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«No great glory in chasing a pirate». The manipulation of news during the 1535 439

was negative: it heightened fears that Charles V would now attack
Henry VIII, as the English Catholics were urging him to do 120 .
Katherine thanked God for «the great victory» and the emperor’s safe
return because he could now devote himself to relieving the suffering
of English Catholics, not least herself and Mary 121 .
Henry VIII finally deigned to give the imperial ambassador an
audience on 30 December 1535. He received Chapuys in public, put

his arm around him in a show of friendship, and immediately moved
into a private space so they could not be heard. The king’s opening
words were hardly complimentary: «The Emperor’s affairs are not so
flourishing as reported; there is no great glory in chasing a pirate».
Henry VIII went on to compare the two conquests of Tunis in 1534 and
1535 before concluding that Barbarossa’s had been the more
impressive since he had not been supported by local “Moors”, whereas,
«I have it from my ambassador with the Emperor [Pate] that to the
Moor’s [Mulay Hassan] exertions, and to his valiant co-operation was
your victory over Barbarossa in a great measure owing». Chapuys
denied that Mulay Hassan had made a contribution and insisted that
«Barbarossa was the general-in-chief under one of the most powerful
princes in the world, and himself king of two kingdoms» 122 .
It was not only the emperor’s covert enemies but his closest
relatives and supporters in England who called into question the value
of his victory. Chapuys urged Charles V to devote his efforts to saving
Catholicism in England which was his duty and more meritorious than
anything he had done in Africa 123 . Some English Catholics publicly
stated that helping them and organising a general Council of the
Church were «more praiseworthy deed(s) than the conquest of Tunis,
and more necessary than the recovery of the lands of Christendom
from the Turk» 124 . Princess Mary, having praised his triumph in the
«holy expedition», complained that he had clearly failed to understand
the gravity of the situation in England since he had chosen to fight in
Tunis. He must rectify now and do this service to God in England in
order to gain «no less fame and glory to himself than in the conquest
of Tunis or the whole of Africa» 125 .

120 Ivi, n. 594, Chapuys to Charles V, 13 October 1535.
121 Ivi, n. 587, Katherine of Aragon to Charles V, 10 October 1535.
122 Csp Sp, 5 (1), n. 246, Chapuys to Charles V, 30 December 1535.
123 LP, ix, n. 435, Chapuys to Granvelle, 25 September 1535.
124 Reported by Chapuys to Charles V, 13 October 1535, LP, ix, n. 594.
125 LP, ix, n. 596, Princess Mary to Granvelle [sic., Chapuys], October 1535.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Agosto 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)