It’s easy to conjure up an image of Thomas Cromwell, one of the most famous figures of the Tudor era, gleefully counting piles of coins at his desk as monasteries burn in the background. One of his enemies, Cardinal Reginald Pole, even described him as “an agent of Satan sent by the devil to lure King Henry to damnation”. Yet should Cromwell, whose actions changed the course of English history, be remembered in this way?
Illustration by: Joe Cummings
Little is known about Cromwell’s early years. He was born around 1485 and raised in Putney, the son of a brewer and a gentlewoman. He later moved to Italy, joining the French army as a mercenary during the Italian Wars, before entering the household of Francesco Frescobaldi, a Florentine banker.