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In 1513 Henry had gone away campaigning against the King of France, Louis XII. During the time he was away, Catherine actually
ruled in his place for six months. Meanwhile James IV of Scotland, who was actually Henry’s brother-in-law (relations!!!) invaded England. He was friends with the
King of France and thought he could cause a diversion by invading and help his friend.
He was wrong. An English army, under the command of the Earl of Surrey as Henry was in France, completely defeated the Scottish Army at a place called
Flodden in the north east of England. The Scottish Army then retreated but without James who was unable to retreat as he was dead, killed in the fighting.
Henry had continued his battles with French Kings and in 1518 Wolsey had arranged a treaty which was an attempt to stop wars between the major countries
in Europe. The main powers were England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire. By 1519 it looked as though wars might start again so Wolsey arranged for Henry to
first meet Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and then for Henry to meet Francis I of France.
England still had control of the French town of Calais so the meeting took place just outside the town. This meeting place became known as the Field
of the Cloth of Gold, as both kings sought to outscore the other with displays of wealth. Massive tents, jewellery, feasts and tournaments all were there to
outdo their rival; bit of a show-off was Henry me thinks. As with most things in politics, no important agreements really came out of the meeting but it did
last for about two and a half weeks.
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