Richard Pace
Richard Pace was an English diplomat and scholar born in the early 1480s in Winchester. He began his career as an amanuensis for Thomas Langston, Bishop of Winchester, before studying at the University of Padua, where he was influenced by notable scholars like Erasmus. After returning to England in 1508, Pace quickly climbed the ecclesiastical ladder, serving under Archbishop Christopher Bainbridge and later entering the service of Henry VIII. His fluency in Italian and diplomatic skills led to various missions across Europe, including notable events such as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Pace also made significant contributions to theology, most notably through his work "De fructu qui ex doctinur precipitur." Despite his successes, his relationship with Cardinal Wolsey soured, resulting in imprisonment in the Tower of London due to health issues. He spent his final years in relative isolation until his death on June 28, 1536. Pace's life reflects the complexities of court politics and the interplay between scholarship and diplomacy during a transformative period in English history.
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Richard Pace
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- Born: c. 1482
- Birthplace: Winchester, England
- Died: June 28, 1536
- Place of death: St. Dunstan's, Stepney, England
Biography
Richard Pace—whose surname was subjected to many variants—was born in the early 1480’s in Winchester; no details of his parentage survive. He was in the service of Thomas Langston, Bishop of Winchester, from 1493 to 1501, becoming his amanuensis. He was educated at the private school in Langston’s palace, Wolvesey, and was then sent to study at the University of Padua in 1498, where he was tutored by Niccolo Leonico Tomeo, an anglophile who always had a coterie of English acolytes. He also studied in Bologna and Ferrara, where he met Erasmus.
When Pace finally returned to England in 1508, Erasmus recommended him to the Archbishop of York, Christopher Bainbridge, who had recently been appointed as a cardinal. His usefulness assured by his fluency in Italian, Pace accompanied Bainbridge to the Vatican, where he apparently found favor with Pope Leo X. He remained in Rome until 1514, when he published a collection of Latin translations of Plutarch and Lucian. On his return to England, he was appointed Archdeacon of Dorset, but was sent back to the continent almost immediately on a diplomatic mission to seek Swiss support for a war against France.
Bainbridge died while Pace was in Zurich. Pace returned to Rome to help execute the cardinal’s will, but he was recalled to England by Cardinal Wolsey to enter the service of Henry VIII. He became the king’s secretary in 1516, and was appointed Dean of St. Paul’s and Vicar of Stepney in 1519, in addition to other preferments. It was during this period that he wrote his most significant theological treatise, De fructu qui ex doctinur precipitur.
Pace was also appointed Dean of Exeter and Dean of Salisbury while he was prominent in Henry’s court, but his primary function was that of a diplomat, continually dispatched on various continental errands. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and visited Venice in 1521 to solicit support for Wolsey’s ambition to be the next pope—but Wolsey did not become pope and seems to have become markedly less confident of Pace’s loyalty and usefulness. Some commentators have suggested that Wolsey might have become jealous of Pace’s influence on the king, and that he continually sought excuses to keep him out of England; whether this is true or not, Pace was certainly very busy during the early 1520’s, until his health—which had been uncertain since 1522—failed completely in 1525 and he returned to England for good.
Pace attempted to retire to a monastery at Isleworth, but he continued to write letters in response to various demands and provocations; his relationship with Wolsey deteriorated to the point that he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1527. However, he was unfit to be detained and was released into the care of the Bishop of Bangor, who seems to have considered him incurably insane. He was recalled to court in 1530, but was forced by his illness to retire to St. Dunstan’s, Stepney, where he remained until he died on June 28, 1536.