[Born at Ipswich, 1471. Died at Leicester, 1530. Aged 59.]
A butcher’s son, with an inordinate appetence for place, power, and
money. A magnificent pluralist, whose insatiable desire for wealth was
redeemed only by the noble uses to which he applied a portion of his
worldly goods. His revenues almost equalled those of the crown, and many
of his acts were princely, as became the rival of a king. Wolsey founded
several lectures at Oxford, built Christ Church in that University, and
erected Hampton Court, which, in his splendid generosity, he presented
to Henry VIII. He owed his first advancement to Henry VII., who sent him
on an embassy to the Emperor of Germany, and afterwards made him Dean of
Lincoln. His rise was, thenceforwards rapid. He became, under Henry
VIII., Cardinal, Lord Chancellor, and Pope’s Legate. His fall was
headlong. Offending the king by refusing to sanction his divorce, he was
disgraced in an hour, and compelled to disgorge his enormous
acquisitions. He was arrested at York, but, falling sick on his way to
London, died at Leicester. Much of Wolsey’s wealth was, no doubt,
ill-gotten; his ambition knew no bounds; his insolence was
intolerable;--but he had in many respects a grand and royal mind, and
the benefits conferred by him upon learning are never to be omitted in a
history of his remarkable life.
[Presented by Mr. John Archbutt, London.]