William Holt (jesuit)
Encyclopedia
Life
Holt was born at AshworthAshworth
-People:*Alec Ashworth, English footballer*Alexander Ashworth, English brand and marketing consultant, founder of Manifest Limited*Andrew Ashworth, English criminologist*Charles W...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. He was educated at home, and entered Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, in 1563, took the degree B.A. in 1566, was elected fellow of Oriel College
Oriel College
Oriel College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford...
on 29 February 1568, and preceded to the degree of M.A. in 1572. In 1573, he was incorporated M.A. at Cambridge.
His studies led him to dissatisfaction with religious affairs in England. In 1574 he left Oxford and was admitted into the English College, Douai
English College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
where he continued his theological studies till 1576, when he was ordained and sent to Rome to help in the establishment of the English College, Rome. He entered the Society of Jesus on 10 November 1578. In 1581 he was sent to England to help in carrying out the work which had been begun by Robert Parsons
Robert Parsons
Robert Parsons may refer to:* Robert Parsons , English composer* Robert Parsons , English priest* Robert E. Parsons, American politician* Bob Parsons , American entrepreneur...
and Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
. He was sent by Parsons on a mission to Scotland, together with William Crichton at the end of 1581. Their object was to open up communications with the Duke of Lennox
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The Dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Stirling, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lennox. The second Duke was made Duke of Richmond; at his...
, procure the conversion or deposition of the young James VI, and send information to Mary and Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
through the Spanish ambassador Mendoza. Holt further communicated with the Duke of Guise and in May 1582 had an interview with him in Paris.
Elizabeth meanwhile had sent to Scotland Robert Bowes
Robert Bowes (ambassador)
Robert Bowes was an English diplomat, stationed as permanent ambassador to Scotland from 1577 to 1583.-Life:The fifth son of Richard Bowes and Elizabeth Aske, he was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. He served under his father in the defence of the borders...
to counteract the influence of Lennox, and guard against the intrigues of the Jesuits in the Scottish court. In March 1583, Bowes prevailed on the king to authorise the arrest of Holt at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
as he was on the point of setting out for France. Holt, who passed under the name of Peter Brereton, was kept for a time in Bowes’s custody, and the letters found on him were forwarded to Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
. But James VI soon took him into his own hands, and ordered him to be imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, while Elizabeth demanded his surrender as an English subject, and asked that at he should be put to the torture and compelled to confess. William Allen thought that Holt was tortured and withstood the ordeal with constancy; but Bowes's letters lead to the conclusion that torture was only threatened. James VI was himself concerned in some of Holt’s intrigues. At the end of June the king recovered his liberty from Gowrie, took matters into his own hands, and negotiated for French and Spanish help in an invasion on England. To rid himself of Bowes’s importunity about Holt, James allowed him to escape from Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
on 16 July, and took credit with the Duke of Guise for doing so. Holt sought refuge for a time in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, and visited the college at Rheims. In 1585 he returned to Scotland to work in behalf of Mary, and was harboured by the Earl of Huntly in the north,
In 1586 Holt was summoned to Rome and made rector of the English College, a post which he held for a year and a half, when in 1588 he was transferred to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, to act as agent for Philip II, and direct the political activity of the English exiles. There were two factions among the exiles; one, which was headed by Parsons and supported by Allen, looked to the help of Spain for the restoration of the Roman church in England; and the other party, which represented the wishes of the Romanists in England, was opposed by the Spanish succession, and hoped to make terms with James VI of Scotland. Holt was a partisan of the Spanish faction, and made no endeavour to conciliate his opponents. So long as Allen lived he managed to exert a moderating influence, but after his death in 1594 Holt's arbitrary character was left without a check. Elizabeth was afraid of the plots which were formed against her in the Low Countries, and wished to negotiate with the Archduke Ernest the surrender of Holt among others, but the ambassador was never sent. Edmund York, who was executed for high treason in 1595, is said to have confessed that Holt promised him forty thousand ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s if he would murder the queen, and the statement was repeated at Robert Southwell's trial.
Representations against Holt were made to Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...
, who said to Barret, "Accepi nuper litteras ex Belgio de quodam patre qui ibi dominator et tyrannizat". The question was referred to the Cardinal Archduke Albert, and by him committed to the father provincial for Germany, Oliver Manareus and Don Juan Battista de Tassis. Holt's friends procured signatures to two memorials in his favour. He was not removed from his office, but was admonished to be more conciliatory; and then was replaced in 1598. He went to Rome, and thence was sent to Spain where he died early in 1599, immediately after landing at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
.