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"A Man Whom the Pope Holds In Much Suspicion"
The factional strife at court in which Bryan had played an important role abated in the autumn of 1536 as sudden storm of opposition took the government by surprise. In October it burst into open rebellion. First in Lincolnshire, then in Yorkshire and the neighboring counties, then in the north-west: a series of uprisings broke out collectively given the name the Pilgrimage of Grace. This was the most serious rebellion of Henry’s reign, and Bryan’s commission to lead a contingent of men against the rebels indicates that the king maintained confidence in his long-time companion even after the downfall of his cousin Anne Boleyn.
The Lincolnshire rising began in the small town of Louth, twenty miles northeast of Lincoln, early in October and quickly spread throughout the county. Letters were dispatched from Henry’s court to Bryan on 6 October, directing him to assemble his horsemen and foot soldiers at the town of Kimbolton, in the county of Huntingdon, to join Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, and his army advancing north to the city of Stamford, forty miles south of the rebel stronghold at Lincoln. Four days later Bryan and his 300 troops rendezvoused at Stamford with the royalist force that would eventually total some 5000 men.
Alarmed by the increasing size of Suffolk’s army, the rebels began to disperse. Reports from the town of Boston, a short distance northeast of Stamford, indicated that almost twelve thousand men had fled within the last two days. On 15 October, therefore, Bryan accompanied one of Suffolk’s lieutenants, Sir William Fitzwilliam, and his troop to occupy the town. They rode unmolested into Boston’s marketplace, where they supervised the surrender and examination of rebels, offering pardons to all those who delivered their harness and weapons to them.
Bryan rejoined Suffolk’s army two days after it had marched unopposed into Lincoln which had also been abandoned by rebel forces. He was then dispatched to make a full report to the king. He arrived at Windsor Palace on 19 October, just as a reply was being drafted to Suffolk’s earlier communications. In his letter the king thanked the duke for his diligence and promised the speedy delivery of money, ordnance, and men. He added that if any further rising was attempted, Suffolk must immediately attack the town of Louth and "...with all extremity destroy, burn, and kill man, woman and child, (to) the terrible example of all others". Bryan, however, may have explained that if fighting broke out again it was by no means certain that Suffolk’s army was strong enough to encounter a rebel force. The king’s postscript at any rate took a milder tone, promising to the populace freedom "from bodily harm" if they would surrender their captains. By this time, however, the uprising in Lincolnshire was beginning to peter out as many of their leaders surrendered.
From almost the beginning of the insurrection there were signs of danger in the counties further north. Beacons lighted by the rebels were seen across the Humber River, and rumors spread that men were beginning to band together. Robert Aske, an astute and successful lawyer, raised and led the rebel forces of the East Riding of Yorkshire. He assumed authority as their leader and, forming the people into companies, organized daily musters.
On 16 October 1536 Aske’s forces had captured the city of York and two day later laid siege to Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire. Bryan was dispatched from Windsor at once, and upon his arrival in Lincoln, was placed in command of a body of horsemen. However, before he could lead an assault to lift the siege, the castle had fallen. There was no possibility at this point of suppressing the rebel host by force since their 30,000 men were well disciplined and overwhelmingly strong beside Henry’ army of 8,000. Under these circumstances negotiations were unavoidable, though the king had no intention of honoring any concessions he might feel compelled to grant. Therefore the Duke of Norfolk, whom Henry had appointed to command his troops, sent a message to the rebels, requesting that four of their representatives meet with him on Doncaster Bridge to explain the causes of their rising. Conspiracy, I., p. 312
By the end of the month the rebels had drawn up their demands, which included a parliament free from royal interference, the dismissal of Cromwell, a halt to enclosures, the end of heretical innovations, and the restoration of suppressed monasteries. A truce was called while the king studied these proposals and prepared his reply. During this time Suffolk reinforced towns along the Don and Trent rivers with his army of 3600 men to resist an invasion by rebel forces. Bryan and a fellow officer, Sir John Russell, Lord Privy Seal, were selected to lead a force of 700 men twenty-five miles southwest from Lincoln to occupy the town of Newark-on-Trent. Upon their arrival they found it inadequately provisioned for their troops and its defenses in a state of disrepair. Bryan also discovered that the castle of Newark would house only 100 of his men and had no water supply. Immediately the citizens were ordered to provide them with victuals, harness and armour. Meantime Bryan set his men to work repairing and fortifying a bridge on the outskirts of the town. But the river was very shallow, and Bryan believed it would prove difficult to defend. He warned Suffolk that "...if the rebels come (and we must retreat), we should lose ourselves and the king’s artillery if we trusted to the fords". He added, however, that "...no men would venture their lives to serve their master with better will (than his company), but with the water in this state it is not possible.
While he was taking steps to resupply and rearm the town, Bryan secretly dispatched one of his servants, John Knight, to York in order to ascertain the strength of the rebel forces. During his stay in the city, Knight’s appearance aroused suspicion, but he escaped detection by claiming to be a servant of Aske’s deputy, Sir Peter Vavasour. On 15 November, however, he was recognized as Bryan’s servant and taken before the rebel leader. With great presence of mind
Knight told him that Sir Francis had sent him in pursuit of his chaplain who was a thief. Astonishingly, Aske sent him back to his master with a letter to request a description of the missing captain, as he was determined not to protect "bad characters". It was Knight who told Bryan that the rebel leader had only one eye, thus causing Sir Francis to comment wittily to the king that although he "....knew Aske not, nor he me, since I am true and he a false wretch; yet we two have but two eyes; a mischief put out his t’other".
Early in December, as the rebel leader and his companions met at Fontefract Castle to draw up a definitive statement of their program, Norfolk warned the king of the impossibility of inducing them to submit unconditionally. He noted that if Henry did not grant a Parliament free from royal interference and a general pardon, there was no hope of coming to terms with the rebels. Bryan carried this message to Henry’s court at Richmond on 3 December 1536. After he had received the report, the king could no longer doubt the gravity of his position and decided that concessions were necessary to persuade the rebels to disband their forces and to give him time to prepare countermeasures against them. His final instructions, which Bryan carried to Norfolk later that night, stated that the duke should grant a general pardon, prolong the truce, and promise a parliament whenever Aske desired.
The rebels however had little faith in the autonomous power of Parliament, perceiving it as a remote body packed with royal officials hostile to their interests. One of Aske’s lieutenants, Sir Thomas Tempest, who had sat as a M. P. for Newcastle-on-Tyne from 1529-36, asserted in a paper he presented to the rebels at Pontefract, that Cromwell had turned Parliament into a puppet of his own will. As an instance, he noted the election of Sir Francis Bryan, who, he said, knew about the affairs of the borough which he had nominally represented. Tempest claimed that Bryan’s seat was given to him in order that he might "devise malicious argument contrary" to papal supremacy over the Church and make the financial grants which the king demanded. Bryan had in fact been placed on a list, compiled by Henry’s secretary Thomas Wriothesley in 1532, as a replacement to be considered in the event of a vacant seat. Shortly thereafter Cromwell had nominated him for one of the Buckinghamshire seats, where a vacancy had existed since the translation of its former holder to the House of Lords. Bryan later served on a committee with Tempest that discussed, among other matters, the treason bills, which extended the offense to include expressed in words.
The rebels delivered their articles to Norfolk on 6 December 1536, requesting the king’s pardon and favor. Henry assured them that he would grant their demands, and by the end of the month Aske had disbanded his forces and ended the Pilgrimage. However, the king did not feel bound by promises made to rebellious subjects and only awaited an opportunity for retaliation
against them. The unrest did not end with Aske’s resignation at Doncaster, and by the beginning of the year minor riots were breaking out in the northern counties. Henry used them as an excuse to break his pledges to Aske and to exact venegence. In the spring he effectively crushed the remaining rebel forces and summarily executed 178 participants in the rebellion all over the northern counties.
Bryan’s position as an officer in the north of England was short-lived as events on the continent required his presence. The Pilgrimage of Grace had prompted Pope Paul III to send his newly created cardinal, Reginald Pole, as legate to urge Francis I and Charles V to undertake a crusading invasion to bring England back to the Roman Church. As a grandson of Edward IV’s brother George duke of Clarence, Pole was one of the few remaining members of the House of York who could provide dynastic opposition to Henry VIII. Entrusted with money for the rebels, Pole was also to travel to England after he had dealt with the French king and Charles V.
Before he reached Paris in February 1537 the rebellion had been crushed. The cardinal, however, was still hopeful that his presence in France could mobilize outside assistance and resuscitate the uprising. But neither Francis nor the emperor were prepared to incur the king’s enmity in so dead a cause. Henry, however, was anxious to rid himself of this dangerous man, and he had no scruples concerning the methods he employed to achieve his purpose. As soon as news of Pole’s mission reached England, he instructed his ambassadors in France and the Low Countries to have him arrested and extradited, or, if this were impossible, kidnapped or murdered. Stephen Gardiner bishop of Winchester, Henry’s ambassador in France, was commanded to ask Francis to deliver Pole to him. The French king replied that the cardinal had entered his dominions under safe-conduct, and that he could not arrest him, but would send him word to depart within ten days.
England had now been at peace and on reasonably good terms with Francis for eight years. No doubt because of the favor with which he was regarded at the French court, Bryan was sent to Francis I on 8 April as the representative best able to persuade him not to take steps which might jeopardize England’s relations with France. He was to ask for the extradition of Pole and remind the French king of their treaty signed five years ago that obligated him to hand over any English traitors. However Francis was in Picardy prosecuting a war against the emperor and instead of replying to him immediately, Bryan journeyed first to Paris to deliver some letters to Gardiner. By the time he reached the French king in Picardy, Pole had already arrived in Paris and had been informed by Francis that his presence in France was inconvenient and that he must leave the county. Pole withdrew to Cambrai, a town located in a neutral territory on the France-Dutch border.
Henry was enraged at the cardinal’s escape and rebuked Bryan for his dilatory behavior. Why, the king demanded, had he not gone more promptly to Francis. "Your presence might have quickened our good brother against Pole, and you could then have reported if Pole had any secret access to the (French) king’s presence". But Bryan’s delay and the cardinal’s flight, Henry added, had undone all the reasons for which Bryan was sent. Since he was now unable to seize Pole, the king bade Bryan, "....though it be somewhat to your pain", to reproach Francis for the legate’s honorable reception in Paris. Here is the first hint that the king found Bryan’s friendly relations with Francis I to be a hindrance to the conduct of his ambassadorial duties once Henry had decided on a less conciliatory policy. His alliance with the French king had been based entirely on self-interest arising out of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and his need for French support at that time against Charles V and the Papacy. The basic hostility between England and France remained unchanged and Francis was equally ready to abandon Henry if his interests required it.
On receipt of the king’s criticism, Bryan made public comments which he doubtless hoped would be transmitted to appease his angry monarch. After his interview with Francis, Bryan boasted publicly: "...if I found (Pole) in the midst of France, I would kill him with my own hands". He was also reported by the Bishop of Faenza, papal nuncio in France, to be "...very desperate, and discontent as possible", blaming Francis’s inaction for Pole’s departure.
However, Henry was still angry at his ambassadors when he wrote to them on 25 April: "For as much as we would be very glad to have the said Pole trussed up and conveyed to Calais, we desire and pray you to consult and devise between you thereupon". He ordered Bryan to suggest to the French king that since Pole was in the neutral city of Cambrai, a place in which Francis had an interest and which was not far from the English marches surrounding Calais, he should do what he could to get Pole expelled from it. In reply, Francis I suggested that Italian agents in his pay might capture the legate some time when he was leaving the town. Henry also inquired whether Bryan could secretly assemble a group of men capable of a similar enterprise. But Pole was too cautious to expose himself to such a risk for he took care to keep within the town of Cambrai.
Even the king soon realized the difficulty of capturing the cardinal, seeing as Cromwell said, "...that the matter has got wind, and Pole is warned to look to himself." If Bryan could induce those to whom he had already broached the matter to apprehend Pole for some reward, the king would make good on his promise. However, widespread awareness of his intentions, perhaps enhanced by Bryan’s own boasting, fueled rumors that he had been sent into France to murder the cardinal with a hand-gun or some other weapon, which defeated any plans he may have had in this regard. Thus Bryan was recalled in June 1537.
On his return Bryan resumed his position as Justice of the Peace for Buckinghamshire. In one case brought before him, a fight had occurred in the town of Stony Stafford between a shoemaker and an organ-player that had resulted in a general brawl when some bystanders had joined in. Six of the principals were brought before Bryan, who convicted them for rioting. In his report Bryan assured Cromwell that the "...county (is) in such good stay that no further inquiry need be made". This was apparently borne out a month later when he was commended by the Bishop of Lincoln for the "good order" he had achieved in curbing "the heresies hither to common" in that part of the county.
While Bryan was performing the duties of a county official, the king’s wife Jane Seymour was expecting her first child. On 12 October 1537 she gave birth to a son and three days later Bryan and many knights and noblemen convened for Prince Edward’s christening at Westminster. Bryan was rewarded for his presence by a gift of gold chains from the queen herself. She did not recover from her long and painful labor and died two weeks after the prince’s birth. Within seven days of her death the search for her successor began, but this time the king was persuaded to look abroad for a wife because he realized the need for allies in the face of a possible coalition between Francis I and Charles V.
Bryan was sent on another embassy to France two months later to express Henry’s displeasure over an apparent rapprochement between Francis and the emperor, while he was also instructed to search for a new consort for Henry. He arrived in Paris on 18 January 1538 with letters from the king reproaching Francis for breaking their treaty signed six years ago. Although the French king had promised to defend England if Charles attempted an invasion, Francis was not making conciliatory overtures towards the emperor. At the same time he was offering in marriage Mary of Guise, a member of one of the leading families of French nobility, to James V of Scotland whose relations with Henry were far from friendly. It is also clear from Henry’s letters that his annoyance arose from the fact that he was considering the 23 year old Mary as a possible bride for himself! In his audience with Francis on 21 January, Bryan tried unsuccessfully to convince him that Henry had much grounds for complaint. The French king pointed out that their treaty had stipulated that he receive a loan which had never materialized’ as for Mary, she had been promised to James V long before the English king had shown an interest in her. Bryan’s failure to win any concessions from Francis caused Henry to reproach his ambassador again for having failed in his duty. At the same time he was recalled to England.
The king’s efforts to wean Francis away from a coalition with Charles continued when Bryan returned to France as official ambassador on 10 April with Thomas Thirlby, bishop of Westminster, a protege of Archbishop Cranmer. Both men were commissioned to work for a league of friendship between the two monarchs and to find a consort for Henry.
Six weeks later Bryan was instructed to attend a conference at Nice where, under the pope’s aegis, a truce would be signed between the emperor and Francis with the purpose of uniting them in a Catholic crusade against Henry. He was to join an English deputation made up of Stephen Gardiner and Thomas Wyatt, the English ambassador to the emperor, with the objective of preventing this agreement by drawing the French king away form Charles and the pope. Not surprisingly, news that an English contingent would be present at Nice disturbed the pope, but he was apparently even more distressed to hear that Bryan would be one of the representatives. Possibly referring to Bryan’s previous visit to Rome nine years ago or his subsequent anti-papal utterances. Pope Paul stated that he held Bryan "in much suspicion". Since no formal invitation permitted an English delegation to attend the meetings, Bryan had to rely upon hearsay and on his interviews with Francis. But the French king was warned by Gespard de Coligny Castillion, his ambassador in England, to discuss only the issue of Henry’s marriage, since Bryan’s reports to Henry were very thorough and "his master sets much by his writings", indicating the king’s confidence in Bryan’s capabilities as a diplomat, despite his occasional harsh criticism of him.
During his stay in Nice Bryan wrote an engagingly humorous letter to his friend Lord Lisle, governor of Calais, of the proceedings in which he was involved.
These courts are so full as all the world were gathered upon a
plump. The emperor’s court is great, the bishop of Rome’s less,
and the French court three times as big as the greatest of them. All
the towns and villages within four or five leagues of them are so
full that one can hardly get a lodging. And in the French court I
never saw so many women; I would I have so many sheep to find
my house whilst I live. And great triumphs in all these courts have
been made, and many meetings of all parts but of the emperor and the
French king, for they have not met; nevertheless they have concluded
a truce for ten years (the Treaty of Aigues-Mortes) and thus departed,
the emperor determining toward Spain, the French king homeward,
and the bishop of Rome toward Rome.
Following this dispatch, he received instructions from Henry to gather a number of French ladies at Calais for his perusal. Although the king had been furnished with portraits of them, he was still not satisfied. He wanted candidates for his hand to come to him in person for inspection. So Bryan suggested to Francis, in his master’s name, that he should allow Mademoiselle de Guise and some of the ladies of the houses of Lorraine and Vendome to come to Calais, where Henry could see them with his own eyes and select a bride for himself. The proposal to trot out young ladies as if they were horses on display caused disgust at the French court and probably had much to do with the coldness shown to Bryan afterwards. Henry, however, treated Francis’s refusal as a serious cause of complaint. Yet when the French ambassador wryly asked the king whether he "....would perhaps like to try them all, one after the other, and keep for yourself the one who seems the sweetest", adding it was "...not thus, Sire, that the Knights of the Round Table treated their ladies" in days of old, Henry blushed and dropped the subject.
A Catholic crusade against England following the conference at Nice became a very real possibility. Bryan was eager to learn of any plans against Henry, and therefore on his return to Paris at the end of July 1538 he urgently requested an interview with the French king. On this occasion Bryan expressed surprise that Francis had signed a truce with his former rival the emperor, as Henry was prepared to support any designs the French king might have in Italy, where Charles V continued to hold a dominant position since the Battle of Pavia. Francis asked why this had not been said last year when he was at war with the emperor, "for now I have a sincere amity" with him. He added smugly that although Bryan had openly said the treaty would not last six weeks, he would prove to be "no true prophet". To this Bryan answered with a sharp question, "Sire, is my master no long your friend?" "Yes, certainly", replied Francis, "(as I am) also the friend of the emperor".
Unsuccessful in this line of argument, Bryan again broached the subject of a consort for Henry, hoping perhaps to diminish the threat of a Catholic crusade by means of marriage to a French princess. He told Francis that since his master was coming to Calais, he should send the queen of Navarre with seven or eight damsels of royal blood of whom the king could choose one to wed.. After his earlier rebuff, it is astounding that Henry should have instructed his ambassador to make this crass proposal again. Not surprisingly, Bryan received a caustic retort from Francis, who stated that it was not the custom of France to send women of noble lineage to be passed in review "...like hackneys for sale"; but if Henry asked for one he would have a favorable answer. Bryan then proposed that Francis meet with his master since he soon intended to come to Calais. The French king coldly hinted that Henry’s purpose was to put jealously between him and the emperor. Alarmed Bryan asked, "...if my master came in post would your majesty shut the door in his face?", and Francis replied that he was "..not accustomed to do so to my friends; if Henry came he should have good cheer, but I will not negotiate with him". When Bryan expressed further concern that a secret pact had been concluded between Charles and Francis against his master, the French king tried to reassure him on this point. Nevertheless, a truce had been signed between the emperor and the French king, and an alliance against England in which Scotland too might be a member now became a definite possibility. When Bryan was recalled in August 1538, the only achievement of his mission had been a frank but futile discussion on the subject of an Anglo-French marriage alliance with Francis and the discovery of a closer relationship between France and the Empire which might lead to an alliance and a joint attack on England.
Henry was very displeased with him: "By God!", he roared to Castillion, "I will not write until there is another ambassador there, called Dr. Bonner. The others have deceived me and let themselves be seduced". This was harsh judgement in Bryan’s case, who had just undergone a most unpleasant exchange with his old friend Francis I. But aware of the king’s attitude, Bryan publicly declared his loyalty to Henry, refuting any accusations that he was too partial to Francis: "Hitherto I have been a good Frenchman, but now I am going away determined to stand my by master". Anxious to leave, and with no sign of Bonner or the French king, Bryan departed the city of Lyons for England on 1 August.
Upon his arrival at court he apparently met with such a reception from his royal master that he immediately took to bed, "sore sick of a burning ague" according to his physician Dr. Cromer. So very ill was he that the king, who had apparently relented in his anger, sent his own doctor to give further assistance. Cheered by this token of returning favor, Bryan’s health began to improve somewhat. He also learned that Cromwell had interceded on his behalf with the king, and therefore wrote in gratitude to him for his "...great kindness and the coming of the doctor (which) has revived me, and I desire to live to do you some service in recompense". But even a week later he was not expected to recover, and at least one country gentleman applied to Cromwell for some of the offices Bryan would leave vacant on his death. On 26 September, however, it was reported that he had "somewhat amended" and a month later made his first appearance at court since his illness.
During Bryan’s absence from court his close friend Robert Hobbes, abbot of Woburn, was examined in the Tower of London on charges of advocating papal supremacy over the English Church. Four years earlier he had taken the oath acknowledging the king as Supreme Head of the Church, and by advice and threats prevailed upon many of his monks to do the same. But with the final suppression of the monasteries following the Pilgrimage of Grace, the abbot had repented his oath and express his viewpoint quite freely to Bryan and his other neighbors. Hobbes must have won their liking and respect, for none had reported his statements to the authorities as they were required to do by law since treason by word alone was liable to the same penalties as conspiracy or rebellion (Bryan had in fact served on a parliamentary committee four years earlier that had framed the Treason Act). Hobbes’s dangerous conduct must have made Bryan very wary of what he said to him, as the abbot’s words could not long go unnoticed by the government. But it also shows Bryan’s willingness to risk danger to protect an astonishingly indiscreet friend. His peril was all the greater because as a trusted official he would be especially obligated to inform the council of such statements.
In fact informers within Hobbes’s own fold reported words spoken by the abbot and others within the privacy of the convent. Early in May 1538 three of Cromwell’s commissioners arrived, bringing grave charges against Hobbes and the abbey. On 8 May the house was surrendered and depositions were taken. The abbot’s confession showed that he had failed to advocate the royal supremacy in his sermons, and that he did not believe in the existence of the episcopal authority except as derived from the pope. In consequence of these revelations articles were drawn up against him that also attempted to implicate Bryan, who was at this time in France on diplomatic business for Henry: but the abbot avoided incriminating his friend. He and two of his monks, however, were convicted of treason and executed in the summer of 1538.
Why the government chose to question Bryan’s loyalty is not clear, but his failure to report Hobbes’ statements probably was a factor in its decision and Henry’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell may have been ready to charge him because of his association with the Duke of Norfolk and the conservative faction at court. After Anne Boleyn’s fall, Bryan seems to have become a member of the faction headed by Norfolk and Gardiner which sought to preserve the old social and religious order, apart from papal supremacy, and to block change in a Protestant direction advanced by Cromwell, Cranmer, and by such rising figures as Edward and Thomas Seymour, brothers of the late queen. These two groups were to fight in a deadly struggle for power in the final years of Henry’s reign.
Although Henry continued to repress opposition within his realm, events abroad were causing him great alarm. In December 1538 Pope Paul III published a bull of excommunication against him. In January the following year Reginald Pole was again dispatched as papal legate to urge the emperor and Francis I to join James V of Scotland in executing the bull by force of arms. England was seized with war-fever as it apparently faced a triple attack from France, Scotland and the Empire. County forces were mustered, defense-works were strengthened, and beacons readied. Any renewal of rebellion at home would complete the crisis. Therefore the king kept a watchful eye on all those prominent families which were suspected of opposing his policies: thus the blow struck against Bryan’s brother-in-law and close friend, Nicholas Carew. He was arrested and tried for treason. Carew had continued in high favor with the king as a gentlemen of the privy chamber until it was discovered that he was an adherent of Henry Courtenay, marquis of Exeter, who had been executed for expressing approval of the proceedings of Cardinal Pole. Whatever feelings Bryan may have felt as a member of a jury impaneled to try his friend at Westminster on 14 February 1539, the twelve-man group found Carew gulity. He was executed at Tyburn two weeks later.
By July 1539 Henry’s fears of a European combination against him had sufficiently abated to allow the hasty preparations against invasion to be called off. Since his attempts at achieving a marital alliance with Francis had failed, the king decided to look elsewhere for a bride. In the autumn negotiations began for the betrothal of Anne, William duke of Cleve’s sister, to Henry. These discussions continued until a treaty for their marriage was signed on 6 October. Two months later Bryan joined a deputation headed by Sir William Fitzwilliam that greeted Anne on her arrival in Calais.
On 27 December Bryan accompanied her across the Channel to Deal, a town ten miles from Dover, where they were greeted by the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. By New Year’s Day they had arrived at Rochester, where Anne was received by the Duke of Norfolk and a great company of gentlemen. Here Bryan left the festivities and rode to Greenwich where the king was preparing to visit her. No doubt he was eager to learn of Bryan’s impression of his bride to be. Whatever his friend’s comment may have been, the king departed for Rochester that same day with him and other select members of his privy chamber. Shortly after his initial meeting with the princess, Henry clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with her, remarking to his companions: "I like her not". Nevertheless, he could not escape his treaty obligations and shortly after her arrival in London the royal couple were married.
Bryan must have been well aware of the king’s bitter disappointment with his new bride. Henry tried to find an escape from his union with "the Flanders mare", but the foreign situation forbade it. Since the friendship between the emperor and Francis had become so close that Charles could trust himself to ride across his rival’s realm, Henry could not afford to alienate the Duke of Cleves. At the same moment Bryan was apparently experiencing marital discord of his own. His wife Phillippa had left Faulkbourne manor in Essex some time ago and joined a convent in Canon Leight, Devon. Possibly she showed a leaning toward the old religion which her husband would not tolerate. Prior to May 1540 the convent was dissolved, and Phillippa, along with the other nuns, were pensioned off. No evidence survives of Phillippa’s fate, although she and Francis were still recorded as husband and wife in a grant issued two years later.
The dissolution of the monasteries begun by Thomas Cromwell had brought the king a great source of revenue, but could not prevent his chief minister from falling victim to his enemies at court. Henry’s dissatisfaction with his queen was intensified by the knowledge that the marriage was unnecessary because Francis and Charles were quarreling again. However valuable Cromwell’s services had been in the past, nothing could now save him if the opportunity presented itself. His enemies at court, led by Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, and Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, persuaded the king that Cromwell was a supporter of the heretical Anabaptist, and had him arrested. His execution took place on 28 July 1540. There is no evidence of Bryan’s attitude toward Cromwell’s downfall, but his letters indicate a very close and friendly relationship with his uncle, the duke of Norfolk. Meantime the king’s marriage with Anne of Cleves was declared null and void, leaving Henry free to marry Catherine Howard, another cousin of Bryan.
In the spring of 1541 Henry decided to resume his military career, and thereby renew his claim to the French throne. In order to secure his northern border against incursion while he invaded France, he sought a meeting with James V in the hope of establishing an alliance with him that would sever the ancient bond between France and Scotland. The king set out for his meeting at York on the last day of June with a large entourage of which Bryan was a member. But James never appeared, possibly afraid of being kidnapped. Disappointed and angry at this slight, Henry left York on 29 September and made his way back to London.
Soon after his return Archbishop Cranmer informed him of the sexual misconduct of his wife Catherine Howard. In January 1542 a bill of Attainder was introduced in Parliament against her. One month later she was beheaded on Tower Green. The second cousin whom Bryan had seen mount the throne of England as royal consort had ended her life, like the first, in igominy. He discreetly absented himself from her execution.
In the spring, war broke out between Francis I and Charles. Their hostilities provided Bryan, now a middle-aged man, the chance to take the field of battle again. Henry and Charles had secretly conspired to unleash a double attack upon France; yet the king still anticipated trouble on his Scottish frontier. In order to make sure his northern counties were secure, he renewed his overtures to James, "demanding" this time that he make an alliance with England. James gave no reply. Henry therefore ordered Norfolk to lead a militia of the northern counties into Scotland to devastate the border areas. In October the king declared war upon his neighbor, and a month later, a Scottish force of 10,000 sent into England on a counter raid, were routed at
Solway Moss by an English army less than a third its number. The news of this defeat killed James V, leaving the throne to his six day old child, Mary, Queen of Scots, and exposing the kingdom to Henry’s mercy and leaving him free to join his ally in an invasion of France.