Thomas Magnus (1463/4–1550) was an English churchman, administrator and diplomat.

Life

Archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1504, Magnus was employed on diplomatic missions 1509–19 and 1524–7. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold 1520, and was made Privy councillor about 1520. Awarded a doctorate by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

1520, he became canon of Windsor 1520–49,

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

1522–48, paymaster of the forces and treasurer of the wars in the north 1523, and custodian of St Leonard's Hospital, York 1529. He was also the founder of the Thomas Magnus Grammar School, Newark c. 1530. When the "Valor Ecclesiasticus" was drawn up in 1534, Thomas Magnus was warden of Sibthorpe. Regarding Sibthorpe College, "we have some evidence of the dimensions of the building in a letter written by Thomas Magnus, who was warden of the college in the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, to

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. 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 f ...

." Magnus died on 18 August 1550, and is buried in Sessay in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, his epitaph reads "Here lyeth Mr Thomas Magnus, arch-deacon of the East Riding in the metropolitan church of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and parson of this church, which died the 18th day of August, anno domino 1550, whose soul God pardon."

Mission to Scotland

After waiting at Newcastle for instructions from Henry VIII and Wolsey, and a Scottish safe-conduct, Magnus and Roger Radclyff arrived in Edinburgh on 29 October 1524. They delivered letters to

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

and

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...

at Holyroodhouse on All Saint's day. Then trumpets and

shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...

s blew, and the court went into the Abbey for mass, during which James V read the letters with Gavin Dunbar. After mass, Magnus and Radclyff gave James a sword and a coat of cloth-of-gold, gifts from Henry VIII. James put on the coat straight away. Magnus visited Margaret Tudor at Perth in March 1525, bringing certain news of the defeat of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

and a letter from Henry VIII that made her weep uncontrollably for an hour. In April Magnus claimed that James V had told him he would rather be in England with his uncle than in Scotland, and Margaret agreed. Magnus was in Scotland in August and September 1525. He wrote that when James V received a gift of a silver dagger from the

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on younger sons in the Scotland, Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of House of Stuart, Stuart and House of Hanover, Hanover. History ...

he immediately gave it away to a person standing nearby, an apparent insult to the Duke. French ambassadors were kept waiting at Leith for three or four days rather than having a solemn reception. Magnus claimed that James moved to Dalkeith Palace to avoid the French ambassador, Pierre François de Lagarde, sieur de Saignes, President of Toulouse. The news was supposed to indicate that Scotland was moving away from French influences and the 1517 Treaty of Rouen for the king's marriage to a French princess. He wrote to Margaret Tudor who was staying north of Edinburgh that he had spoken with James' former governess or 'mistress' about her political interests. In 1528 he opened the topic of James V marrying Princess Mary with the diplomat Adam Otterburn.''State Papers King Henry the Eighth'', vol. IV part IV (London, 1836), 545.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus, Thomas 1464 births 1550 deaths Archdeacons of the East Riding 16th-century English clergy Ambassadors of England to Scotland Canons of Windsor Court of James V of Scotland 15th-century English people 16th-century English diplomats