Nicholas Hawkins, LL.D. (c.1495–1534) was an English cleric and diplomat.

Life

He was the nephew and godson of

Nicholas West Nicholas West (146128 April 1533), was an English bishop and diplomatist, born at Putney in Surrey, and educated at Eton College, Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in 1486. He also had periods of study at Univers ...

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, and was born at

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

. Educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, he was elected a scholar of

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, in 1514, graduating B.A. in 1519. Hawkins became rector of Doddington in the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

(19 January 1519), of East Dereham, Norfolk (1520), and

Snailwell Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket. History The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suffo ...

, Cambridgeshire (20 June 1526). He concentrated on civil and canon law, proceeded to the degree of LL.D., and was admitted an advocate 30 November 1528. According to a letter of

Eustace Chapuys Eustace Chapuys (; c. 1489/90/92 – 21 January 1556) was a Savoyard diplomat who served as Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 under Charles V. He is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence. Early life and edu ...

, Hawkins was imprisoned for

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, but subsequently recanted. A career diplomat of the crown, Hawkins was collated to the archdeaconry of Ely, to which he was admitted by proxy 9 November 1527 while he was on a mission, resigning the rectory of Doddington. As archdeacon he attended the Convocation of 1529. In the pursuit of the divorce of Henry VIII, Hawkins's reputation saw his appointment in 1532 as resident ambassador at the Imperial court in succession to

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

. Hawkins was instructed to procure opinions on the divorce, and was given funds. A commission was also given to him, Girolamo Ghinucci, Cranmer, and others, to treat for a universal peace. Hawkins landed at

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

5 October, and reached

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

16 November, when he had an audience with

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

, and his credentials were accepted. He was translating into Latin Henry's '' The Glass of Truth'' on the unlawfulness of

Levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage o ...

. By Christmas Eve he had reached

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, where

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

had come to confer with the Emperor, he wrote to the king that he had finished his translation, and requested the book ''De Potestate Papæ''. At the same time he complained to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

that while the other ambassadors had silver plate he was compelled to eat off

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

. By 22 February 1533 Hawkins had had an interview about the divorce with the Pope, who played for time by asking for more information. Hawkins followed the Emperor to Spain: writing to Cranmer from Barcelona, 11 June, he complained of lack of money. Cranmer replied, 17 June, in a well-known letter, describing the promulgation of the sentence of divorce at

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

's private marriage with Henry; also sending money. During the latter half of 1533 letters passed between the king and Hawkins, who had moved from Barcelona to Almunia de San Juan. Henry dictated what Hawkins was to say to the Emperor in justification of the divorce; and asked to contradict the report that his aunt

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

and the Princess Mary Tudor were ill-treated. In December Hawkins received his last letter from Cranmer, announcing the birth of Elizabeth. Henry VIII designated Hawkins bishop of Ely late in 1533, but no formal election had taken place when the news arrived in England of Hawkins's death. Hawkins died of dysentery early in January 1534 at Balbase, in the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

. The Emperor sent him medicines in his last illness. According to Chapuys, Anne Boleyn showed more grief at his death than the king, and suggested that he had been poisoned.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Nicholas Year of birth missing 1534 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Archdeacons of Ely 16th-century English diplomats