Was the the Field of the Cloth of Gold a success or an ostentatious failure?
How did the death of Emperor Maximilian in 1519 affect European politics?
 The expected death of Emperor Maximilian in January 1519 meant that
there would be an election of a new Holy Roman Emperor.
 The main candidates were Charles I of Spain – Maximilian’s grandson –
and Francis I of France – backed by huge resources.
 Henry VIII kept neutral as part of the policy of aiming to be seen as an
arbiter of European peace. However, this did not stop him entering the
election as a third candidate aiming to stop any chance of the election of
Francis and thinking he had papal support. This backfired as Leo X was
still angry over the events surrounding the Treaty of London and he was
seen as a joke candidate.
 Despite massive French bribery, Charles won and became Charles V and
now he was both Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain as well as held
land in northern Italy.
 This had the consequence that France was now surrounded by Charles’
territory. It seemed that the Habsburg-Valois rivalry would spin into
conflict at any time, making the Treaty of London worthless.
 France and Spain now looked to England as a potentially important ally
in this conflict, leaving Henry with a tough decision – carry on with the
peacemaking policy or making an alliance with France or Spain [ a huge
gamble – if Henry chose the wrong side or got involved in a prolonged
conflict he could lose everything].
What was the Field of the Cloth of Gold?
 Initially, Henry met Charles V in May 1520 in London. It was a success
and both promised to meet again before the end of the year.
 Following, his ‘peace policy’, Wolsey arranged for Henry to meet Francis
I in June 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
 The Field of the Cloth of Gold was situated near the border of both
monarchs’ possessions outside Calais.
 The meeting was spectacular with no expense spared as both sides took
the opportunity to show off to each other. Splendid pavilions were
created with gold cloth, great feasts were held, a cardboard palace was
erected and a tournament, in which both Henry and Francis participated,
was held.
 The meeting lasted two weeks and over 6,000 nobles from both England
and France were in attendance.
 The cost of this extravagant summit is estimated to be worth roughly
Henry’s annual income.
 Despite the bad weather and Francis beating Henry in an unplanned
wrestling bout, the Field of the Cloth of Gold was, at the time, seen as a
huge success and a triumph of Wolsey’s planning and organisation.
What was the impact of the Field of the Cloth of Gold on European
diplomacy?
 The Field of the Cloth of Gold had a number of consequences for
European diplomacy and for England in particular –
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It failed to quell anti-French feelings from the English nobility. Evidence
suggests that the Field of the Cloth of Gold strengthened rather than
weakened negative views about the French.
No agreements were reached between England and France.
Some argue that the Field of the Cloth of Gold was really an opportunity for both
monarchs to show off rather than achieve something long lasting.
For many, the Field of the Cloth of Gold was a PR stunt by both sides.
It enhanced Wolsey’s favour from Henry, who was delighted that he was
presented as an equal to Francis I.
It created problems for Wolsey in trying to convince the rest of Europe that
England were not taking sides in the growing Habsburg-Valois dispute.
What was the impact of Charles V meeting with Henry VIII in July 1520?
 Charles V was very keen on seeking an anti-French alliance with Henry
and met Henry for the second time in a few months in July 1520.
 At the meeting, it was agreed that a three-power conference would be
held at Calais in July 1521 with England acting as an honest broker
between the two superpowers.
 However, it was always likely that England would side with Charles V for
the following reasons –
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England’s traditional hostility with the French added with Henry’s jealousy of
Francis I.
England’s important trade links with the Netherlands, which would be
jeopardised by any form of conflict against Charles V.
The Papal policy was anti-French and Wolsey wanted to keep in favour of the
Pope.
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What was the outcome of the August 1521 meeting with Charles V?
 For the second half of 1520 and first half of 1521, Charles V had to deal
with a serious revolt in Spain, which meant the Calais conference had to
be delayed.
 When the Calais conference did go ahead in August 1521, little progress
was made as Francis was threatening to expand his territories in
northern Italy against Charles, ignoring the terms in the Treaty of
London.
 As a result, Wolsey met with Charles after the Calais conference had
collapsed and negotiated an agreement that stated -
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An English army would invade France unless the French king would agree to
make a peace with Spain by 1523.
Spain would have free access to the English Channel.
Spain would pay compensation to the English for any loss of French
pensions.
England’s access to the markets of Netherlands would continue.
 Wolsey believed that delaying any kind of military action would be a
priority and hoped that the conflict would resolve itself without
England’s participation.
What was England’s role in the war with France in 1522-3?
 In the event, Wolsey was unable to prevent Henry’s demands for action
when the Habsburg-Valois rivalry sparked into war in 1522.
 The war was unpopular in England due to the heavy increases in taxation
to fund the war effort. Many in England saw the war as not serving their
own interests but rather helping Spain achieve their ambitions.
 The English war effort was launched in May 1522 but it achieved little
mainly due to the lack of support from Charles’s forces. No territorial
gains were made at great expense.
 A prime opportunity to undermine Francis I was presented in 1523 when
the Duke of Bourbon rebelled against the French King.
 After agreeing to launch a three pronged attack on France with Bourbon
and Charles V, Wolsey raised a second English army at the cost of
£400,000.
 However, the attack came to nothing as Bourbon’s rebellion soon
collapsed and Charles had problems in raising the necessary funds to
launch another campaign. The English army was left stranded to
northern France battered by bad weather and low supplies.
 The English army slunk back home and this unpopular war fizzled out. By
the end of 1523, Wolsey was seeking peace with the French while trying
to stall Charles’ demands for further military action.