Eustace Chapuys (1489 – ), the son of Louis and Guigonne Dupuys, is a Savoyard diplomat who serves Charles V as Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence.
You are a cultured man with a humorous turn of phrase. You are astute and subtle, but also passionately engaged in Katherine’s cause, and you give wholehearted commitment to her, and then to her daughter Mary. For you, this is not just a matter of duty, it’s personal.
Hilary Mantel, Notes on character
The story so far…
Week 5: Make or Mar / Three-Card Trick
“A little crooked man”, we meet the Imperial ambassador first in 1530, at the dinner of Antonio Bonvisi’s. His timely arrival interrupts an argument between two Thomases, More and Cromwell. He cannot speak English, so everyone must speak French. More and Chapuys whisper together while Cromwell watches them. “Looking is free.”
Cromwell on Chapuys:
Everything Chapuys does, he notices, is like something an actor does. When he thinks, he casts his eyes down, places to fingerse to his forehead. When he sorrows, he sighs. When he is perplexed, he wags his chin, he half-smiles. He is like a man who has wandered inadvertently into a play, who found it to be a comedy, and decided to stay and see it through.
Week 6: Entirely Beloved Cromwell (Part 1)
In Holy Week, the imperial ambassador reminds Cromwell that they are neighbours. He tells Cromwell that the cardinal asks after the queen’s health, but the queen will never forgive the cardinal for driving her and the king apart. Oh, and that his master, the emperor, will not help the cardinal. Wolsey has few friends.
Week 9: Arrange Your Face (Part 2)
“Break the enchantment, mon cher ami. You will not regret it. I serve a most liberal prince.” Chapuys at Austin Friars. Cromwell calls Anne his friend. “A friend! She is a witch, you know?”
Week 10: 'Alas, What Shall I Do For Love?' (Part 1)
Chapuys doesn’t speak English, so gets news from Thomas More in French, in Italian from Bonvisi… he tells the Emperor that the English will rise up against Henry. “Chapuys is, of course, deeply misled.”
Week 12: Anna Regina (Part 1)
Chapuys soon learns that Henry has married Anne. “But there is no guarantee that Your Majesty will have a son. Or any living children at all.”
His words put tears in the king’s eyes. Later he asks, “Do you know how much you are staking, Cremuel, on the body of one woman? Let us hope no evil comes near her, eh?”
Week 13: Anna Regina (Part 2)
Chapuys is sulking at home during the queen’s coronation. “I have failed my master the Emperor. I have failed Katherine.” He, Cromwell, reassures his neighbour that he is not taken in by the Frenchmen that surround the king. “Tomorrow is another battle, tomorrow is another world.”
Week 14: Devil's Spit / A Painter’s Eye
‘Oh no, I fear not,’ Eustache says. ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Your Protestant painter has missed the mark this time. For one never thinks of you alone, Cremuel, but in company, studying the faces of other people, as if you yourself mean to pain them. You make other men think, not “what does he look like?” but “what do I look like?”’ He whisks away, then swings around, as if to catch the likeness in the act of moving. ‘Still. Looking at that, one would be loath to cross you. To that extent, I think Hans has achieved his aim.’
Week 16: The Map of Christendom (Part 1)
Chapuys writes to the emperor: “His early life remains a mystery, but he is excellent company, and he keeps his household and retainers in magnificent style.”
Officially, he and the ambassador are barely on speaking terms. Unofficially, Chapuys sends him a vat of good olive oil. He retaliates with capons. The ambassador himself arrives, followed by a retainer carrying a parmesan cheese.
Chapuys offers Cromwell the emperor’s friendship. Cromwell denies the rumours that the king is looking at another lady.
Week 17: The Map of Christendom (Part 2) / To Wolf Hall
Chapuys comes to visit his sick neighbour. “You are an old hypocrite, you know,” says Cromwell. “You would dance on my grave.”
“My dear Thomas, you are always the only opponent.”
Week 18: Falcons
Back in London, the Emperor’s ambassador, Eustache Chapuys, waits daily for news that the people of England have risen against their cruel and ungodly king. It is news that he dearly wishes to hear, and he would spend labour and hard cash to make it come true.
He asks the king for permission to visit Lady Mary. Henry tells Cromwell, “No.”
He writes to Chapuys, Wait, just wait, till I am back in Lodnon, when all will be arranged…