of the universities of Bath, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. She is currently Associate Fellow of the University of Warwick's Centre for the Study of the Renaissance. Her publications include the Longman Companion to Renaissance Europe and a history of the archbishops of Canterbury, The Mitre and the Crown (with Dominic Aidan Bellenger).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781847252456
ISBN 10	1847252451
Title	Cardinal Wolsey
Author	Stella Fletcher
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2009-04-06
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.