Cardinal protector 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.

The role of national protectorships within the College developed during the fifteenth century, due to developments in the emergence of national monarchies and Renaissance diplomacy. Cardinal protectors of Roman Catholic religious orders date back farther to the thirteenth century. According to King Henry VIII, the cardinal protector "indueth as it were our owne Person, for the defence of Us and our Realme in al matiers [in the Curia]...touching the same". The cardinal protector represented the monarch in consistory, especially in cases where the right of investiture was divided between the pope and the monarch, and also led the English diplomatic corps in Rome.

Although earlier cardinals had filled similar roles, "the existence of national protectorships was first openly and regularly recognized only" by Pope Julius II. The terms 'cardinal protector' and 'cardinal procurator' were "used very loosely and sometimes interchangeably during the fifteenth century". The earliest reference to a 'cardinal protector' of England dates from 1492, but according to Wilkie, this results from a confusion between this office and that of cardinal procurator.

Unlike other national cardinal protectors, the cardinal protectors of England, Scotland, and Ireland were generally chosen exclusively by the pope. The cardinal was "imposed from above, rather than chosen" and often had no direct relationship with the governments of these countries. The English cardinal protector played a large role in English ecclesiastical appointments, and a substantial role in similar appointments in Scotland and Ireland.

Francesco Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius III, was the first cardinal protector of England, elevated on the initiative of King Henry VII, and also the first officially approved cardinal protector of "any nation whatever". Henry VII viewed good relations with Rome as a protection against domestic and foreign enemies and sent Christopher Urswick, his "almoner and trusted councillor" to Rome after receiving a bull of dispensation to marry Elizabeth of York. When Henry VII first sought a cardinal protector in 1492, he feared that many of the English bishops would support his Yorkist opponents (to whom they owed their appointments).

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