Letter #53
Ioannes DANTISCUS to Bona SforzaHeilsberg (Lidzbark), 1543-02-27
English register:
Dantiscus thanks the addressee for the letter containing news of the young king’s marriage [Sigismund Augustus to Elisabeth of Austria]. The message has relieved him of the worries caused by circulating rumours, especially as reports from France were bringing incredible tales of some other marriage. He now feels more willing to take part in the wedding, though he continues to suffer from pain in his shoulders and arms, which has left one of his hands immobilised and forced him to dictate this letter. He hopes that his health will improve with the return of warmer weather. The ulcers on his legs, however, have not yet healed.
He responds to Bona’s playful remark that his leg troubles may be the result of drinking from stemless cups. Since returning from Wrocław (Breslau), he has changed his way of life. Life at home differs greatly from life at court, which had wearied him. He would no longer wish to leave his home. However, before he dies, he still hopes to meet the king and queen [Sigismund I Jagiellon and Bona Sforza] in person at least once. Unless prevented by serious illness, he will do his best to make his way to Cracow.
He rarely makes use of physicians, and for nearly thirty years has done so scarcely at all. They may be able to ease certain ailments, but they cannot prolong life. He would rather die when his time comes than endure the suffering brought on by medicines.
He agrees with the recipient’s observation in her letter that, unlike many other clergymen, he does not seek the dignity of a cardinal nor the increase of honours and riches. He notes that he has never done so, but has simply accepted what was granted to him by the king and queen. He did not fully realise how great a burden this would place upon him. Nowadays, clergymen commonly display ambition, greed, pride, extravagance, and disregard for the principles of religion. He fears that the Romans may suffer the same fate as the Greeks.
He thanks for the kindness shown to Georg Schewecke, mayor and burgrave of Gdańsk (Danzig), regarding keeping him in the latter office this year, for which he had interceded. He wrote briefly on this matter in a letter dated the day before yesterday [25 February]. If the Gdańsk City Council also writes to the king on this matter, he will once again appeal to the queen.
Following the queen’s request, he briefly presents the news that has reached him. He supplements the earlier information about the great battle between the English and the Scots. Only now is it known who emerged victorious. The Scots, along with their king [James V Stuart], pursued the English in their retreat from Scotland. Later, the English divided their forces and attacked the Scots from both sides, inflicting heavy losses and forcing them to flee. During the retreat, the king was reportedly heavily wounded and perished along with many others. Four earls and twenty-four lords were taken captive. They are being held under the guard of a notable gentleman in England, dressed in new garments, and each has been given a white staff, which they carry publicly as a spectacle.
In Sweden, the man claiming to be the king [Gustav I Vasa], while feigning efforts to find reconciliation with his rebellious subjects, organised a meeting and ordered the assassination of the nobles who were traveling to it. Certain lesser people who had set out earlier were killed. When the more important nobles who followed realised what had happened, they gathered their forces and are now besieging the castle and city of Stockholm, where the king resides.
Aided by his allies, the duke of Jülich [Wilhelm V der Reiche] is raising a large army against the emperor’s possessions in the Netherlands, but he has no money. Soldiers are deserting him for places where they are paid. The pay in the emperor’s army is better and more reliable than in the armies of the duke of Saxony [Moritz of Saxony], the landgrave of Hesse [Philipp I of Hesse der Großmütige] or the duke of Jülich.
The turmoil throughout nearly the all of Christendom is giving the infidels an opportunity to strike. One must pray to God for protection and defence against their unstoppable might.
Manuscript sources:
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Text & apparatus & commentary Plain text Text & commentary Text & apparatus Excerpts concerning Dantiscus' travels
BJ, 6657, f. 394v
Serenissima Reginalis Maiestas et Domina domina clementissima. Humillimam servitiorum orationumque mearum commendationem.
Quod me Serenissima Maiestas Vestra novissimis suis cf. 
BJ, 6657, f. 395r venerari mihi detur (modo non gravior morbus itineris patiens intercedat)
Quid medici praestare valeant, incognitum mihi non est, eorumque itaque opera utor rarius et iam fere ab annis triginta usus non sum. Languores quidam non mortiferos curare doloresque sedare possunt, non item terminum prorogare, qui nulli cedit. Cumque haud dubie moriendum sit, absque cruciatu, quem illi suis pharmacis morituro addunt, hinc evolaturus sum, quando Deus iusserit liberius.
Quod cardinalatum aliumve statum ampliorem ad accumulandos honores honoribus divitiisque divitias, quemadmodum Serenissima Maiestas Vestra scribit, praeter aliorum ecclesiasticorum morem videor non ambire, sic revera habet, et si Serenissima Maiestas Vestra recte meminit, me numquam ambitiosum fuisse agnoscet. Quod Dominus Deus per
Quod Serenissima Maiestas Vestra clementem propensionem suam domino
Utque iussis Serenissimae Maiestatis Vestrae satisfiat, nova, quae his diebus accepi, perstringam brevibus. Scripseram prius conflictum magnum inter 
BJ, 6657, f. 395v
commissum fuisse, de victoria tamen, ad quam tum partem inclinaverit, non constitisse. Nunc primum allatum est, excedentes e
Ex
Sic adhuc totus fere orbis noster Christianus turbulentis fluctibus exagitatur magnamque in se irruendi infidelibus praebet oportunitatem. A quorum vi efferataque ferocia, quod nos Dominus Deus pro nobis pugnans (quia nulla salus in homine) defendere ac tueri velit, summis precibus est contendendum.
Qui ut eandem Serenissimam Maiestatem Vestram diutissime
BJ, 6657, f. 396r
prosperrimeque valentem atque florentem conservet, intime precor meque eiusdem Serenissimae Maiestatis Vestrae gratiae quantum diligentius demissiusque possum, humiliter commendo.
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