Robert Aske (''c.'' 1500 – 12 July 1537) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer who became a leader of the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

uprising against the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 in 1536; He was executed for treason by King Henry VIII on 12 July 1537.

Life

Aske was a younger son of Sir Robert Aske of Aughton near

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

, of an old

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

family. Aske was well connected: his mother, Elizabeth Clifford, was a daughter of

John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford John Clifford, 9th Baron Clifford, 9th Lord of Skipton (8 April 1435 – 28 March 1461) was a Lancastrian military leader during the Wars of the Roses in England. The Clifford family was one of the most prominent families among the northern ...

, and Margaret Bromflete; and Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, was his first cousin once removed.Gasquet, Francis Aidan, ''Henry VIII and the English Monasteries'' (G. Bell, 1906)
p. 231

Queen Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

was also his third cousin, also through his mother. Aske became a barrister and was a Fellow of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. A devout man, he objected to Henry's religious reforms, particularly the Dissolution of the Monasteries. When rebellion broke out in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

against Henry VIII, Aske was returning to Yorkshire from London. Not initially involved in the rebellion, he took up the cause of the rebels and headed the

. By 10 October 1536, he had come to be regarded as their "chief captain". Most of Yorkshire, and parts of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, and Westmorland were in revolt. Nine thousand insurgents marched on York, where Aske arranged for the expelled monks and nuns to return to their houses; the King's tenants were driven out and religious observance resumed.Burton, Edwin. "Pilgrimage of Grace." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 16 August 2018 On 13 November 1536, Aske treated with the royal delegates, including

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

, and received an assurance of an audience and safe passage to the King. Among the insurgents' requests was punishment of heretical bishops and of the King's evil advisers, recall of his anti-ecclesiastical legislation, prosecution of his "visitors", Lee and Layton, and a parliament in the North.Shahan, Thomas. "Robert Aske." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 13 July 2015 He travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, met Henry VIII, and received promises of redress and safe passage. As he began his journey back north, fighting broke out again. This renewed fighting caused Henry to change his mind, and he had Aske arrested and brought to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. Aske was convicted of high treason in Palace of Westminster and was taken back to

, where he was executed on 12 July 1537, on a scaffold erected outside Clifford's Tower.

Portrayals

All that is known of Aske's physical appearance is that he was blind in one eye. Aske was played by

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

in the television serial '' Henry VIII'' (2003) in which he is inaccurately portrayed as a violent former lieutenant of Henry's army. Aske was also portrayed by

Gerard McSorley Gerard McSorley (Irish: Gearóid Mac Somhairle; born 1 January 1950) is an Irish theatre, television and film actor. Early life He was born in the County Tyrone town of Omagh and, after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown, ...

in the third season of Showtime's ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

''. At the time of filming, McSorley was twenty years older than Aske was when he died. The series also shows Aske with a young family while, in fact, he was not married. The circumstances surrounding Aske's life feature prominently in C. J. Sansom's novel '' Sovereign'' and H. F. M. Prescott's novel ''The Man on a Donkey''. The events surrounding the

, its instigators and its outcomes, form a significant episode in

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, '' Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was relea ...

's novel ''

The Mirror and the Light ''The Mirror & The Light'' is an historical novel by the English writer Hilary Mantel. Following ''Wolf Hall'' (2009) and '' Bring Up the Bodies'' (2012), it is the final instalment in her trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, ...

''. The novel looks at the rebellion through the thoughts and actions of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

in his capacity as a chief adviser to Henry VIII.

References

External links

Robert Aske I and II
Web site of Haberdashers Aske's School, under reconstruction. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aske, Robert 1500 births 1537 deaths English rebels English Roman Catholics 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Members of Gray's Inn People executed under the Tudors for treason against England Executed people from the East Riding of Yorkshire People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging People executed under Henry VIII

Life

Portrayals

See also

References

External links