Thomas Magnus, English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 administrator and diplomat; Archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1504, employed on diplomatic missions 1509-19 and 1524-7; present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold

Field of the Cloth of Gold

The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...

 1520; Privy councillor c.1520; awarded a doctorate by the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 1520; canon of Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

 1520-49; Prebendary

Prebendary

A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 of Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

 1522-48; paymaster of the forces and treasurer of the wars in the north 1523; 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

Sibthorpe

Sibthorpe is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is part of Sibthorpe civil parish.The village and parish:"lies on the Cardike, south-south-west of Newark, and was once a place of considerable importance, having a college founded by Geffrey de Scroop, in the reign of Edward II...

. Regarding Sibthorpe

Sibthorpe

Sibthorpe is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is part of Sibthorpe civil parish.The village and parish:"lies on the Cardike, south-south-west of Newark, and was once a place of considerable importance, having a college founded by Geffrey de Scroop, in the reign of Edward II...

 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 of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, to Cardinal Wolsey."

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

Sessay

Sessay is a small, linear village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located about four and a third miles south-east of Thirsk, and just under two miles west of the A19 road....

 in the North Riding of Yorkshire

North Riding of Yorkshire

The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...

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

East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...

 in the metropolitan church of York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, 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 of Scotland

James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...

 and Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...

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

Shawm

The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...

 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 of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

 at Pavia

Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...

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.