Born 1471.—Died 1530.—Edward IV.—Edward V.—Richard III.—Henry VII.—Henry VIII.

Thomas Wolsey, the son of a butcher at Ipswich, became a fellow of Magdalen College in Oxford. He was a friend of the famous Erasmus, and helped him in pushing the study of Greek. While Bursar of Magdalen College he built the college chapel tower. He was sent as envoy to Bruges on a negociation of marriage between Margaret of Savoy, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian, and Henry VII., and was rewarded for the speed of his journey by the deanery of Lincoln. Under Henry VIII. Wolsey was successively made king’s almoner, chancellor of the garter, archbishop of York, cardinal legate, and lord chancellor of England. His splendour and state surpassed that of any minister ever seen in England. York Place (now Whitehall), Esher, and Hampton Court were his residences in and near London. He built Christ Church College in Oxford, and a grammar school at Ipswich. When Wolsey failed to induce Cardinal Campeggio to annul Henry’s marriage with Katherine of Arragon, the king refused to see him again. The great seal was taken from him, and he was ordered to retire to York. He was arrested for high treason, and on his way to London, died in Leicester Abbey, wishing he had served God as faithfully as he had the king.