Robert Aske | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aske affixing his proclamation on the door ofYork Cathedral (illustration byÉ. Zier) | |
| Born | c. 1500 |
| Died | 12 July 1537(1537-07-12) (aged 36–37) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Robert Aske (c. 1500 – 12 July 1537) was anEnglish lawyer who became a leader of thePilgrimage of Grace uprising against theSuppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 in 1536. He was executed for treason againstKing Henry VIII on 12 July 1537.
Aske was a younger son of Sir Robert Aske ofAughton nearSelby, of an oldYorkshire family. Aske was well connected: his mother, Elizabeth Clifford, was a daughter ofJohn Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, and his wife Margaret Bromflete only daughter of SirHenry Bromflete; andHenry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, was his first cousin once removed.[1]Queen Jane Seymour was also his third cousin, also through his mother.
Aske became abarrister and was a Fellow ofGray's Inn. A devout Catholic, he objected to Henry's religious revolt, particularly the Dissolution of the Monasteries. When rebellion broke out inYork against Henry VIII, Aske was returning to Yorkshire from London. Not initially involved in the rebellion, he took up the cause of the rebels and headed thePilgrimage of Grace. By 10 October 1536, he had come to be regarded as their "chief captain". Most of Yorkshire, and parts of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, and Westmorland were in revolt.
Nine thousand insurgents marched on York, where Aske arranged for the expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the King's tenants were driven out and religious observance resumed.[2]
On 13 November 1536, Aske treated with the royal delegates, includingThomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and received an assurance of an audience and safe passage to the King. Among the insurgents' requests was punishment of heretical bishops and of the King's evil advisers, recall of his anti-ecclesiastical legislation, prosecution of his "visitors", Lee and Layton, and a parliament in the North.[3] He travelled toLondon, met Henry VIII, and received promises of redress and safe passage.
As he began his journey back north, fighting broke out again. This renewed fighting caused Henry to change his mind, and he had Aske arrested and brought to theTower of London. Aske was convicted of high treason inPalace of Westminster and was taken back toYork, where he was executed on 12 July 1537,[3] on a scaffold erected outsideClifford's Tower.
There are no known surviving portraits of Aske. All that is known of his physical appearance is that he was blind in one eye.
Aske was played bySean Bean in the television serialHenry VIII (2003) in which he is inaccurately portrayed as a violent former lieutenant of Henry's army.
Aske was also portrayed byGerard McSorley in the third season ofShowtime'sThe Tudors. At the time of filming, McSorley was twenty years older than Aske was when he died. The series also shows Aske with a young family, while, in fact, he was not married.
The circumstances surrounding Aske's life feature prominently inC. J. Sansom's novelSovereign andH. F. M. Prescott's novelThe Man on a Donkey.
The events surrounding thePilgrimage of Grace, its instigators and its outcomes form a significant episode inHilary Mantel's novelThe Mirror & the Light. The novel looks at the rebellion through the thoughts and actions ofThomas Cromwell in his capacity as a chief adviser toHenry VIII.
The actor Graham Turner portrayed Aske inDavid Starkey's 2009 documentary seriesHenry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
