homas Wolsey was an important adviser to King Henry VIII. He was born in around 1472 and his father was a butcher and cattle-dealer in Ipswich. Thomas was very intelligent and was destined for the church. He studied at Magdalene College in Oxford. In 1497 became a fellow of the college and a year later was ordained as a priest. In 1507 Wolsey was given the position of royal chaplain to Henry VII and when Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509 Wolsey became royal almoner (a priest in charge of distributing assistance or alms to the poor). Wolsey was also given a seat on Henry's Council in recognition of his organisational talents. These talents came into use at the end of 1513 when he organised Henry's successful campaign against the French. The English took and held the towns of Tournai (Belgium) and Therouanne (Northern France). Wolsey was given the Bishopric of Tournai. In 1514 Wolsey negotiated a peace treaty between England and France whereby Louis XII married Henry's younger sister Mary and had to pay Henry pension money owed to him under the treaty of Etaples. The treaty stated that peace should be maintained not less than a year after the first of them (Henry and Louis) should die. Soon afterwards Wolsey was promoted to the position of Archbishop of York.The young Henry VIII did not find time for matters of state very interesting, preferring to spend days at a time hunting. Wolsey, who in 1515, had become the King's chief advisor and chancellor of England took many of the King's duties upon himself to perform. In return Wolsey used his position and large income of money to fund a lavish life style. In 1525 Wolsey founded Cardinal College in Oxford that was later refounded as Christ Church College by Henry VIII.
