better than Surrey's own and whose mother was the comparatively
obscure Jane Seymour.

An appreciation of the state of life to which Surrey was called by
his birth is all important in understanding his character and the
events of his life. There is no necessity of recounting the latter
here. ¹ It is enough to state that we know a very great many facts
concerning his various actions through the years, and from them
can infer fairly accurately his character. Another factor, however,
must be mentioned. The Howards were in somewhat straightened
circumstances. Naturally, as the first Duke of Norfolk and his son
had fought on the side of Richard III at Bosworth Field, the sur-
vivor, the second Duke, was promptly lodged in the Tower and his
goods attainted. Although Henry VII pardoned him, freed him,
and eventually restored him to his rank, he did not restore the
property that went to sustain the rank. Although Henry VIII
was much more lavish in their regard, yet as their expenses in-
creased proportionally to their honors, the family was financially
embarrassed. In 1515 the Duke of Norfolk, admittedly the ablest
general in England and the victor of Flodden Field, was forced to
retire from court to recuperate. This condition explains the finan-
cial negotiations which they dignified by the name of marriage.
Love was no more a factor in the marriage of the sixteenth century
than in the royal alliances of today. ² Surrey's mother, for example,
who brought a dowry of 1500 pounds, had previously been engaged
to Ralph Neville (who afterwards married her sister,) was much
attached to him, and their wedding day had been announced. ³
All this was not allowed to interfere with her nuptials with the
Duke of Norfolk. Such a beginning would scarcely argue for happy
connubial relations. And historical events did not tend to in-
crease the chance. In 1523 her father, Duke of Buckingham, was
condemned for high treason by a panel of peers, of which her
father-in-law the Duke of Norfolk was chief judge. The fact that

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