Peter Vannes

Last updated

Peter Vannes (died 1563) was an Italian Catholic churchman who became a royal official in England, and Dean of Salisbury.

Contents

Life

Born at Lucca in northern Italy, he was son of Stephen de Vannes of that city. In one of his letters Erasmus calls him Peter Ammonius; and he was related to Andrea Ammonio. It was through the influence of Ammonio, who was Latin secretary to Henry VIII, that Vannes was brought to England, and he became assistant to Ammonio in 1513. Shortly he also worked for Cardinal Wolsey. Ammonio died on 17 August 1517, and Vannes immediately wrote to Wolsey asking for a living. Silvestro Gigli, another native of Lucca who was bishop of Worcester, recommended Vannes to Wolsey, and Lorenzo Campeggio in 1521 sought Vannes's influence to secure his promotion to the see of Worcester. On 12 November 1521 Vannes was presented to the living of Mottram in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, and in 1523 he was incorporated B.D. at Cambridge. [1]

In 1526 an unsuccessful effort was made to secure for Vannes the bishopric of Lucca, and in October–November of that year he was in Rome. In July 1527 he accompanied Wolsey on his magnificent embassy to France, and in November 1528 was commissioned with Sir Francis Bryan ambassador to the pope. The main purpose of the mission was to induce the pope to declare Henry VIII's marriage with Catherine of Aragon void ab initio, and with this object Vannes was specially instructed to hire advocates of Henry's cause, to bribe the cardinals, and generally to secure support wherever he could. Other objects of the mission were to withdraw the pope from his alliance with the Emperor Charles V, to discover the real causes of Campeggio's failure to proceed with the divorce question, and to make inquiry into the authenticity of the brief produced by Catherine removing all the disabilities found in the original dispensation for her marriage granted by Pope Julius II. If all other means failed, Vannes was 'to inquire whether the pope will dispense with the king to have two wives, making the children of the second marriage legitimate as well as those of the first, whereof some great reasons and precedents appear, especially in the Old Testament.' Vannes reached Florence on 9 January 1529, and was at Rome on the 28th; the mission was, however, a complete failure, and in October following Vannes returned to England.

Vannes maintained friendly relations with Wolsey after his fall, which did not interfere with his advancement; on 4 Dec. 1529 he was collated to the prebend of Bedwyn in Salisbury Cathedral, and on the 16th was instituted to the rectory of Wheathamstead, Hertfordshire. On 17 July 1533 he was appointed collector of papal taxes in England, an office soon to become a sinecure; and in the same year he was sent on the king's business to Rome, Avignon, and Marseilles.

On 12 May 1534 Vannes was made archdeacon of Worcester; on 22 February 1535 he was admitted prebendary of Bole in York Cathedral; on 22 September 1535 was constituted coadjutor to the dean of Salisbury, who was of unsound mind. He subscribed the articles of religion agreed upon in the convocation of 1536. In 1537 he held the prebend of Compton Dundon in Wells Cathedral, and on 3 February 1540 succeeded to the deanery of Salisbury. In April 1542 he was admitted to the prebend of Cadington Major in St Paul's Cathedral. He also received shortly afterwards the prebend of Shipton-Underwood in Salisbury Cathedral, the rectory of Tredington, Worcestershire; and in 1545 a pension on the loss of his canonry by dissolution at the Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford.

Vannes apparently gave up his deanery during Edward VI's reign, but retained his Latin secretaryship, the grant of which was confirmed to him on 12 December 1549. On 19 May 1550 he was sent ambassador to Venice, where he arrived in August; his salary was forty shillings a day. In September 1551 he urged the Council of Ten to restore to Sebastian Cabot the property claimed by him, and on 16 Oct. was given credentials to the senators of his native city Lucca. Sir John Mason described Vannes's conduct as timid; but he was retained in that post by Queen Mary, who also restored to him the deanery of Salisbury. Vannes was at Venice when Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died there, and he sent the queen an account of that event. He was recalled in September 1556.

He retained his preferments under Elizabeth and died early in 1563. By his will, dated 1 July 1562, and proved 1 May 1563, he left considerable property to his heir, Benedict Hudson alias Vannes. John Leland commemorated his friendship in an ode.

Related Research Articles

Thomas Wolsey 16th-century Archbishop of York, Chancellor of England, and cardinal

Thomas Wolsey was an English archbishop, statesman and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered, and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure in virtually all matters of state. He also held important ecclesiastical appointments. These included the Archbishopric of York—the second most important role in the English church—and acting as papal legate. His appointment as a cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515 gave him precedence over all other English clergy.

Stephen Gardiner

Stephen Gardiner was an English bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip.

Edward Foxe was an English churchman, Bishop of Hereford. He played a major role in Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and he assisted in drafting the Ten Articles of 1536.

John Barlow was a member of Henry VIII's Protestant Church as Dean of Worcester Cathedral. During the king's search for an annulment to his first marriage, Barlow acted as a courier between England and Italy, while Rector of Hever.

John Bell LL. D was a Bishop of Worcester (1539–1543), who served during the reign of Henry VIII of England.

William Knight was the Secretary of State to Henry VIII of England, and Bishop of Bath and Wells.

Lorenzo Campeggio

Lorenzo Campeggio was an Italian cardinal and politician. He was the last cardinal protector of England.

Andrea Ammonio was an Italian cleric and Latin poet born in Lucca, held in high esteem by Erasmus, a friend of his. Sent to England by Pope Julius II, he became Latin secretary to Henry VII of England and a prebendary of Salisbury.

The English Reformation Parliament, which sat from 3 November 1529 to 14 April 1536, was the English Parliament that passed the major pieces of legislation leading to the Break with Rome and establishment of the Church of England. In Scotland, the 1560 Parliament had a similar role. Sitting in the reign of King Henry VIII of England, the Reformation Parliament was the first to deal with major religious legislation, much of it orchestrated by Thomas Cromwell.

Richard Sampson was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music, who was Anglican bishop of Chichester and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield.

Girolamo Ghinucci

Girolamo Ghinucci was an Italian papal administrator, diplomat and Cardinal.

Thomas Wynter or Winter was the Archdeacon of York, Richmond, Cornwall, Provost of Beverley, Dean of Wells Cathedral and the illegitimate son of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

Cardinal protector of England Roman Catholic Church title for a particular Cardinal representative of England

The Cardinal protector of England was an appointed crown-cardinal of England from 1492 until 1539. A cardinal protector is the representative of a Roman Catholic nation or organisation within the College of Cardinals, appointed by the pope. The role was terminated as a result of the English Reformation.

Robert Shorton

Robert Shorton was an English churchman and academic, first Master of St John's College, Cambridge and Archdeacon of Bath.

Henry Guildford

Sir Henry Guildford, KG (1489–1532) was an English courtier of the reign of Henry VIII, master of the horse and comptroller of the royal household.

Edward Lee was Archbishop of York from 1531 until his death.

George Heneage was an English churchman who became Dean of Lincoln.

William Franklyn (1460–1556) was an English churchman, who became dean of Windsor.

Richard Woleman or Wolman was an English churchman, Archdeacon of Sudbury from 1522; and the Dean of Wells between 1529 and 1537.

William Benet was an English ambassador.

References

Notes

  1. "Vannes, Peter (VNS513P)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
Attribution

Wikisource-logo.svg  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Vannes, Peter". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.