English cardinal of the Catholic Church (1500–1558) and the last papal Archbishop of Canterbury. Very rare LS in Italian, one page, 8.5 x 11.25, Rome, January 21, 1557. Letter to Cardinal Santangelo demanding that Francesco Vannuccio be named governor of Ascoli instead of Ancona, and praising his qualities, among which his having well served the family of his correspondent. Reverse of second integral page bears two docketing notations and wax seal remnant. Intersecting folds, some scattered light creasing and toning, and reinforcement along hinge, otherwise fine condition. While in Rome in the early 1530s, Pole resisted his cousin Henry VIII’s pressure to validate his divorce with Catherine of Aragon. When the incensed king had his brother and mother imprisoned and later executed in 1536, Pole again defied him, causing Henry to unsuccessfully plot the murder of his cousin in Italy. Twenty years later, under Henry’s daughter Mary’s reign, Pole was made Archbishop of Canterbury, and it is in this position that he signed this letter, less than two years before his own death. RR Auction COA.
