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LETTER LI.

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D^R. CUTHBERT TUNSTALL TO KING HENRY THE EIGHTH
4CONCERNING MAXIMILIAN'S PROPOSAL TO RESIGN THE
5EMPIRE TO HENRY. A.D. 1517.

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7    Plese it your Grace to undirstond that besids al
8other maters contenyd in our Lettres jointly written
9at thys tyme to your Grace, oon is in them untowchyd
10by cause I wold not make my clerke privey to the secretie
11theroff, which yff I shold not to longe have taried
12the last curror save thys, I shold then have written.
13But by cause then we wer sent for to come to th'emperor
14commissionars, and our Lettres wer redy written
15contenyng a longe discurse and declaration off many
16mattres shewyd by the Cardinal Sedunensis which was
17necessary your Grace shold know in al haste, we therfor
18not knowinge how long th'emperors commissioners
19shuld lete us, dispached that poste, reservyng thys to

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20be written by my selff at laysor which then I had not.
21The thinge is this. The said Cardinal Sedunens. in
22makinge his long discurse hertofor by us written,
23emongest other things shewyd me that oon off the secrete
24mater stretyd betuyx th'emperor and your Grace
25was that th'emperor entendeth to resigne the Empire
26unto your Grace, and to obten your Election by hys
27procurement and sollicitinge off the Electors therunto,
28which th'emperor entendyd to do for the avancement of
29your honor and the love which he berith you. Which
30mater when I herd I lete as I nothynge had marked it,
31and lete hym passe on in tellynge off his tale which
32endyd in thys, that thys thynge shold be oon off the
33secrete maters treatid by hym betwix th'Emperor and
34your Grace. Sire besids that I am your Graces subject
35and servant, and sworn off your counsel thoff
36unworthi, your Grace hath also shewyd so largely your
37bounteousnes and liberalite anenst me that I ougth mo
38to desire the incresement and augmentation off your
39Graces honor then any servaunt to your Grace belonginge.
40Which I assure your Grace I doo tendre as
41moch to my symple powar as any subjiet in your realme
42or ellys it wer pitie I shuld lyve. And lykwyse yff
43therbe any thynge soundinge to your Grace's damage
44or hynderaunce iff I shold concele it; ther coud no pain
45be to great for me. Wherfor I most humbly besech
46your Grace to accepte graciously and favorably the

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47thinge which now I write both for the ardent love
48which I bere unto your Grace, and for the accomplishment
49off my dutie. Surly yff it lyke your Grace I
50thinke the said Election off your Grace to th'empire
51cannot be brogth aboute by no means, for diverse considerations.
52Fyrste that lyke as in the Election off the
53Pope a certain forme is to be kept which not observed
54makith the Election to be voyd, so off auncient tyme
55and ordinaunce off the universale churche a certain
56forme must be observyd in chesinge off th'emperor,
57which ometted, the Election is voyde. Oon of the
58cheffe points in the Election off th'emperor is that he
59which shal be electyd must be off Germanie subgiet to
60the Empire; wheras your Grace is not, nor never
61sithen the Cristen faith the Kings of Englond wer subgiet
62to th'empire. But the Crown of Englond is an
63Empire off hitselff mych bettyr then now the Empire
64of Rome: for which cause your Grace werith a close
65Crown. And therfor yff ye wer chosen, sens your
66Grace is not off th'empire the Election wer voide. And
67iff your Grace shuld accepte the said Election therby
68ye must confesse your realme to be under subjection
69off th'empire to the perpetual prejudice off your successor,
70or ells the said Election wer voyde as made off
71a person not eligible. Besids that the forme off the
72Election contenyth that first he must be Kinge of Romains
73and the coronation at Rome makith hym have
74the name off the Emperor, wher befor he is callyd but

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75Kinge off Romains. Over thys yff th'emperor which
76nou is remain stil Kyng off Romains as I understond
77he entendeth to doo, then yff your Grace wer eligible
78and undir th'empire, yet ye coud not be chosen Emperor,
79by cause ye were never Kinge of Romains. And
80also he remanyng ye could not be chosen Kynge off
81Romains, bycause the Kingdome is not voyde, and
82noon can be chosen therto but when it is voyd edyr by
83dethe or ellys when the Kinge off Romains is crownyd
84Emperor, wherby undir hym may be chosen a Kinge
85off Romains. The said Empire also (as it is now establyshed)
86may not have two Emperors at oon tyme,
87but oon as cheff, and the odyr as here apparaunt,
88which is callyd the Kinge off Romains, wher he must
89begyn that wyl come to th'empire. For which considerations
90I repute it impossible (the laws theron made
91stondinge) that your Grace may be chosen. And I am
92afferd lest the said offer beinge so speciouse at the first
93heringe was oonly made to get therby sum money of
94your Grace: Which they move to have kepte secret
95lest the publyshynge off it shuld make their intent to be
96knowen, and frustrate them off thir purpose befor they
97coud acheve it. Surly yff it lyke your Grace my simple
98advise is that your Grace interpretinge al to the
99beste, and the said offer to be made rather off th'emperors
100good mynd and grete benivolence then for odyr
101purpose, yff the mater shal herafter be set forward or

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102movyd to gyff most exquisite thanks to th'emperor for
103his good mynd therin: which peraventure may procede
104off good benivolence, and so to withdraw your fote bake
105out off that mater, and to make good interpretation
106opon so grete an offer, which shal be most honorable.
107Thus in thys mater I have shewed my simple advise
108and mynd; which, I thougth, my dutie savyd, I could
109not kepe close from your Grace, wherin I trust such
110as be lernyd in the law far bettyr then I wil afferme the
111same if it lyke your Grace to make them privey to it.
112And iff I doo erre, as I suppose I do not, I submitte
113to reformation besechinge your Grace graciously to
114accepte my trew mynde and rygth meanyng in thys
115mater, which I have touchyd for my discharge lest heraffter
116it mygth be imputyd to me not to have shewyd
117it in tyme when it came first to my knowledge. In al
118other maters at thys tyme we have written at large how
119her we find not al persons inclyned at it was thougth
120they shold be. And thus Almyghty Jhu~ preserve your
121Grace to his plesur with encrese off mych honor. From
122Machlyn the xij^th. day of Februarie
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