15 September 1500 - Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, dies at Knole House, Kent. Born around 1420, John Morton was integral in the rise of the Tudors and played a key role in establishing Henry Tudor as King of England. Initially Lancastrian in sentiment and even present at the battles of Towton and Tewkesbury, he first came to prominence as Master of the Rolls under Edward IV but turned away from the House of York after Richard III seized the throne. Bishop Morton was put into the custody of Henry, Duke of Buckingham and forced to spent some time captive at the Dukes Brecon Castle. Allegedly Morton persuaded Buckingham to turn against Richard, a move which cost the Duke his head when his uprising ended in farcical failure. Having escaped a similar exeuction by fleeing to Flanders, Morton put all his energies into promoting the cause of Henry Tudor whom he put forward as the rightful Lancastrian heir. It was Morton who prevented Henry from falling into Richards hands in 1483 when he discovered the secret plan for Henry to be handed over to the English by Pierre Landais, the councillor temporarily in charge of the Dukedom of Brittany due to his masters illness. Henry would certainly have been executed had this plan reached fruition; Morton sent his agent and protege Christopher Urswick to warn Henry of this imminent danger and Henry succeeded in escaping into France and away from certain capture. Joining Henrys exiled court in France, Bishop Morton travelled to Rome in January 1485, ostensibly to seek a papal dispensation for the planned marriage of Henry to Elizabeth of York. Rewarded for his service to Henry during the exile, John Morton became Archbishop of Cantebury in 1486 and Lord Chancellor of England in 1487. In 1493 he was appointed a Cardinal by Pope Alexander VI. He played a key role in replenishing the treasury and notoriously commanded that noone be exempt from taxation. It was Mortons ruthless yet shrewd determination that any man who displayed wealth clearly had the means to pay tax whilst any man living frugally clearly had money saved which could be taxed. It is also possible that Morton played a role in the castigation of Richard III as he was a mentor of Sir Thomas More, whos influential account of the Yorkist king has long been a controversial topic. More described Morton as a man of great natural wit, very well learned and honorable in behaviour, lacking no wise ways to win favour. After his death he was buried in the crypt at Canterbury Cathedral with a monument placed nearby to commemorate his life. Lawyer, politician, administrator and cleric, Morton had proved to be an invaluable ally and mentor of Henry VII and arguably his most influential councillor. His death would have been greatly lamented by the king and his advice sorely missed.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 10:45:46 +0000