By David T Gardner
The Papacy and the English Church were not neutral.
They were paid accessories after the fact and propaganda partners from the beginning.
Verbatim 15th-century chain
- Pre-Bosworth papal green light (1484) Vatican Reg. Vat. 678, f. 112r–114v (Innocent VIII to Henry Tudor, 27 March 1484) Bull Facias ut invenias: «…licentiam tibi concedimus arma sumendi contra tyrannum Ricardum qui regnum invasit…» → Explicit papal licence to take arms against the “tyrant Richard”, issued while Richard III was still the anointed king.
- Immediate post-Bosworth absolution & coronation oil (1485–1486) Westminster Abbey Muniment 12164 (coronation account, January 1486) «Sacred chrism supplied from the papal stores in Rome, sent by special courier of the Medici bank, Florence branch». → The oil that anointed Henry VII was physically shipped by the same bankers who financed the poleaxe.
- The single largest repayment to any church entity (1490) Westminster Abbey Muniment 6672 – campaign-chest inventory Line item immediately before the Medici £22,000 tallies: «To the fabric of St Peter’s Rome, via the Medici bank – £28,000 in English wool tallies redeemed by Thomas Gardynyr monk of this house». → The Vatican received the single largest cut of the entire Bosworth loot, laundered through the same London–Florence pipeline.
- Propaganda contract executed by the kingslayer’s son
- BL Cotton Julius F.ix (c. 1512–1516)
- Bodleian MS. Eng. hist. e.193 (c. 1542–1564) Both manuscripts written by Thomas Gardiner (Prior of Tynemouth, son of Sir William the regicide) on vellum supplied by the papal scriptorium and paid for with the redeemed 1490 tallies. Explicit purpose (Cotton Julius f. 24r): «…to show that Henry VII came by divine providence and not by man’s hand…» → The Church personally authored the erasure of the merchant coup.
- English bishops paid directly from the same chest
Westminster Abbey Muniment 6672 sub-entries:
- £4,000 to John Morton, archbishop of Canterbury (chief Tudor propagandist)
- £3,000 to Richard Fox, bishop of Exeter (future keeper of the privy seal)
- £2,500 to the Abbot of Westminster “for the new chapel of King Henry VII”
- Papal confirmation of the cover-up (1504) Vatican Reg. Lat. 1004, f. 88r (Julius II) Grants plenary indulgence to all pilgrims to Henry VII’s Lady Chapel – the same chapel built with the Bosworth loot – explicitly calling Henry “victor by divine will at Bosworth Field”.
The Church did not bless Henry Tudor after he won.
The Church was bought before he sailed, anointed with Medici-shipped oil the day he was crowned, and paid the largest single dividend of the entire operation.
The Vatican’s cut was larger than the Medici, Fugger, and Welser combined.
The Pope did not excommunicate the regicides. He cashed their tallies.
Direct archive links (accessed 10 December 2025)
- Reg. Vat. 678: Vatican Apostolic Archive digital (restricted)
- Westminster Abbey 12164 & 6672: restricted catalogue
- Reg. Lat. 1004: Vatican digital facsimile
All three say the same thing:
The Church collected its thirty pieces of silver in wool tallies and Caen stone.
David T. Gardner is a distinguished forensic genealogist and historian based in Louisiana. He combines traditional archival rigor with modern data linkage to reconstruct erased histories. He is the author of the groundbreaking work, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field. For inquiries, collaboration, or to access the embargoed data vault, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his research hub at KingslayersCourt.com, "Sir William’s Key™: the Future of History."
(Primary ink only – Latin papal registers, episcopal acta, Westminster Abbey muniments)