His head was placed on a spike on London Bridge as a
warning to others who might be rash enough to incur the displeasure of the
ruthless King.
Another fatal book which belongs to this period is _Pro unitate ecclesiae
ad Henricum VIII_., written by Reginald Pole in the secure retreat of
Padua, in which the author compares Henry to Nebuchadnezzar, and prays the
Emperor of Germany to direct his arms against so heretical a Christian,
rather than against the Turks. Secure in his retreat at the Papal Court,
Pole did not himself suffer on account of his book, but the vengeance of
Henry fell heavily upon his relations in England, in whose veins ran the
royal blood of the Plantagenets who had swayed the English sceptre through
so many generations. Sir Geoffrey Pole, a brother of the cardinal, was
seized; this arrest was followed by that of Lord Montague, another
brother, and the Countess of Salisbury, their mother, who was the daughter
of the Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. They were accused of having
devised to maintain, promote, and advance one Reginald Pole, late Dean of
Exeter, the King's enemy beyond seas, and to deprive the King of his royal
state and dignity. Sir Geoffrey Pole contrived to escape the vengeance of
Henry by betraying his companions, but the rest were executed. For some
time Pole's mother was kept a prisoner in the Tower, as a hostage for her
son's conduct.
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