Cardinal Thomas Wolsey , Archbishop of York, Lord Chancellor of England, was an English bishop, 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 and extremely powerful within the Church, as Archbishop of York, a cleric in England junior only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. His appointment in 1515 as a cardinal by Pope Leo X gave him precedence over all other English clerics.
The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the King's chief adviser . In that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as an alter rex . After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favour and was stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as Archbishop of York, a position he nominally held, but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason—a common charge used by Henry against ministers who fell out of favour—but died on the way from natural causes.
“Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out.”
Attributed to Cardinal Wolsey by columnist George Will, a line that he says was "uttered about Henry VIII", as quoted in William A. Henry In Defense of Elitism (Anchor Books, 1995), p. 45.
Disputed
“Begot by butchers, but by bishops bred,
How high his Highness holds his haughty head!”
Attributed to Cardinal Wolsey in English Etymology; Or, a Derivative Dictionary of the English Language (1783) by George William Lemon, "Alliteration".
Disputed
“I am come to leave my bones among you.”
To the Abbot of Leicester, knowing that he was dying. http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasWolsey(Cardinal).htm
To the messenger summoning him to see Henry VIII. http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasWolsey(Cardinal).htm.
