Eustace Chapuys

Eustace Chapuys

Eustace Chapuys (1494[1]–1556[2]) was a Savoyard diplomat who served as the Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence.

Life

He was born in Annecy in Savoy. He attended the University of Turin from 1507, staying there for at least 8 years. In 1517 he became an official of the diocese of Geneva and subsequently served the Duke of Savoy and Charles de Bourbon. In 1527 he entered the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

After going to Savoy as ambassador, he went to England in September 1529 to take over the post of resident ambassador there from Don Íñigo de Mendoza, a post that had been rather unstably occupied since the forced withdrawal of Louis of Praet in 1525. Chapuys's legal background made him an ideal candidate to defend Henry VIII's wife Catherine of Aragon (who was also an aunt of Emperor Charles V) against the legal proceedings that historians call the "Divorce Crisis", which led, eventually, to the English rejection of Papal authority and break from the Roman Catholic Church. Chapuys's attempts to defeat English machinations against Catherine eventually failed and Henry married Anne Boleyn. Catherine died in January of 1536. Chapuys despised Boleyn, describing her as a "whore" and "concubine".[3]

Chapuys stayed as resident ambassador in England until May 1545 (save a brief interlude in April 1539 which he spent in Antwerp). He then asked to be relieved of his post due to increasing illness, but the Emperor allowed him to leave only after introducing his successor (François van der Delft) to the post. Afterwards, Chapuys resided in Louvain (in the Low Countries, now Belgium)) where he founded in 1548 a grammar school for promising pupils from his native Savoy (the College of Savoy).

Eustace was also called on in his retirement for some advice from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor between 1547-1549. He was sent a letter that asked him to recall his negotiations, and the previous attitude of the regime of Henry VIII, on the issue of the betrothal of Mary I. In his reply, he wrote he was uncertain of the possibility of convincing John Dudley to agree to any proposed marriage. At the end of the letter, Chapuys wrote that Mary had "no other desire or hope than to be bestowed at the hands of your majesty". He felt nothing was more fond in Mary's mind than marriage.[4]

Chapuys also appears as a character in William Shakespeare's play The Famous History of the Life of King Henry VIII under the name of Capucius. He is a major character in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, though he is excised from the film version. Chapuys is portrayed by Anthony Brophy in Showtime's series The Tudors.

Chapuys's role in Henry VIII's reign is dramatised in Starkey's documentary, "Henry VIII: Mind of A Tyrant".

References

  1. ^ Karen Lindsey, xvi, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived, Perseus Books, 1995
  2. ^ Karen Lindsey, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived
  3. ^ Chapuys letter recounting fall of Anne Boleyn
  4. ^ Bloody Mary, the life of Mary Tudor-Carolly Erickson 1978
  • Richard Lundell, "The Mask of Dissimulation: Eustace Chapuys and Early Modern Diplomatic Technique: 1536-1545" (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2001).
  • Martin Lunitz, Diplomatie und Diplomaten im 16. Jahrhundert (Hartung-Gorre Verlag, Konstanz, 1988)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eustace Chapuys — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Eustace Chapuys (Annecy, Saboya, 1489–1556) desempeñó el cargo de embajador imperial en Inglaterra desde 1529 hasta 1545 y es conocido sobre todo por su amplia y detallada correspondencia. Saboyano de nacimiento,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Eustace Chapuys — (* 1489 in Annecy; † 1556 in Löwen) war Botschafter von Maria von Ungarn bei Heinrich VIII. von England. Leben Von 1507 bis 1515 studierte er an der Universität Turin. 1517 wurde er Beamter der Diözese von Genf und diente später Karl III. von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eustace Chapuys — Eustache Chapuys (1491–1556)[1]est un diplomate savoyard né à Annecy en Savoie[2]. Il entre au service de Charles Quint, empereur du Saint Empire romain germanique, roi d Espagne et archiduc d Autriche, neveu de la reine Catherine d Aragon.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eustace — ist der Name folgender Personen: Eustace (Ely) († 1220), Lordkanzler und Siegelbewahrer von England (1198–1199) unter der Regierung König Richard Löwenherz Eustace (Dekan von Salisbury) Eustace Chapuys (1489–1556), Botschafter von Maria von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of The Tudors characters — The following is a list of characters from the Showtime television series The Tudors. Contents 1 Characters 2 Recurring 3 Notes and references 4 External links …   Wikipedia

  • Les Tudors — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tudors. Les Tudors Logo original de la version anglaise Titre original The Tu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • A Man for All Seasons — Written by Robert Bolt Characters The Common Man Sir Thomas More The Duke of Norfolk Thomas Cromwell King Henry VIII Margaret More William Roper Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Alice More Thomas Cranmer Richard Rich Signor Chapuys Date premiered …   Wikipedia

  • Katherine Willoughby, 12. Baroness Willoughby de Eresby — Katherine Willoughby, Porträtminiatur Hans Holbein des Jüngeren, entstanden vor 1543 Katherine Willoughby, 12. Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (auch Katheryn, Katharine) (* 22. März 1519 oder 1520, Parham Old Hall bei Framlingham; † 19. September… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Embajadores imperiales en Inglaterra — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Los emajadores imperiales en Inglaterra fueron los diplomáticos representantes de mayor rango del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico en el Reino de Inglaterra desde 1514 a 1555. Como embajadores de una de las grandes… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Philippe Maioris — (* um 1500 in Cambrai; † 1540 in London) war Minnesänger und Botschafter von Maria von Ungarn bei Heinrich VIII. von England. Leben Philippe Maioris war Doyen von Cambray und First Almoner von Maria von Ungarn, der Statthalterin in den spanischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”