Today in 1512 Thomas Knyvett died. Thomas Knyvett was an English nobleman who was a close friend of Henry VIII, shortly after Henry came to the throne. According to Hall‘s Chronicle, Knyvett was a frequent participant in the jousts and pageants of the new king’s glittering court and was made Henry’s Master of the Horse in 1510.
When Henry declared war on France in 1512, Knyvett, along with Sir John Carew, was given command of the royal flagship, the Regent. With a number of court favourites commanding other vessels, a small fleet set sail for the coast of Brittany. On 10 August 1512 they engaged a slightly larger French fleet, and a violent melee known as the Battle of St. Mathieu ensued off the coast of Brest. Knyvett’s ship grappled with the Breton command vessel Cordelière, and was engaged in boarding her when the Cordelière’s powder magazine blew up (some say it was deliberately ignited). The two vessels burst into flame. Knyvett and Carew both perished, along with the Breton captain and more than 1,700 men, both French and English.
This was one of the last naval battles that included grappling – in future guns would be more prominent, and would mean that boats never got close enough to each other for grappling.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there are episodes devoted to the rise of the Tudor navy.
Suggested link:
Episode 36: Henry VIII and the Tudor Navy
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.