Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander) (c. 1530 - 1581) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Roman Catholic priest and
historianAn historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time...
.
Sanders was born at Chariwood (or Charlwood Place, probably
CharlwoodCharlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport...
),
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
, the son of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who was descended from the Sanders of Sanderstead. Sanders was educated at Wykeham's School
WinchesterWinchester is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. It lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen...
and
New College, OxfordNew College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always called "New College"...
, where he was elected fellow in 1548 and graduated B.C.L. in 1551.
Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander) (c. 1530 - 1581) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Roman Catholic priest and
historianAn historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time...
.
Early life
Sanders was born at Chariwood (or Charlwood Place, probably
CharlwoodCharlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport...
),
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
, the son of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who was descended from the Sanders of Sanderstead. Sanders was educated at Wykeham's School
WinchesterWinchester is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. It lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen...
and
New College, OxfordNew College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always called "New College"...
, where he was elected fellow in 1548 and graduated B.C.L. in 1551. The family had strong Catholic leanings, and two of his sisters, who must have been much older than he, became nuns of Sion convent before its dissolution. Sanders was selected to deliver the oration at the reception of Cardinal Pole's visitors by the university in 1557, and soon after
ElizabethElizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's accession he went to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, where he was befriended by Pole's confidant, Cardinal Morone; he also owed much to the generosity of Sir
Francis EnglefieldSir Francis Englefield was an English Roman Catholic politician.Born probably about 1520, he was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Englefield of Englefield, Berkshire, justice of the common pleas. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton, one of the well-known Catholic family of...
.
Priesthood
Sanders was ordained a priest in Rome, and even before the end of 1550 had been mentioned as a likely candidate for the
cardinalA cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available...
's hat. During the following years he was employed by Cardinal Hosius, the learned Polish prelate, in his efforts to check the spread of
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
in
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
,
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
and
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
. In 1565, like many other English exiles, he made his headquarters at
LouvainLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium. It is located about 30 kilometers east of Brussels, with as other neighbouring cities Mechelen, Aarschot, Tienen, and Wavre.The township comprises the historical city of Leuven and the former municipalities of...
, and after a visit to the
Imperial Diet at AugsburgThe Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire in the German city of Augsburg. There were many such sessions, but the three meetings during the Reformation and the ensuing religious wars between the Catholic emperor Charles V and the Protestant Schmalkaldic League...
in 1566 (in attendance upon Commendone, who had been largely instrumental in the reconciliation of England with Rome during the reign of
Queen MaryMary I , was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the oldest daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived...
), he threw himself into the literary controversy between Bishops
John JewelJohn Jewel , was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
and
Thomas HardingThomas Harding was an English Roman Catholic priest and controversialist.-Life:...
.
The publication in 1571 of Sanders'
De visibili Monarchia Ecclesiae, provided the first narrative of the sufferings of the English Roman Catholics. Considered by his enemies to be a
papistPapist is an adjective, usually critical, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teaching, practices or adherents.It was coined during the English Reformation to denote a Christian whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
tract, its strenuous defense of Pius V's bull excommunicating and deposing Elizabeth marked out Sanders for the enmity of the English government. The rest of his life was spent in the struggle to procure the deposition of Elizabeth and the restoration of Roman Catholicism.
Irish Expedition
Sanders' expectations of the cardinalate were disappointed upon the death of Pius V in 1572, and he passed the following years at
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
, where he was granted a pension of 300
ducatThe ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade currency throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, AGW, actual gold weight.-History:...
s. Attempting to embroil King
Philip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
in his struggle, he wrote that the state of
ChristendomChristendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity. This community numbers in the billions of people of the world population. This community is spread across many different nations and ethnic...
depended upon the stout assailing of England, but in his zeal Sanders was sorely tried by the king's sense of caution. Sanders worked with
James Fitzmaurice FitzgeraldJames Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald , was a member of the 16th century ruling Geraldine dynasty in the province of Munster in Ireland, rebelled against the crown authority of Queen Elizabeth I of England in response to the onset of the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland and was deemed an archtraitor...
to launch a
papal invasion of
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. The first of these, Sir
Thomas StukleyThomas Stukley was an English mercenary who served in combat in France, Ireland, and at the Battle of Lepanto, before his death at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. It was alleged that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England...
's projected 1578 Irish expedition, which Sanders was to have accompanied with the blessings and assistance of the pope, was diverted to
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
during an ill-devised campaign by King
Sebastian of PortugalSebastian I, King of Portugal "the Desired" was the 16th king of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of Prince John of Portugal and his wife, Joan of Spain...
, where Stukley was killed at the
Battle of Alcácer QuibirThe Battle of Alcácer Quibir , also known as Battle of Three Kings , also known as "Battle of Oued El Makhazeen" in Morocco, was a major battle fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir between Tangier and Fez, on 4...
in 1578.
In the following year, Sanders and Fitzmaurce landed a force of some 600
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
troops under papal authority at
SmerwickArd na Caithne, meaning height of the arbutus or strawberry tree, in the heart of the Kerry Gaeltacht is one of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne...
harbour in Ireland, which launched the
Second Desmond RebellionThe Second Desmond rebellion was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions launched by the Fitzgerald dynasty of Desmond in Munster, southern Ireland, against English rule in Ireland...
. Sanders paraded the papal banner with some ceremony at
DingleDingle is a town in County Kerry in Ireland on the Atlantic coast some west-south-west of Tralee and west-north-west of Killarney...
, before repairing to the hinterland to meet with
Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of DesmondGerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond was an Irish nobleman and leader of the Desmond Rebellions of 1579.-Life:...
and others who might help the cause. But the crown authorities at
Dublin Castlethumb|400px|Dublin Castle, Upper Yard
The Bedford Tower of 1761 comprises the centrepiece of the Castle's principal Georgian courtyard, flanked by the gates of Fortitude and Justice...
reacted quickly: the invasion fleet was immediately captured by
Sir William Winter Sir William Winter was an admiral under Queen Elizabeth I of England and served the crown during the Anglo-Spanish War ....
, and in 1580 the troops at Smerwick were slaughtered without quarter by the English forces under
Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de WiltonArthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton was a baron in the Peerage of England He was the son of William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton and Mary, daughter of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester...
in the Siege of Smerwick and Sanders' assistance was cut off. After spending almost two years as a fugitive in the south-west of Ireland, he is believed to have died of cold and starvation in the spring of 1581.
Legacy
The English exiles on the continent were disgusted at the waste of such material: Our Sanders, they exclaimed, is more to us than the whole of Ireland. But Sanders was part of a long line of missionaries sent to Ireland from the continent to combat the spread of Protestantism. His writings have been the basis of all Roman Catholic histories of the
English ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. The most important was his
De Origine ac Progressu schismatis Anglicani, which was continued after 1558 by
Edward RishtonEdward Rishton was an English Roman Catholic priest.-Life:He was probably a younger son of John Rishton of Dunkenhalgh and Dorothy Southworth. He studied at the University of Oxford from 1568 to 1572, when he proceeded B.A. probably from Brasenose College...
, and printed at
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
in 1585; it has been often re-edited and translated, the best English edition being that by
David LewisDavid Lewis was a Welsh Anglican priest and academic who converted to Roman Catholicism under the influence of John Henry Newman.-Life:...
(London, 1877). Its statements earned Sanders the nickname of
Dr Slanders in England; but a considerable number of his assertions have been confirmed by corroborative evidence, while those that were false, e.g. his story that
Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn was Queen of England as the second wife of King Henry VIII, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the...
was Henry VIII's own daughter, were simply borrowed by him from earlier writers.