Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley

Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley by Nicholas Denizot

Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley KG (* around 1508; † March 20, 1549 in London ) was an English nobleman, military leader, diplomat and politician. As the brother of Queen Jane Seymour , Thomas made a career at court and was often sent on diplomatic missions by King Henry VIII . After his underage nephew Edward VI ascended the throne . Seymour was appointed Baron Seymour of Sudeley and received the office of Lord High Admiral . Dissatisfied with his comparatively little influence and jealous of the power of his older brother, the Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , Seymour became involved in conspiracies, married the king's widow Catherine Parr without permission and courted Princess Elisabeth after her death . After a failed plot against Somerset, Seymour was finally arrested and executed for high treason .

Life

Early years

Thomas was the fourth son of Sir John Seymour of Wolf Hall, Wiltshire , and Margery Wentworth. His father initially served King Henry VII , who knighted him in 1497 after fighting the army around Perkin Warbeck . He later entered the service of Henry's son and heir to the throne, Henry VIII. Thomas' brothers were the future Lord Protector Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Sir Henry Seymour of Marwell, Hampshire . His sisters were Jane Seymour , the third wife of Henry VIII, Elizabeth Seymour, who married Thomas Cromwell's son , and Dorothy Seymour. Four other siblings died in early childhood.

Little is known of Seymour's youth. In 1530, he served his distant relative, the influential courtier Francis Bryan , a cousin of Queen Anne Boleyn , who was ultimately to turn away from her and turn to the Seymours. When his sister Jane married Henry VIII on May 30, 1536, Seymour rose rapidly to court. On October 2, he received the office of gentleman of the Privy Chamber, giving him unrestricted access to the king. The following year he was appointed steward of Holt and Chirk in Denbighshire and received several manors and castles in Wales . Six days after his nephew Edward was born, Seymour was knighted.

Even after his sister's death, Seymour remained in the king's favor and in March 1538 was awarded the lands of former monasteries in Hampshire, Essex and Berkshire . On July 14 of the same year, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk , proposed a marriage between his widowed daughter Mary Howard and Seymour. Seymour, however, was not particularly interested. In 1546, Norfolk tried again to arrange the marriage. This time, however, Norfolk's son Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey , resisted on the grounds that this marriage was too low for his sister.

Diplomatic and military missions

Thomas Seymour by an unknown artist

The first detectable diplomatic mission undertook Seymour 1538, when he traveled on behalf of the King of France to the French king I. Franz to hit. In the summer of 1542 Seymour was in Vienna at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II and witnessed the campaign against the Turks in Hungary. On April 30, 1543, he and the diplomat Nicholas Wotton were officially sent as ambassador to the court of the governor of the Habsburg Netherlands , Maria of Hungary . During that time he was earning £ 1 6s. 8d. per day. In the summer he served there in the English army as marshal under the command of Sir John Wallop and fought with distinction in the war against France. For a short time he was in command of the English troops. However, he was ordered back to the English court in July.

On April 18, 1544 he received the post of Master of the Ordnance for life and was thus u. a. responsible for all British artillery, fortifications, military supplies and field hospitals. It was a responsible office and the award was viewed as a high degree of royal favor. On September 14th, he was present with his brother Edward at the conquest of Boulogne-sur-Mer . In October, Seymour was named Admiral of the Fleet . His task was to protect the English Channel against a French invasion and in 1545 he took part in various naval battles. In the same year he finally received the prestigious office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports together with Sir Thomas Cheney . As a reward, he received the Hampton Place mansion on November 29th, which he renamed Seymour Place.

By the end of Henry's reign, Seymour had a handsome annual income of £ 458 6s. 8d. and held several local offices. Just five days before the king's death, on January 23, 1547, Seymour was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council. Henry VIII considered Seymour in his will and bequeathed him £ 200. According to William Paget, Heinrich had decreed that Seymour should be raised to the nobility . This happened on February 16, 1547. Seymour was raised to Baron Seymour of Sudeley and appointed Lord High Admiral . In return, he gave up the post of Master of the Ordnances . In addition, he received land that brought him 500 pounds a year and was inducted into the Order of the Garter on May 23 .

King's uncle

Intrigue against the Lord Protector

After his brother Edward not only had the title of Duke of Somerset , but also the guardianship of the young King Edward VI as lord protector . as soon as the reign was obtained, Seymour's discontent and jealousy grew. He endeavored to win the office of guardian of the young king for himself. As an example, he cited that while King Henry VI was a minor . the offices of regent and guardian were exercised by two different persons. In order to take action against Somerset, Seymour needed both the support of the nobility and troops. For this purpose he made contact with the pirates of the west coast to propose an alliance to them, although as Lord High Admiral he had the task of hunting pirates. According to later charges, he received part of their booty.

Somerset's policies were harshly criticized by Seymour at every opportunity. He openly stated that "he rejected the action of the Lord Protector and the Council". Seymour condemned the distribution of lands belonging to the Crown and called the campaign against Scotland a great, unnecessary waste of money. He also spread rumors that Somerset was planning to finally cede Calais to France. During the campaign against Scotland in 1547, Seymour ostentatiously remained in London while Somerset went into battle itself. According to contemporaries, it was during this period that he took the first steps to convince Eduard to officially appoint him, Seymour, as his guardian.

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , elder brother Thomas Seymours

Although Somerset ensured that contact between his brother and the king was sparse, Seymour used his contacts at court to communicate with his nephew, including a. the valet John Fowles; and the royal tutor Sir John Cheke. He used Fowles to slip sums of money into Edward over and over again as the young king complained about how tightly Somerset kept him. In this way Seymour was probably hoping to win his nephew's affection and turn him against Somerset. He bluntly told the little king that he had to take action against Somerset: "You have to rule yourself!"

In other ways, Seymour tried to expand his influence on the royal family. He had already courted Catherine Parr in 1543, but had to resign when the king asked for her hand. Henry VIII was hardly dead when Seymour tried to secure Princess Elisabeth by marriage. However, according to Heinrich's will, neither Elisabeth nor her older half-sister Maria was allowed to marry without the permission of the council. Thereupon Seymour secretly married his old love Catherine Parr and only later got the king's permission. In addition, he contacted Henry Gray and proposed an alliance. In return, Grey's daughter Lady Jane Gray was to be brought up in Seymour's household and married to Eduard. Jane Gray stood directly behind Maria and Elisabeth in the line of succession and was therefore a valuable ward.

On the way to and from Parliament, Seymour tried to recruit allies among the nobles. Thomas Wriothesley , for example, who had lost his position as Lord Chancellor thanks to Somerset , reported that Seymour was indignant about his treatment and promised to reinstate him in his former post. Furthermore, Seymour recommended Henry Gray to get on well with the Yeomen and secure the support of their leaders, as they were able to convince the population and recruit support. In parliament itself, Seymour made attempts to bring his followers and servants into the building and threatened in the fall of 1547 with disrupting the parliamentary sessions. He also boasted to witnesses of how many men were well-disposed towards him and would take up arms when he was called. He made himself particularly suspicious by the fact that he militarily fortified a strategically important crossing of the River Dee and asked the under- treasurer of the mint of Bristol for money specially minted for him. He stocked his castle in Holt with food supplies, as if a siege had to be endured. Hence, it is believed that he actually intended to kidnap the king.

Seymour and Princess Elisabeth

Elisabeth Tudor at the age of 13

Shortly after the death of her father, Princess Elisabeth moved in with her stepmother Catherine Parr. Catherine had become pregnant after a short time by Seymour and now he began to chase Elisabeth. Elisabeth's servants later testified that Seymour would often go into the princess's room in the morning and, when he found her outside the bed in her nightgown, "patted her back or bottom in a confidential manner." When she was still in bed, he tore open the curtains and pretended to pounce on her or try to kiss her. Every now and then he would enter her bedroom with “bare legs”, a behavior that was scandalous at the time, which particularly outraged Elisabeth's governess Kat Ashley . Confronted by her about how badly his behavior damaged Elizabeth's reputation, Seymour was angry: “I will tell the Lord Protector how I am slandered. I will not let it stay because I am up to no evil ”.

For a time Catherine Parr seemed to condone her husband's behavior, possibly because she viewed it as a harmless gimmick. Twice in the morning she accompanied him to Elisabeth's room, where they tickled the princess together. Another time she held her stepdaughter in the garden while Seymour cut her dress. Still, she did not remain in the dark about Seymour's intentions for long. In May 1548, according to Kat Ashley, Catherine was surprised to find Seymour holding Elisabeth in her arms. To protect the princess's reputation, she was removed from Seymour's reach and sent to Cheshunt , where she was housed in the home of Kat Ashley's sister. In this way a scandal was avoided. However, Seymour's attacks were later to have consequences. On August 30, Catherine Parr gave birth to her daughter Mary Seymour and a little later fell ill with childbed fever , in the course of which she, possibly delirious, accused Seymour of flirting with Elisabeth.

After the death of his wife in September 1548, Seymour campaigned again for the hand of the princess. This time he had the support of Kat Ashley, who had nothing against marrying her protégé. Elisabeth herself did not seem to be averse either, but she was wise enough not to make a binding promise without the permission of the council. Since a marriage between members of the nobility always had an economic background, Seymour had long discussions with Elisabeth's accountant Thomas Parry to find out how many lands and servants Elisabeth actually owned and under what conditions she should receive the possessions that her father gave her had bequeathed. Only a short time later, however, the Privy Council learned of his efforts. Rumors spread that Seymour had kept Catherine Parr's ladies-in-waiting to serve Elisabeth once he had married her. John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford confronted Seymour, and a heated argument ensued. The Privy Council then arrested Kat Ashley and Thomas Parry. Seymour's previous sexual assaults against Elisabeth now came to light and a scandal ensued that put both Seymour and the princess in the sights of the council's investigations. Elisabeth managed to convince the council of her innocence. Seymour, on the other hand, had provoked the nobility once too often.

Fall and execution

On January 16, 1549, Seymour took action. Accompanied by two servants, equipped with a spare key to the royal garden and armed with a pistol, he broke into the palace. However, while trying to enter the bedroom, he was attacked by Edward's dog. Presumably in a panic reaction, Seymour shot the animal, which called the royal bodyguard on the scene. Seymour claimed he just wanted to make sure that the king was well guarded. Instead, the rumor quickly spread that he had tried to murder Eduard in his sleep. Although Seymour would not have benefited in the least from the death of his nephew, distrust of him had grown and was now his undoing.

Somerset accuses his brother to King Edward at

He was arrested a day later and imprisoned in the Tower . There he wrote a letter to Somerset in which he humbly submitted to his brother. Various nobles testified against him during interrogations, and Seymour was confronted with their statements on both February 18 and 22. He was accused of planning the kidnapping of the king and the marriage to Princess Elisabeth. Seymour's statements served as evidence of this. For example, one day at St James's Palace at nine o'clock in the morning he had allegedly said that someone could easily kidnap the king from here, since even he, Seymour, had more people with him than there were palace guards. Several conversations came to light that he had had with Eduard, in which he had tried to persuade the young king to make his own decisions and choose his own men.

Seymour denied and even denied things he had previously admitted, but the burden of proof against him was overwhelming. On March 5, in Somerset's absence, Parliament passed a Bill of Attainder against Seymour. He was found guilty of treason and his own brother Somerset signed the death sentence with such reluctance that the handwriting was almost illegible. Before his death, Seymour asked to see his daughter Mary again, but it is uncertain whether this wish was granted to him. On March 20, 1549, Seymour was executed by beheading . Ironically, letters to the princesses Maria and Elisabeth were found in his shoes, which his servants should have brought to them. In them he implored the two to conspire against Somerset. After his death, his title as Baron Seymour von Sudeley expired and his property, including his wife's estate, was confiscated from the Crown.

After his execution , Hugh Latimer condemned Seymour in a service where he described him as a seducer, an infidel and a traitor. “He was, I heard, a man full of lust. I wish there weren't any more in England. I heard he was a rebellious man who condemned common prayer. I wish there weren't any more in England. Good thing he's gone. I wish he hadn't left any more behind. ”Princess Elizabeth is said to have said of his execution:“ Today a man of great spirit and very poor judgment died. ”Nevertheless, Seymour's death was extremely unpopular and seriously damaged his brother Somerset's reputation. Elizabeth later recalled that Somerset said, “If his brother had been allowed to speak to him he would never have suffered, but he was persuaded to believe that he could not live safely while the admiral lived and that it was because of it would have consented to his death ”.

progeny

Catherine Parr , widow of King Henry VIII and wife of Thomas Seymour

With Catherine Parr , Seymour had a daughter:

• Mary Seymour (born August 30, 1548; † approx. 1550)

Catherine Parr died shortly after Mary was born and the girl was taken in for a time by her aunt Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset . Shortly before his execution, Seymour appointed Katherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby as Mary's guardian, which she found to be a burden. Since her household records only mention the girl until shortly after her second birthday, Mary Seymour presumably died at the age of two.

Due to Seymour's attempts to seduce Princess Elisabeth, there were rumors for a while that he became pregnant and gave birth to him. Elisabeth herself protested violently against these rumors, calling them "shameful slander" and demanding that the Privy Council officially deny them. To prove that she was not pregnant, she asked permission to come to the court and show herself in public. Historically, there is no evidence of the existence of children from a marriage between Seymour and the Princess.

Modern representations

In the 1953 film The Heir apparent, Stewart Granger played the role of Thomas Seymour, known as Tom. He is portrayed as a noble and brave knight who befriends the young Elisabeth, known as Bess, and who becomes the favorite uncle of the young King Edward. Despite his love for Catherine Parr, Seymour begins to develop feelings for Bess, which his scheming brother Edward Seymour exploits to have the more popular Tom charged with treason and executed.

In the 3rd and 4th seasons of the television series The Tudors , Thomas Seymour was portrayed by Andrew McNair. While accompanying Francis Bryan on the hunt for Reginald Pole in season three, he woos Catherine Parr in season four. He also has an affair with his sister-in-law Anne Seymour and is the father of their son Thomas, which has not been historically proven.

literature

• GW Bernard: Seymour, Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley (b. In or before 1509, d. 1549) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press 2004, Online Edition May 2011

Web links

Commons : Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Thomas Seymour on luminarium.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} G. W. Bernard: Seymour, Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley (b. In or before 1509, d. 1549) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press 2004, Online Edition May 2011 , accessed February 15, 2013
2. ^ ^{A b} Thomas Seymour on luminarium.org , accessed on February 21, 2013
3. ↑ Handbook of British Chronology, Second Edition, p. 133
4. ^ Hester Chapman: The Last Tudor King. A Study of Edward VI (October 12th, 1537 - July 6th, 1553). Jonathan Cape, London 1958, p. 118.
5. ↑ David Starkey : Elizabeth. Apprenticeship. Vintage, London 2001, ISBN 0-09-928657-2 , pp. 66-67.
6. ^ Dulcie M. Ashdown: Tudor Cousins. Rivals for the Throne. 2000 Sutton Publishing, p. 65
7. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Skidmore: Edward VI: The Lost King of England. Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2007, p. 102, ISBN 978-0-297-84649-9
8. ↑ ^{a b c} David Starkey: Elizabeth. The Struggle for the Throne . Harper Perennial 2007, p. 69
9. ↑ ^{a b} David Starkey: Elizabeth. The Struggle for the Throne . Harper Perennial 2007, p. 71
10. ↑ David Starkey: Elizabeth. Apprenticeship. Vintage, London 2001, ISBN 0-09-928657-2 , pp. 68-72.
11. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Skidmore: Edward VI: The Lost King of England. Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2007, p. 103
12. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Skidmore: Edward VI: The Lost King of England. Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2007, p. 105
13. ↑ David Starkey: Elizabeth. The Struggle for the Throne . Harper Perennial 2007, p. 75
14. ↑ Jane Dunn: Elizabeth and Mary. Cousins, Rivals, Queens. 2005 Vintage Books Edition, p. 81
15. ↑ Chris Skidmore: Edward VI: The Lost King of England. Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2007, p. 106
16. ^ Retha Warnicke: Seymour, Anne . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . 2004 Oxford University Press, Online Edition ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
17. ↑ David Starkey: Elizabeth. The Struggle for the Throne . Harper Perennial 2007, p. 74
18. ↑ Jane Dunn: Elizabeth and Mary. Cousins, Rivals, Queens. 2005 Vintage Books Edition, p. 80

predecessor	Office	successor
Recreate title	Baron Seymour of Sudeley 1547-1549	Title expired
Unknown	Master-General of the Ordnance 1544-1547	Sir Philip Hoby
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1545	William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland	Lord High Admiral 1547-1549	John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland